The Washington herald., 1907-07-28
All About Historic Alexandria

AS soon as you cross the Potomac River
you arc in the South. says Arthur Wallace
Dunn IN the Woman's National Daily
know that it is a popular fancy thar
Mason and DixOn's lire established &
| boundary between North and South.
know that old Maryland families win as
| sert that they belong 10 the South.
know that Washington and Baltimore
have been considered Southern cities, and
many old residents of these cities assert
| their Southern birthright In spite of al
/ these claims to the contrary. adhere tC
| my declaration that the Potomac River
/ divides the North from the South. espe.
| cially in the East and presume the Ohio
| River is a similar divisional line west OF
/ the Allegheny Mountains. What is Ma
1 son and Dixon's line now? Little moro
than imaginary, belonging to history and
political condition existing ffty OF sixty
years ago. II is obsolete now and mighty
few people can tell where it was located
without searching the reference books
Baltimore and Washington are not south
ern cities They are filed with Northern
| people, and there IS too much Of the
Northern commercialism visible to allow
them to be known as cities Of the South.
Maryland Is Northern.
And the people of Maryland belong 10
the North. During the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries. when the Atlantic
seaboard was being settled from England.
two distinct types came from the mother
country. And as surely as the tide ebbs
and flows, Of those who sailed into the
Chesapeake one type choose the right
and the other the left bank Of the Poto-
mac River. The characteristic difference
IN these two types is yet discernirle.
They differed in the old country and
they differ still. It matters not that
Maryland was a slave State, and that a
large proportion Of her people Joined with
or sympathiZed with the Confederacy:
that they rise with swelling hearts when
they hear Maryland, Ny Maryland" ="
that among them are 10 be found many
characteristics Of the South: for taken as
whole the people Of Maryland are
Northern. At all events as soon as one
crosses the Potomac River from Mary
land into Virginia he can see and feel a
difference. There Is a Southern atmos-
phere and Southern conditions that can
not be mistaken. Alexandria IS not far
from Washington. but it is far enough to
be entirely different
jamestown Not Permanent.
Although the people Of the United States
are this year celebrating the 2OOth ami
versary Of the first English-speaking set
tlement in America at jamestown. be II
remembered that In the mutations OF time
the jamestown settlement was not perma-
nent jamestown was the capital Of Viz
ginia IN the early days. and the scene Of
historical events. Yet the capital was re-
moved, the place was deserted, and feu
into decay. The old jamestown was res
cued from Oblivion and the island upon
which It was situated saved from destruc-
ton by the waves and tides Of the James
River only by the earnest and indefatis-
able work Of women who have interested
themselves in the preservation Of Virginia
antiquities.
But Alexandria, Why. Alexandria was
once the metropolis Of the American hem
isphere, the most important town along
the whole Atlantic seaboard. Capt John
Smith built a fort here. according to the
story of the guides. and from that time
until the present Alexandria has been
something. 1t continued to exist as
town and grew into a city. and is still
growing-slowly, but growing. And to
maintain my first assertion. wish 10
add that Alexandria is a Southern city.
Everything connected with the old place
Is Southern. Even its antiquities are dis
tinctly Southern. / do not know why II
is called Alexandria, but suppose some
royal lady of that time must have been
hOnored by having town in the new
colony named for her.
The Appearance of AIphOnsO.
"Sah mister. doan yer wanter guide?
An kin show yeh de Of church whar
Jawge wash'ntn went, an de OF Car
lyle House. an de oil Marshall House.
whar Col. Ellsworth was shot. an de
ol'est frame house in Alexandry.'"
And that was the way we met Alphonso.
There We're additions 10 his name. but AL
phonso is sufficient for Identification He
was a eolored youth about twelve years
old, who had learned IN a parrot-lke
fashion the main facts and features of
historic interest In Alexandria, and could
reel them off in a high-pitched monotone.
with now and then a slight emphasis on
what he regarded as words of prime i'm
portance. If he was interrupted he was
lost. He would stop long enough to an
swer 4 doan know. and then begin
his story all over again. SO with Al
phonso for our guide we began to explore
These cobblestones on the street were
made by the Hesshuns and captured by
Gin raj Wash'nt'n in 1881" announced Al
phonso. as we proceeded on our way We
were in some doubt. and questioned Al
phonsO. After several interruptions and
repetitions Of the eobblestone story, he
changed it by saying the stones were
made by the Hesshuns in 17S1, and cap
tured by Gin'Tal Washntn."
Old Christ Church.
AN now we come to Of Chris Chu'ch.
built by Jawge Wash'ntn il I779. Yeh
kin go inside an I'll wait 70 yeh at er
do when yeh come out" said Alphonso.
as we came to the one landmark in Alex
andria that is intimately associated with
George Washington. Christ Church, of
which Washington was the first vestry-
man, is still in very good state of
although it has gone
through an era Of restoration, as have
many Of our cherished antiquities. There
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