Map of Washington and Alexandria County in 1835

The County of Washington was one of five original political entities within the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, the capital of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Formed by the Organic Act of 1801 from parts of Montgomery and Prince George's County, Maryland, Washington County referred to all of the District of Columbia "on the east side of the Potomac, together with the islands therein." The bed of the Potomac River was considered to be part of Washington County as well. Originally Alexandria County, D.C. formed the portion of the District west of the Potomac, ceded by the commonwealth of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Alexandria County, including the City of Alexandria, was returned to Virginia by Congress in 1846, leaving just Washington County. Within Washington County there were two incorporated areas, the City of Washington and the City of Georgetown. At times the rural parts outside of the cities were referred to as "Washington County" but all three were part of the county. Upon the passage of the

District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871 The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871 is an Act of Congress that repealed the individual charters of the cities of Washington and Georgetown and established a new territorial government for the whole District of Columbia. Though Congre ...

, the three governments were unified under a single District government and made coterminous, ending Washington County's separate identity.

Government

Starting in 1801, Washington County was governed by a board of commissioners, or a levy court, made up all of the

Justices of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

, or magistrates, of the county appointed by the President and the number of those were not fixed. In 1812, the board was reorganized with seven magistrates, two from east of Rock Creek but outside of Washington City, two from west of Rock Creek but outside of Georgetown and three from Georgetown, with none from Washington City until 1848 when four members from the city were added. The board was again changed in 1863 when it was reduced to nine members, three from the city of Washington, one from Georgetown, and five from county lands outside the city. These justices carried out the duties of county commissioners. Despite being within the federal territory, Congress left Washington County subject to the laws of Maryland.

History

Rural Washington County, the part outside of the cities, included Pleasant Plains, the estate of the Holmead family;

Edgewood Edgewood may refer to: Places Canada *Edgewood, British Columbia South Africa *Edgewood, a University of KwaZulu-Natal campus in Pinetown, South Africa United States Cities and towns *Edgewood, California *Edgewood, Florida *Edgewood, Illinois, a ...

, home of Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase; and Petworth, the estate of Colonel

John Tayloe III John Tayloe III (September 2, 1770March 23, 1828), of Richmond County, Virginia, was a planter, politician, businessman, and tidewater gentry scion. He was prominent in elite social circles. A highly successful planter and thoroughbred horse b ...

. Also contained in rural Washington County was the U.S. Soldiers' Retirement Home, where President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

lived during his summers as president. Despite its comparatively large geographic size, rural Washington County was sparsely populated until the end of the 19th century. Slavery was legal in Washington County, as it was in Maryland, but it was illegal to import a slave from Alexandria County for sale in Washington County. Slavery was ended in Washington County in April 1862 by the

District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act An Act for the Release of certain Persons held to Service or Labor in the District of Columbia, 37th Cong., Sess. 2, ch. 54, , known colloquially as the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act or simply Compensated Emancipation Act, w ...

. Except for the abolition of slavery by the unionist "Restored Government of Virginia" in April 1864, the DC Emancipation Act was the last part of the United States to end slavery before the 13th Amendment ended it throughout the country. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

(1861–65), Washington County contained a partial circle of defensive fortifications that made Washington one of the most heavily fortified cities in the world at that time. The forts surrounding Union-held territory in Virginia completed the defense circle. The

Battle of Fort Stevens The Battle of Fort Stevens was an American Civil War battle fought July 11–12, 1864, in what is now Northwest Washington, D.C., as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864 between forces under Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early and ...

, July 11–12, 1864, took place in Washington County. After the Civil War, many of the old estates in Washington County were sold and developed into suburbs for the growing capital city. Among the earliest developments were

LeDroit Park LeDroit Park ( or ) is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C. located immediately southeast of Howard University. Its borders include W Street to the north, Rhode Island Avenue and Florida Avenue to the south, Second Street NW to the east, and How ...

and Mount Pleasant, which eventually became the first " streetcar suburb". Uniontown and

Barry Farm Barry Farm is a neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C., located east of the Anacostia River and bounded by the Southeast Freeway to the northwest, Suitland Parkway to the northeast and east, and St. Elizabeths Hospital to the south. The neig ...

, a settlement for

freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom a ...

, developed east of the

Anacostia River The Anacostia River is a river in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States. It flows from Prince George's County in Maryland into Washington, D.C., where it joins with the Washington Channel to empty into the Potomac River at Buzzard Point. ...

. Washington County and the cities of Washington and Georgetown were abolished in 1871 following the passage of the

. This law brought the entire District of Columbia under the control of a territorial government headed by an appointed governor, an appointed eleven-member council, and a locally elected 22-member assembly. Two of the eleven council seats were reserved for representatives from the District outside of the cities of Washington and Georgetown. Three years later, Congress abolished the territorial government in favor of direct rule over the District by an appointed three-member commission.

References

{{Authority control 1801 establishments in Washington, D.C. 1871 disestablishments in the United States Former counties of the United States History of the District of Columbia Populated places established in 1801 Populated places disestablished in 1871

Government

History

See also

References