Evening star., 1925-12-01


historic spots between, make impera-
| side Of the Masonic Temple Is the
| Kings highway. Just beyond the tenn
| pie il turns across what is known now,
| and was known then. as Cameron
| Farm. which was owned and occupied
| by Charles Broadwater. the colleague
| of Washington in the House Of Bur
| Cesses.
Alexandria has a great many
places OF interest; for example.
| Christ Church. in which George
Washington owned A pew and which
! he attended for years; the home OF
! Gen. Light Horse Harry Lee; the
| home of Robert f. Lee in his early
| life. and of his mother. and in which
| he lived at the time OF her death
and from which Robert F.. Lee was
sent 10 West Point.
| Leaving Alexandra, the traveller
passes by the Masonic Temple into
I the Cameron Run Valley, in which
are numerous historic places that
/ are plainly visible from the route
which follows the Kings highway.
| One Of them IS Clarens. the home of
! James Murray Mason OF the Mason
! Slidell affair
Spots Are Being Marked.
The Daughters of the American
Revolution are suitably marking
these places as fast as they can.
( On the south side of the valley is
/ the birthplace OF Gen. FitZhugh Lee;
/ the home of Gen. John Mason the
son of George Mason Of Gunsron
! Hall, and also. by the side OF the
road in a house called Cameron,
lived and died Gen. Samuel Cooper
adiutant general of the United
States Army before the war be
tween the States. and adjutant gen
/ eral Of the Confederate Army during
/ that war
| Crossing over Cameron Valley and
pursuing the old Kings highway.
| the tourist will pass close by Mount
Eagle, the home of Bryan, the eighth
, Lord FairfaX-the last house Wis
tied by Washington before he died;
and Bryan Fairfax was the last visit
or TO Mount Vernon before the gen
erals death
/ be able 10 locate and see part of
the home of Gen. Thompson Mason
i of Revolutionary fame. son of Nir
giuia $ great statesman, George Ma
son, author of her Bill OF Rights
and first constitution.
| Going on, one comes to Gum
I Springs. right by which lived DR..
. Humphrey Peak. WashinSton's near
( est neighbor. The old house has
/ gone. but il can be easily located.
! Bearing to the left at Gum Springs.
/ the tourist can go straight ahead
and arrive at what is known rs the
postern gates, OF the western gates,
OF Mount Vernon. This was the ia
! vorite and historic road travelled by
/ Washington in going to his home
/ during his lifetime. There We're two
| roads out OF Mount Vernon. one
was ii sort of byway. and the chief
! Of the Bureau of Public Roads of
| the Department of Agriculture has
marked one OF them as a proper
! road or circle by which to get out
| from there today. 1t was at the
! postern gates, the west entrance TO
/ Mount Vernon. that the military and
| civic delegations met Washington
and escorted him to Alexandria. and.
after his farewell address on the
steps of the old City Hotel. which Is
sill standing, escorted him TO Ana
! lostan Island where he took the
| ferry across into Georgetown. and
| the Maryland escort took him IN
| charge and escorted him through
| Maryland TO Delaware and so on TO
|
| York.
Old Marker Stands.
The postern gates, or rather the
| reproductions of them, are still there,
and from this particular point there
is vista through to the west front
Of Mount Vernon. This has been
opened up and restored AS nearly as
| possible to the exact condition in
| which it was in the days when Gen.
| Washington lived there. The vista
, was 200 feet wide, and on either side
! Of 1t was all open woodland. kept clean
of underbrush by Gen. Washing on,
so that 1t would form bordering
park on either side Of this road.
| There are a number of other impor-
| tart places along the route. all of
which will be in time clearly defined
| by tablets. The old City Hotel in
Alexandria already has been marked
"a tablet has been placed in the wall
of the present City Hotel to mark the
point from which the survey was
made in Alexandria, courthouse
| in which Washington cast his last
vote and nearly all of his votes, and
in which building his will was orig
inally recorded. 1t was from this
point where that tablet is now 10
cated-the old courthouse-tha the
| first survey to locate the District of
| Columbia was started in 1871.
| The first corner stone of the Dis
trict of Columbia was laid with Ma.
sonic and civic ceremonies in 1871
That corner stone is still standing
with the inscription complete. L is
on what is known as Jones Point In
the southeastern section of Alexan
dria, and is easily accessible and Wis
ible from this road. 1t can be local ted
by what is known now as the light
house, which Is erected right by the
side of it. and the southern line Of
the District Of Columbia passes by
the foot Of the hill Of the Masonic
Temple.
This Is the old District line. The
part that was ceded to the Fedora
Government by Virginia In 1890 was
ceded back in 1S46. But these stones
have all been marked now.