George Washington Parke Custis; grandson of Martha; adopted son of George Washington; husband of Mary Fitzhugh; father-in-law of Robert E. Lee. By Saint Mèmin.
(Courtesy Corcoran Gallery of Art)
Chapter 20
[123 South Pitt Street. Owners: Mr. and Mrs. Fred Latimer Hadsel.
125 South Pitt Street. Owners: Mr. and Mrs. Harlan Trott.]
On the corner of Pitt and Prince Streets stand two little frame houses that possess the distinction of being the only buildings in Alexandria built on George Washington's lots and dating back to his time. Their history is fairly complete and may be compiled by anyone taking the trouble to search the records housed in the Alexandria clerk's office and balancing those data against the well kept accounts and writings of General Washington.
Alexandria had outgrown her swaddling clothes by 1761 when the trustees petitioned the assembly for permission to extend the limits of the town. This was promptly granted. New acreage was added, divided into lots and sold at auction as formerly. General Washington bought, at the sale held on May 9, 1763, two half-acres of ground, numbered on the plat as 112 and 118, which he took up later for approximately £48. For the former, the subject of this sketch, on the northwest corner of Pitt and Prince, he paid £38. On the latter lot at Pitt and Cameron Streets he built his town house six years later. As early as 1760 Washington spoke of "my House in Town," but this earliest reference[168] is believed to have related to Lawrence Washington's estate, for which he was one of the executors. Its subsequent story has not been unwound, but all facts point to the house at South Lee Street as having been built by Lawrence.
General Washington acquired the deed to lot No. 112 in 1765 and mention was made of it in his will and in the accompanying inventory of his property. At the time of his death the lot had been subdivided for building and let on ground rent, for purposes of revenue. The two small frame houses standing today at 123 Pitt and 501 Prince Streets unquestionably date from this period.