National Republican., 1873-03-28
BUILDING THE CITY,
PAST AND FUTURE OF WASHINGTON,

Foundation Of the Capitai-Tho Rite OF
the City Eighty. Ycnrs Ago-Ncw
Houses on Vermont Avenue-A One
Hundred Thousand Dollar Church on
Capitol uiiI-ReaI Estais News aud
Notes.
"Gath,r In writing an Interesting letter 10 the
Chicago TribVns on Washington, says;
The American capital IL the only seat Of gov
ernment OF 1rst-class power which was a
thought aud performance Of the Government It.
self. II used to be called, in the Madiaonlan era,
"the only virgin capital In the world.n
st. Petersburg was the thought OF an Emperor,
but the capital Of Russia long afterward re-
NAMED at Moscow, and Peter the Great said that |
he designed st. Petersburg to he only "a win
dow looking out into Europe"
washington city was designed to he not merely |
q window, but a whole inhabitancy In fee simple |
for the deliberations Of Congress, and they were |
TO exercise exclusive legislation over 10, DO the
constitutional convention ordained and, In less |
than seven weeks after the thirteenth State ratl-
ned the Constitution, the place Of the capital was
desEnated by Congress 10 I've the Potomac river. |
In six months more, the precise territory on the
Potomac was dcnned, under the personal eye OF
rux MOTIVE or BUILDING
an entirely new city for the federal seat was not
PuesStr me nor fSneifu III Es S that Of @ he % founder
/ OF yersaiiies II was, like many OF our nstfu. |
/ tons, an act Of reelection suggested by such |
from Rome to Aylsnon, and, In our day, has
| Withdrawn the French Government from Paris
70 versaillea, Pour years before the ConsLitu-
deiphla-the largest city in the states-had been
grossly iusuhedb by some Of the unpaid troops Of
the Rsyola.,ooa .AT and and to shs PennSylysns GSny
with commendabie dignity, Withdrew TO Prince
ton, and there, In the collegiate halls, Kldridge
si Il Inc 81 cSusrsssonsi ssSetsry aSiS % u wasans
tonO moved that the buildings for the use Of
Congress be erected either on the Delaware or
ruE STATE oy MAINLAND
was an early applicant for the permanent seat
of the Government, and, after the result a.
capitol sdnce and other accommodations at An.
napolls. Congress accepted the Invitation, and
NJ on n mn tSe nIssspse o
that body. The career Of Congress at AnnapO-
ls-which was very perfect tidy, and pretty
for JcS ans Wss prop
bly, not without Its influence In making Man
land soil the future Federal District. The grow
ing "Batimore town." which was the trst place
In America, after the revolution, 10 exhibit the
Western spirit Of "drlying things" appeared In
The lobby aud the prints a. an anxious comPetl
tor for the award Of the capital; and the stlmu-
laton OF that day bore fruits In the nrst and only
admirable patriotic monument raised TO wash
) ington, while washington city was yet seeking
, OF Georgetown opposed baltimore, and directed
oaS aua ~ ns,,n, II nst witSout M resssn' upon
the influence Of the President " the tnited
! States In It's behalf
4 stroye for the exlggesated honor and proht Of
the capital, and it 4 tradition IN half dozen
a villages Of the oountry-at lIayre-de-Graee,
= Trenton, wrightsville, Pa; Germantown, vii.
: Transport, Nd; Kingston, y. Y, and others
\ that the seat OF Government was at one time
q nearly their prize. Two points, however, gained
, definite spot on the Potomac. The Eastern
oongressmen used TO the nfe Of towns, and little
love S,h & Wa ~ ~ sae S o3nssLsa s.ss aS nsTSl5S
! among urbane comforts, In place already weil
. established. Proyinoialism, prejudice and
avatlce Al played taelr par, n the contest and,
Hence, sccofdiOs % JsifetsOn, SRoss accounts
:. Cial problems Of the time
wERE oYFsET
by the selection Of the oapItaL Hamilton de,
N fefred 10 the south the Federal city, and had his
Treasury policy adopted In exchange for IT,
n When Jefferson and Hamilton came 10 write
about each other, we are reminded Of the adagg
' iS agreeable 10 Ieneot that they were both ac.
!, coruant with Washington on this point, and
Jefferson had great influence over the young
= Congress made q reasonable decision on tho
subject, The comforts Of 4 home were to bo ac-
corded a PnihIag1elPsn hg for ten year, TO Gusl
T. be planned on the Potomac riyerl aud public ed.
4 nces erected upon 1t, The aetqAT selectlOn aud
g thr President; and thus The Federal city Is al
4 executive act, dellberated between Washington
~ and private citizens.
