Until 1779 the Town of Alexandria had had no formal government, being
managed by a Board of Trustees whose interest was primarily in the sale
of land. In that year, however, the Town was incorporated by the
General Assembly with provision for a Mayor, Council, and other
officials. The charter[36] made no mention of boundaries except to give
the town authorities jurisdiction over the territory within a half mile
of the town limits. Another Act[37] adopted at the same session stated
that lots had been laid off by John Alexander adjacent to the town in
1774 and sold with the stipulation that they be built on within two
years. Because of the difficulty of obtaining building materials due to
wartime conditions not all the purchasers had been able to meet this
requirement. The Act extended the period within which building on these
lots was required to two years
"after the end of the present war ... and the same are hereby
annexed to and made part of the said town of Alexandria."
[36] Hening, Vol. x, p. 172. "An Act for incorporating the town
of Alexandria in the County of Fairfax."
[37] Hening, Vol. x, p. 192. Acts of Assembly, 1779, Chapter
XXXI: "An Act to confirm certain sales and leases by the
trustees of the town of Alexandria and to enlarge said
town...."
The width and direction of the streets to be laid off in the area
surrounding the Town was regulated by an Act of 1785,[38] but this did
not extend the actual town limits. The area affected was described as:
"Beginning at Great Hunting Creek and running parallel with Fairfax
street to four mile run or creek so as to intersect King street
when extended one mile west of the courthouse, thence eastwardly
down the said creek or run to its confluence with the Potomac
river, thence southwardly down the said river to the mouth of Great
Hunting Creek...."
[38] Acts of Assembly, October 1785, Chapter XCI. Hening, Vol.
xii, p. 205.
In the next year, however, the Legislature provided
"That the limits of the town of Alexandria shall extend to and
include as well the lots formerly composing the said town, as those
adjoining thereto which have been and are improved."[39]
[39] Acts of Assembly, October 1786, Chapter LXXIII. Hening,
Vol. xii, p. 362.
The town was still growing, and ten years later the General Assembly
again extended its legal limits.
"Whereas several additions of lots contiguous to the town of
Alexandria have been laid off by the proprietors of the land in
lots of half an acre each extending to the north that range of lots
upon the north side of a street called Montgomery; upon the south,
to the line of the District of Columbia [this line had been
surveyed but Alexandria had not yet been incorporated in the
District] upon the west, to a range of lots upon the west side of
West street, and upon the east to the river Patowmac; that many of
the lots in those additions have already been built upon, and many
more will so be improved; and whereas it has been represented to
the General Assembly that the inhabitants residing on said lots are
not subject to the regulations made and established for the orderly
government of the town and for the preservation of the health of
the inhabitants, by the prevention and removal of nuisances, upon
which their property and well being does very much depend:
"1. _Be it Therefore Enacted_: That each and every lot or part
of a lot within the aforesaid limits, on which at this time is
built a dwelling house of at least 16 feet square, or equal thereto
in size, with a brick or stone chimney and that each and every lot
within said limits which shall hereafter be so built upon, shall be
incorporated with the said town of Alexandria and considered as
part thereof."[40]
[40] Acts of Assembly, November 1796, Chapter 32. Shepherd,
Vol. ii, p. 41.
The following year this Act was amended[41] to include unimproved lots
since their development was being hindered by the exclusion. These were
the boundaries of the Town when it became part of the District of
Columbia. They remained unchanged for nearly half a century thereafter.
The charter for the town adopted by the Congress on February 25,
1804,[42] specified that the limits should be those prescribed by the
Acts of Virginia. The jurisdiction of the town officials, however, was
extended to the
"house lately built in the vicinity of the town for the accommodation
of the poor and others"
and over the ten acres of ground surrounding the poor house. This is at
what is now Monroe Street and Jefferson Davis Highway. Although the
Charter was amended several times while Alexandria was in the District,
no changes were made in the Town boundaries.
[41] Acts of Assembly, December 1797, Chapter 60. Shepherd,
Vol. ii, p. 122.
[42] U.S. _Stat. at Large_, Vol. 2, p. 255.
After the retrocession of "the county and town of Alexandria" (v.s., p.
13) not only were the boundaries changed, but the Town was chartered as
a City. Section 22 of the new charter[43] provided:
"The line of the City of Alexandria shall be extended on the north
and west as follows: Beginning in the Potomac River at a point
distant northerly in the direction of Fairfax Street four hundred
nineteen feet and two inches from the north line of the present
corporate limits of the town of Alexandria in said river, and
running thence westerly, parallel with said north line, to a point
at which it would intersect the present western line if extended
north four hundred nineteen feet and ten inches; thence
southwesterly with the present western line but the said city
council shall have authority to make such police and sanitary
regulations of the territory reaching ten feet west of the western
bank of Hooff's or Mushpot Run; then parallel to and at that
distance from said run to the line dividing Alexandria from Fairfax
county; then southeasterly with said dividing line to the present
southwest corner of the said town of Alexandria."
