Potomac () is an extinct

incorporated town An incorporated town is a town that is a municipal corporation. Canada Incorporated towns are a form of local government in Canada, which is a responsibility of provincial rather than federal government. United States An incorporated town o ...

formerly located in

Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

(then called Alexandria County). Today the dissolved town's former territory is located within the City of Alexandria after municipal

annexation Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held t ...

in 1930. As a

planned community A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

, its proximity to

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

made it a popular place for employees of the U.S. government to live. Potomac was located adjacent to the massive

Potomac Yard Potomac Yard is a neighborhood in Northern Virginia that straddles southeastern Arlington County and northeastern Alexandria, Virginia, located principally in the area between U.S. Route 1 and the Washington Metro Blue Line / Yellow Line tr ...

of the

Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad was a railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. The track is now the RF&P Subdivision of the CSX Transportation system; the original corporation is no longer a railroad co ...

History

The area was developed beginning in 1894 as the communities of Del Ray, St. Elmo, Mt. Ida, and Hume, following a

grid plan In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid. Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogon ...

independent of that of Old Town Alexandria. Potomac was incorporated as a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in 1908. In 1928, the town had 2,355 residents. The Town of Potomac was annexed by the

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

in 1930. Today, the Town of Potomac Historic District in Alexandria designates this historic portion of the city, and includes and 690 buildings. The Town of Potomac was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1992. As of 2016, the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

still recognizes "Potomac, VA" as an acceptable alternate address for ZIP code 22301, although "Alexandria, VA" is preferred.

References

External links

City of Alexandria, official web siteDel Ray History, from the Del Ray Citizens AssociationLynhaven History, from the Lynhaven Citizens Association
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Geography of Alexandria, Virginia American Craftsman architecture in Virginia Geography of Arlington County, Virginia Bungalow architecture in Virginia Colonial Revival architecture in Virginia Former municipalities in Virginia Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Alexandria, Virginia Queen Anne architecture in Virginia 1894 establishments in Virginia Houses in Alexandria, Virginia Arlington County, Virginia Neighborhoods of Alexandria, Virginia {{ArlingtonCountyVA-NRHP-stub

History

See also

References

External links