Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-28

that Smith and his fourteen fellow adven-
turers came up the Potomac as far as the
Little Falls
Powhattan was chief of the aborigines on
the west and south shore of the Potomac.
and the legend is that Smiths condemna
ton by Powhattan and deliverance by Po-
cahontas took place near the site of Wash
ington. OF course, this whole story Is dis
credited by some MISUNDERSTANDING.
Lodge Henry Adams and others, and it
is accepted by John Fiske and others. 1t
might be remarked that Fiske in his His
torical Mistakes neglected no opportunity
to upset popular story In 1923 Henry
Fleet. an Anglo-Virginia trader passed
this way.
The District of Columbia is linked with
the history of Jamestown. With the very
early history of Maryland and Virginia the
District is indssolubly associated. It was
part of the colony of Virginia and the
proprietary of Maryland. The Maryland
pilgrims must have seen the hills of the
District. Mr. Thomas, in HIS Colonial
Maryland relates that Leonard Calvert
leaving the major part of his eolonists at
ST Clements, spent several days exploring
the country and treating with the Indians.
ascending the Potomac as high Piscata-
way. The village of the Emperor of Pts
Getaway was on the highlands back of
Fort Washington, whence good view of
the heights of Washington may be had.
In the Potomac abreast of Piscataway he
could see where Washington now stands.
Scotch and Irish immigrants had settled on
the site of Washington as early at 1863
The first stone of the District of
Columbia was planted in Virginia soil. Pres
ident Washington on March 80, 1871, is
sued procla nation saying:
Now. therefore, for the purpose of
amending and completing the location of
the whole of the said territory of ten
miles square l do hereby declare and make
known that the whole of the'said territory
shall be located and included within the
four lines following:
beginning Jones Point, being the up
per end of Hunting creek. in Virginia. and
at an angle in the outset of 45 degrees
west of the north and running in direct
line ten miles, for the first line; then be-
ginning again at the same Jones Point and
running another direct line at a right an
gle with the first across the Potomac ten
miles for the second line. thence from the
termination of the first and second lines
running two other lines of ten miles each
the one crossing the Eastern branch afore-
said and the other the Potomac and meet
ing each other in point.
Thus the survey of the District of Column
bia was begun in Virginia and the first
corner stone planted there<
The very selection of the present site of
the capital of the United States was due
primarily to that great Virginian whose
name 1t bears-Washington He was aided
IN his efforts by the great Virginians-
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison They
We're reinforced by other Virginians and
Marylanders. OF the three commissioners
appointed by President Washington to sur
Vey the District of Columbia one was a |
Nrglnlan,f David Stewart, and two were
observation-disclosures Johnson and Daniel |
Carroll.
The first colonial capital which George
washington visted-where he conferred
with Dinwiddie and sat in the house of
burgesses-Was Williamsburg which be-
came Firginia's seat of government when
jamestown was burned. 1t is a romantic
chain of circumstances that connects the |
District of Columbia with jamestown
through Mount Vernon and WILLIAMSBURG.
Naturally Washington, capital of the
United States, should be represented at the
tercentenary of the first permanent English |
colony within the boundaries of the United |
States