Mortiylng, indeed, was the early work OF max
n ing the capital city for the three commissioners
h. whose ranks were renewed as one grew de.
spOndent aud another enraged.
nj, II was on July 10, 100, that President Wash.
lngton approved the bill OF six sections which
n directed the acceptance Of
IA TEN Mngs SQUARE
"between the mouths OF tho RasteTn Branch and
!. | ConogOcheague." The bill had become = lay by
a = close vote 10 both 10Th, hogses, and the caPts
A. at the Great Falls, or near the future battle-stt
Of Balfs Bu6, Or under tho presence OF the
mpSTssa + poDs Ss Il 1SS SS. SS
"A self, who held discretionary control over the
1. commissioner. was moi lTnly q ne opinion
II that the future city should stalH On tlde-water
for he had previously wriiten letters IN prsse o
the thrifty GermAn country beyond the AonOO,
a acy, In Maryland. But the matter Of transpor,
II talon and passage was greatly dependent IN
those days upon nayigaDle watef-coufses, and Il
Is probable that, when the law passed, the spot
Of the city was already appointed,
,,l ABOUT 1--WE YRARa BKToKh
selecting the site for the Federal capital, Wash
lngton made Aeanoe upon tha Mon0cacy river
and, deseeId M w. 70 dhe , rSso,SS ,s mads ma, she sx
IN Underwater, In order to test the feasibility oil
y lock and dam navigation. II In apparent frou
|
Al and others, that he was aware that tho value o
ID hls estates on tlde-Water was declining aud HI
wanted both the city and the canal contiguous Il
d them. noblemAn might well, however, hay,
10 that attachment to the haunts This youth which
VI he would wish TO see beantined by city.
rae Dll vas passed while co9sres. sat In New N.sv.
Washington, at Philadelphia,
m MADE PRocLANArIoS
y that, "after duly examining aud Weighing th'
advantages and disadvantages OF the several ait
D. uatlOns within the lmits,"he had thrown th
u Federal territory across the Potomac from Alex
Tar site OF tho new District was not entirei
the wilderness II has been represented. The PG
tomAc had been explored up " this point, and a
,s far As the Little Falls above, by
y HKRsY PLEET,
i61 years before. Fleet was tho nrst ciyillKei
being who ever looked upon the site OF Washing
., ton, and ms manlscript story 81 81 ascending , th
y Leonard Calvert nfHYed In the Rotoinac, IN 1854
he went up TO confer with mis- edyentufOus fur
"Tbs place said Fleet, evidently ailadaisi' Z
NJ the contracted Potomac Just above Georgetown
n "ls, without all question, the most healthful an
nlent for habitatlon; the air temperate In sum
mer and not violent IN winter, y aboundetl
ss, Ts s %Snns H s Ss 9a: S On
81 place where the river Is not over twelve fatb0n
ail broad. And for deer, bunaloes, bears, Turkeys
is exceedingly fertile; bat asoss i6s place S n
country Y rocky and mountainous, like 'cannlda
We had not rowed above three miles hu
we might hear the falls 10 roar"
Z Tue early settlers OF Maryland and YirgnI
kept to the naylgable streams and the carlos
pioneers OF the terrace country of MAFylan
we're Scotch and ScOtch-Irlsh, some GerinanI
anda few Catholics.
sReRsEyows AND BELHAyR
Tor Alexandria) were rather old places when IN
surveys were made for Washington olty, and III
former had been laid out fully forty yeirs. IN
army Of Den. Braddeck had landed at Alexan
dria, and q large portion OF bis army marche
al from Rock creek, as the infant Georgetown wa
" then called, for FredericktOwn and the ohlC
70 As early as lTos, the father Of Gen. James vii
klnson purchased tract Of "nye hundred acre
Of land on the Tyber and Potomac, which prot
ably comprehended the PfesldentS House;H bu
4. the purchaseTs wife objected to q removal 3
10 such an isolated spot, and the property wa
!. transferred TO one Thomas Johns. Ia lIf6, Oh
y young Wilkinson "shouldered q nrelock q
= Georgetown, In . cOmpany commanded by
g Rhode Island Quaker, TbOnas Richardson" Il
which also the future Gen. LingAp was suit
altern, and this full company drilled for ID
Revolutionary struggle ION small spot Of table
land hanging over Rock creek, below the uppe
al bridge" As Wilkinson lived "thlTty miles IN IN
h up-cOuntry, and was always punctual at parade,
We may infer that Georgetown was the mos
considerable place In all this quarter OF Mary
land.