[43] Acts of Assembly, 1852, Chapter 358, p. 241.
The next year the Charter was amended,[44] again altering the
boundaries:
"Beginning in the Potomac river at a point distant northwardly in
the direction of Fairfax street four hundred and nineteen feet and
two inches from the present north line of the corporate limits of
the town in said river, and running westerly parallel to said north
line to intersect the west line of said limits produced northwardly
four hundred and nineteen feet and two inches; thence southwardly
with said west line produced to the northwest corner of the said
limits; thence eastwardly with the said north line into the river;
then northwardly to the beginning: Beginning again at the
intersection of the northwestern line of said limits with the north
line of Cameron street; then southwardly with said western line, to
the county line; then northwardly with the county line to the point
where it intersects the brick wall on the south side of the Little
River Turnpike road; then northwardly by a straight line to the
east corner of John Hooff's lot on the south side of King street
extended; then crossing King street extended to the west corner of
the lot of the late Col. Francis Peyton; then with the west line of
said lot and the course thereof to the north line of Cameron street
extended; then by a straight line to the beginning."
[44] Acts of Assembly, 1853, Chapter 484. Adopted February 18,
1853.
The next addition came in 1858[45] when the boundaries were described
as:
"Beginning in the Potomac River, at a point distant northerly, in
the direction of Fairfax Street five hundred and ninety five feet
and nine inches from the north line of Montgomery street, as now
established in said city, and extended into said river; and running
thence westerly and parallel with said north line to a point at
which this course will intersect a line one hundred twenty three
feet and five inches west of and running parallel to the western
line of West street as now established, when extended; thence
southerly parallel with West street, to the north line of Cameron
street as now established; thence westerly in the direction of the
north line of Cameron street extended, to a point in a line with
the west line of the lot of the late Francis Peyton, on which he
resided; thence southerly, parallel with West street, to the south
line of King street, extended; thence in a straight line to a point
in the line dividing the county of Fairfax and Alexandria from each
other, ten feet west of Hoof's Run; thence southerly, parallel to,
and distant 10 feet from Hoof's Run to the middle of Hunting Creek
thence with the middle of Hunting Creek into the Potomac River;
then up the said river to the beginning."
[45] Acts of Assembly, 1858, Chapter 270. Enacted April 2,
1858.
This line remained in effect until January 27, 1865, when an amendment
to the charter[46] withdrew from the jurisdiction of the city all the
territory in Fairfax county (bounded by the old District line, Hooff's
Run and Hunting Creek) which had been added to the town by the charter
of 1858. The next year, on January 25, 1866, the General Assembly
rescinded this action and restored the boundaries of 1858.[47] A further
change occurred in this area on February 20, 1871, when the last part
of the description was changed to read:
"... to a point in the line dividing the county of Fairfax and
Alexandria from each other, ten feet west of Hooff's Run; thence
southerly with the said line into the Potomac River; thence up said
river to the beginning."[48]
[46] Acts of Assembly 1865/66, Chapter IX.
[47] Acts of Assembly 1866/67, Chapter 152.
[48] Acts of Assembly 1871, Chapter 73. The frequent and rapid
changes in this boundary appear to have been related to the
complexion of the electorate in the affected area and the
varying political sentiments of the immediate post Civil War
and Reconstruction periods.
A major change occurred on May 1, 1870, when the City of Alexandria was
excluded from the County. This came about through the implementation of
an Act of the Assembly[49] following the adoption of a new Virginia
Constitution in 1869. In delineating the magisterial districts into
which counties were to be divided it was provided that "no part of any
town or city having a separate organization, or a population of five
thousand or more inhabitants, shall be embraced." Alexandria was such a
city and thereafter was independent of as well as outside of the
County.
[49] Acts of Assembly, 1869-70, Chapter 39.
[Illustration: MAP IV
Areas Annexed by the City of Alexandria in 1915 and 1929
Drafted by W. B. Allison and B. Sims]
There were no further legislative changes in the boundaries of the City
of Alexandria after 1871. In 1915, however, the Supreme Court of
Appeals of Virginia, reversed a decision of the Circuit Court of
Alexandria County given on January 13, 1913. The City Council of
Alexandria had sought to annex adjoining territory from both Fairfax
and Alexandria counties and had been opposed by the authorities of
those counties who had been upheld by the Circuit Court. The Order of
the Supreme Court of Appeals[50] transferred 866 acres from Arlington
and 450 acres from Fairfax to Alexandria.
