Evening star., 1944-05-21

not look exactly like 1t did when it was
built by William Ramsay, for at the time
It was erected and for years afterward,
1t stood upon a hill, and at the door,
where is now the second story, opened
only one foot above the level of the sur
rounding surface, and in this condition
1T remained until after the American
Revolution. Then the streets alongside
the house were lowered and its cellar
walls, which were of stone, became the
walls of business place that was opened
about 1870, and from that time on it
continued to be business place almost
continuously until now.
:. William Ramsay, who built the house
30 long known by his name, married Ann
Mccarthy Ball. a cousin of George
washington. When the municipal gov
,ernment of Alexandria was organized on
July 10, 1849, with jurisdiction over 66
shalf-acre lots, William Ramsay was
named as one of the trustees. The other
trustees were the Right Hon. Thomas
Lord Fairfax, the Hon William Fairfax,
esq; George Fairfax, Richard Osborne,
John Pagan, Gerard Alexander and
Hugh West of the county of Fairfax and
Philip Alexander of the county of Stat
ford.
Washington Was House Guest
- During the Revolutionary War, Ann
Mccarthy Ramsay collected in this house
money from her friends and neighbors
of Alexandria for financing the revolu-
tion, and here Washington is said to
have attended dances given by the viva
cious Ramsay girls and to have fire.
quently been house guest.
William Ramsay's son, Col. Dennis
Ramsay, was an active officer in the
Revolutionary Army, and at the funeral
Of Washington was one of the pail
bearers.
In connection with the grading of the
streets which intersect where the Ram
say House stands, as before referred to,
the story is told that while the cutting
down was in progress and the earth was
being carted away and dumped into a
cove Of the river nearby, an incident
occurred which afterward provoked
Washington to laughter whenever it
was mentioned in his presence. To one
OF the pastors of Pohick Church, who
wrote the "Drunkards Looking Glass"
once peddled by the celebrated Parson
Weenls, is given credit for the humorous
tale which follows:
A large number Of young clerks in the
Alexandria business houses went on an
all-night spree while the grading was in
progress, and just for amusement took
the carts and ran them into the river
While 1t was at low tide, realizing that
the high tide, soon to follow, would
hide them from view From the dwell
1ngs, left high on the bank from the
grading, they took the ladder steps from
the doors and threw them into the wells
and, as might be surmised, the next
morning many of the early risers pitched
headlong from their doors.
The wells were SO clogged by the lad
der steps that the ropes broke in the
endeavor to draw water for the break
fast coffee; the cartmen missed their
carts and some believed that spirits had
whisked them away All was bewilder-
ment until the morning wore on and the
tide went down again, revealing the lost
carts and the extent of the frolic. The
Mayor fined each of the participants in
the spree about half of his years salary,
and thereafter, as one of them later
said, sprees ceased in town for two
years.
The Carlyle House
Close by the Ramsay House, on Fair
fax street, is the old Carlyle House, OBJ
scured from the street by the Braddock
House. The former was built by John
Carlyle in 1852. This early settler of
alexandria came to the Colonies as COL
lector of customs under the crown and
settled first at Dumfries, and later mar
rted Sarah Fairfax, daughter of Will
liam Fairfax Of Belair, and was one of
the original trustees named in the char