Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1886-07-09
WAsHIEGIuE,s BIRTHPLACE.

1t WAS several years at,o inst tne publ!s
was .pprizec oi Ike fact that although the
birthplace and carly residence of George
Washington was located within few miles
of this city, nothing had ever been done to
commemorate the fact. Considerable inter
est was elected q. the time this was made
known to the newspaper-reading public, SO
much in fact, that the matter was brought
before Congress. 1t was urged that the
Government should purchase the site of the
birthplace and erect on it suitable monu-
rnent to E1arl. the spot. The idea WAS re-
ceived tsvorably in Congress and small
appropriation was made to cover the
amount Of the purchase The matter was
placed ia the hands of the Secretary of State
and he detailed DR.. F. 0. ST. Clair, the chief
of the Consular Bureau, TO examine the title
of the owners of the sts and to make the
purchase DR.. st. Clair entered into the
plan heartily, and immediately set to work
20 thoroughly examine the title and 10 me-
gotiate for the purchase Of The site.
Wakefield. which was the name given the
old homestead, in honor cf 6 celebrated
English manor, is situated iu Wcstmoreland
county, Va, some eighty-seveu miles below
Washington and three miles below Colonial
Beach on the banks Of the Potomac, the beau.
tifui Potomac that was so beloved by
Washington. Wakefield was part cfa tract
that was given the Washingtons by s. royal
grant from the English King, Charles l., i'll
1633, in payment, the deed says for u Ger.
tain number Of pounds of tobacco and other
considerations. The deed is on record in
the little town of Montross, the county seat
of Westmorcland When the tract was di-
vacd among ;he Washingons part of it
was called Wakefield and another portion
was inherited Icy Miss Elizabeth Washing
ION, who is now the wife Of Mr. James E.
Wilson and living en- Wakefield. When
Mr.. 81. Clair went down to Wakefield no
trace OF the original manor house could be
reighborkood described the house as q two
story brick and stone building, With IN J..
The spot where the house was snid To
have stood was pointed out 10 DR.. ST. Clair,
who sct two meu to work digging To en-
deavor 10 find traces Of the foundation and
thus locate the exact spot. After digging
some three feet hcncath the Trriac2, ~ hasd
foundation was struck, and tracing this out
an outline Was followed which tailed with
the description OF he house ~ the annals
of the nei glborhood had it, As the legend
goes, George Washington was born in the
second storS Of the j. portion Of the house,
and On the SPOT beneath this room q stone
had been placed, Having determined the
former location Of the old manor house and
being satisfied that it was correct, DR.. st.
C:aiT made L thorough examination of the
title and found it perfect. He then offered
Mr. Wilson $1,000 FOR tract Of twenty
acres, but this offer was refused, the land
beiug finally bough. for $500.
The first appropriation OF Congress being
totally Inadequate and insufficient, another
appropriation of $4,000 WAS made The
location of the site is about mile and
half from the river landing. 1t is right on
the banks of Pope's creek, which sets in at
this point and which was probably in
George Waslington's day deep and navi-
gable stream, and would be now were it not
for the southeast winds which have blown
wreck, debris and sand in there and filled
up the mouth OF the creek. It was first pro-
posed to dredge the mouth of the creek
aud protect this with breakwater, but the
plan was found TO be too expensive and was
SO abandoned, and instead it was proposed
to build good wharf below tie creek and
make q driveway up to the house. The
plans for the erection of suitable monu-
ment to mark the site have been made and
the cost, estimated.
It is proposed to make handsome mem.
oriai house, the drawings of which show it to
be on eegaut affair. But no work has been
done upon it, no wharf built, not even q
fence erected, as the $4,000 is not sufficient,
and il is not deemed wise to commence
work until on appropriation of $4,000 is
made. which will be enough to do the work
bspdsoncly.-UuSh.C Critic.
OPENING AND CLOSING OF THE MAILS.