[50] Alexandria County, _Deed Book 146_, p. 387. See Appendix.
Cf. also, C. B. Rose, Jr., "Annexation of a Portion of
Arlington County by the City of Alexandria in 1915," _The
Arlington Historical Magazine_, pp. 22-36, Vol. 2, No. 4
(1964). For a discussion of the judicial process of annexation,
cf. Bain, _Annexation in Virginia_.
This annexation took effect on April 1, 1915. Once more thereafter
Arlington County--as it became known after 1920[51]--was to lose
territory to the City of Alexandria. This was in 1929 when a decision
of the Supreme Court of Appeals[52] rendered May 4, 1929, found in favor
of the City of Alexandria which had begun annexation proceedings in
December 1927.
[51] Acts of Assembly, 1920, Chapter 241.
[52] Arlington County, _Common Law Order Book 12_, p. 293.
Also, _Deed Book 306_, p. 300.
The Court held that "it is necessary and expedient that the corporate
limits of the City of Alexandria should be extended" and that "the
territory to be annexed from Arlington County is a reasonably compact
body of land and contains no land which is not adapted to city
improvement, and the Court being also of the opinion that no land is
included which the City will not need in the reasonably near future for
development ..."
The Court ordered the annexation[53] to take effect on December 31,
1929. The line thus established remained in effect until January 1,
1966.
[53] See Appendix.
This was the last annexation of territory from Arlington County. A
special provision of the Act[54] establishing the County Manager plan
of government, adopted by Arlington in 1930, effective January 1, 1932,
prevents the annexation of any _part_ of the County (but permits
annexation of the _entire_ County after referendum). In 1938, as a
further precaution, the legislative delegation representing Arlington
County succeeded in having the General Assembly enact a law[55] which
prohibits the annexation of territory from any county which would
result in reducing the area of that county to less than 60 square miles
of highland. Since Arlington has less than 26 square miles, this Act
effectively checks any further such encroachments upon its territory.
[54] Acts of Assembly, 1930, Chapter 167; Cf. also, _Code of
Virginia, 1950_, Title 15.1, Sec. 692.
[55] Acts of Assembly, 1938, Chapter 22; Cf. also, _Code of
Virginia, 1950_, Title 15.1, Sec. 1056.
Development on both sides of the 1929 boundary line, construction of
streets and notably of the Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway--and
especially changes in the channel of Four Mile Run--eventually brought
dissatisfaction with that line. In 1962, the Arlington and Alexandria
legislative delegations secured enactment by the General Assembly of an
Act[56] permitting an adjustment in the boundary to be concluded by
mutual agreement between the governing bodies of the County and the
City, the agreement to be recorded in the Clerk's Office of both
jurisdictions.
[56] Acts of Assembly, 1962, Chapter 314.
Negotiations began after the area affected had been surveyed and the
private property which might be the subject of exchange had been
appraised. Impetus was given by the need of Arlington for land in
connection with enlargement of the County sewage treatment facilities;
this land, although on the North side of Four Mile Run fell in
Alexandria. Finally, the Arlington County Board gave approval in
principle to a draft proposal on April 10, 1965,[57] and on April 13,
1965, the Alexandria City Council followed suit. A public hearing was
held on May 5, 1965, but final action was deferred pending refinement
of the proposal. In December 1965, the final agreement was recorded[58]
and the transfer of certain publicly owned property approved by the
Circuit Court. The net gain to Arlington's area was 167 acres.
[57] Arlington County Board Minute Book XXI, p. 54.
[58] Alexandria _Deed Book_, 641, p. 188 (December 21, 1965);
Arlington _Deed Book_, 1609, p. 453 (December 23, 1965);
Arlington _Common Law Order Book_ 85, p. 197. For the
description of the new boundary, see Appendix.
This procedure for rectifying boundaries between a County and a City is
highly unusual in the Virginia experience.
_Arlington's Boundary with the District of Columbia_
No definite effort was made at the time of the recession of Alexandria
County to Virginia to draw a boundary line between the County and the
remaining portion of the District of Columbia. As noted above, the
various acts bringing about the recession referred only to "the
territory heretofore ceded by the Commonwealth of Virginia." The actual
boundary was of small moment at the time.
