Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-07-18
THE RAMBLER WRITES OF FIRST FERRY
LINES OPERATED ON WATERS OF POTOMAC
M u sly Records Disclose
Routes of Old Boats
Acts of Virginia Assembly
Establishing Public Fer
ries and Setting Up New
Towns in Neighborhood
of Site of City of Wash
ington.

IL the series of narratives about
| Occoquan creek and the viii
| iarges along its course, the Rambler
came upon various acts of the gen
| eral assembly of Virginia establish
ing public ferries and setting up new
towns in the neighborhood of the
wonderful site which at a consider
ably later date came to be occupied
by the city of Washington.
1t was told in the narrative last
Sunday that one may read in Hen
ings' Statutes of Virginia that in 174o
a public ferry was authorized to
operate between Hunting Creek
warehouse and Fraziers point, and
that in 1745 a public ferry was au-
thorized to operate from the land of
Hugh' West to Frazirs point or Ad-
anS lanoing. There is no difficulty
these place names. First. there IS
hunting Creek warehouse" In 1880
PUBIC warehouse was established
" the west side of the Potomac a
W .nlie or SO above Hunting creek.
tuary of the Potomac along the south
'front.' OF Alexandria. the upper point
u me junction OF the river and the
creek being marked by Jones point
mgntnouse. The starting place Of the
ss CIV OF the ten miles square," or
Tory or Columbia" or the District of
SSoiumo ola, was at Jones' point. The
nrst corner stone Of the District is
, .MS, lnciosed by the stone wall
nlen near the middle of the nine
tha century was built to protect
t@A
stands from encroachme,t sh -. use
river and creek. The stone is IN the
size of the lighthouse. Around
Or IN the neighborhood Of Huntinr
10. warehouse developed the ham,
.Re,1e G lnaven or "Bellehaven," or
Vi e1;andria, as ordered by act OF the
kIsinla assembly in Ii4s. tool ir
iish Town or Relhaven. That estah.
,,snes the relation of Hunting CreeS
"eienouse and Alexandra. a
+ X
nm southern part of Alexand,io
1n; rs. south from King streetNW..
~ oue on the land of Hugh WEST
the xfs Vas related by marriage with
Alexandra tsE .s 1a I'M after which
80. small part of the tract of a sno
aeres granted by Gov. Ber,eIeS 0y ~
to o1' 20 Robert Howsen, a shin c.n ~
- eln. TOT bringing certain numhe-
De- ~ e. 70 Virginia John Alexan-
tract from anf aow seun ty boz bought this
1917. paying for it $500 nomnds IN IN
tooacco. That land then Law III VI
no motnern part of Stanford conrt,s e
men IT came to be the northern nayt
IN ZINC William county, and then,
county: it came to be the norahaan
past or that county. In 1859 Vir1inia
ceoeo q certain part of Fairfax connN
y 10 the federal government for tho
VI permanent seat of gov
erant and in 1871 the Howsen
OF Columbia When the Virginia ces-
SION. or that part Of the Disfrict ~
Columbia lying west and south ~ tha
:rotomac. was retroceded to Virginia
c N .ssS the county Of Alexandria was
recently part of Alexandra conntv
mas been created Arlington conntv
witncut knowing the western Limits
OF the Howsen land. the Rambler
reels quite sure that all of ArIinr-
ION county hes in the grant to How
Hugh West was one Of the COM
missioners and, trustees ..for design
Ing. building, carrying on and main.
tanning the town of Alexandra to
expand and supersede Belhavon."
commission.
ers were Thomas. Lord Fairfax VIII.
liam Fairfax, George Fairfax, Rich.
ard Osborne. Lawrence Washington.
William Ramsey. John Carlysle, John
Pagan. Gerard Alexander and Philip
Alexander. Fraziers Point was identi-
fed in last Sundays "ramble" as
Shepherds. The Baltimore and Ohio
railroad sought connection with the
railroads leading south and west from
Alexandra and built a line from its
main tracks, near Hyattsville and
ending at the Potomac river opposite
the northern part of Alexandria.
There a long wooden trestle and pier
were built and train ferry to Alex
andria established. Without looking
up the records. the Rambler feels
confident that the branch line was
built during the years 1871-73.
Among the ancient or original"
tracts crossed by the railroad were
Scotland, Fife. Chichester, st. Eliza