Toward the end of the 19th Century, however, the United States
Government acquired lands on the Virginia shore of the Potomac largely
through the purchase of the Arlington estate. As the 20th Century
progressed, roads (notably the Mount Vernon Boulevard and later the
George Washington Memorial Parkway) were constructed, bridges and
bridge approaches built and, eventually, the Federal Government
undertook to construct the National Airport at Gravelly Point below
Alexander's Island. A suit[59] over government activity in making a land
fill raised questions as to the exact location of the boundary--and
indeed as to whether Alexander's Island really was an island or was a
peninsula. This case, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court on May 4,
1931, set the boundary line between the District of Columbia and
Virginia at the high water mark of the Potomac on the Virginia shore as
it existed in 1791.
[59] _Washington Airport_ vs. _Smoot Sand and Gravel Corp_.,
283 U.S. 348. Cf. also, _Marine Railroad and Coal Co_. v.
_U.S._, 257 U.S. 47.
But where had that high water mark been? There had been no survey at
the time; the shore line had never been marked; and even had it been,
the passage of time had made many changes in the river front.[60] A
Commission was established[61] to deal with this question. The
instructions to this Commission were to take into consideration the
decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States, the findings and
report of the Maryland-Virginia Commission of 1877[62] and the
Maryland-Virginia compact of 1785.[63]
[60] This indefinite boundary line "lies in many places some
distance from the Potomac River." _Report No. 895_, H.R., 78th
Congress, 1st Session.
[61] 48 U.S. Stat. 453; Virginia Acts of Assembly, 1932, p.
485.
[62] _Code of Virginia, 1950_, Title 7.1, Sec. 7. This
Commission dealt only with the boundary below Jones Point but
chose _low water mark_ as the line. The pertinent words of
the agreement (ratified by Virginia in 1878) are: "The low
water mark on the Potomac to which Virginia has a right in the
soil, is to be measured ... from low-water mark at one headland
to low water at another, without following indentations, bays,
creeks, inlets, or affluent rivers. Virginia is entitled not
only to full dominion over the soil to low water mark on the
south shore of the Potomac, but has a right to such use of the
river...." Interpretation of this agreement took many years and
it was 1930 before the line actually was surveyed and
monumented.
[63] _Code of Virginia, 1950_, Title 7.1, Sec. 7. Cf. also
page 9 above.
The Commission accumulated a large volume of testimony and exhibits and
completed its report[64] in 1935. It found that the "fair and proper
boundary is the low water mark on the Virginia shore running from
headland to headland across creeks and inlets." It pointed out that
inasmuch as the mark of 1791 could not be determined the low water mark
should be accepted as of this day. It suggested that an exception be
made at Roaches Run where the line should run 150 feet west of and
parallel to the west line of the Mount Vernon Boulevard.
[64] Report of District of Columbia--Virginia Boundary
Commission, 74th Congress, 2nd Session, _House Document_ 374.
Several bills[65] were introduced into Congress to give effect to the
decision of the Commission but none was enacted at this time. The
completion of the Airport and the Pentagon Building gave urgency to the
problem: conflicts of jurisdiction hampered law enforcement and
complicated the question of tax collection. Moreover, Virginia was
anxious to insure that the liquor control laws of the State and not
those of the District of Columbia should be in effect at the National
Airport. In 1942, the General Assembly had adopted an Act[66] covering
the boundary question, on the assumption that the bill then pending in
Congress would be passed. Disagreement over the details of the
jurisdiction to be ceded and accepted by Virginia and the United States
Government prevented passage of a Federal Act until 1945 when Public
Law 208 was enacted by the 79th Congress. This was followed by an
Act[67] of the Virginia General Assembly repealing the 1942 Act and
ratifying the 1945 Federal Act.
[65] 76th Congress, 3rd Session, H.R. 9976; S. 4114. 77th
Congress, 1st Session, H.R. 1045; H.R. 5073. 78th Congress, 1st
Session, S. 19; H.R. 746; H.R. 3664. The Arlington County Board
endorsed H.R. 9976; cf. Minute Book V, p. 423 and VII, p. 500.
[66] Acts of Assembly, 1942, Chapter 267.
[67] Acts of Assembly, 1946, Chapter 26. _Code of Virginia,
1950_, Title 7.1, Sec. 10.
This law is in effect today. It provides that the boundary line
"shall begin at a point where the northwest boundary of the
District of Columbia intercepts the high-water mark of the Virginia
shore of the Potomac River and following the present mean
high-water mark; thence in a southeasterly direction along the
Virginia shore of the Potomac River to Little River, along the
Virginia shore of Little River to Boundary Channel, along the
Virginia side of Boundary Channel to the main body of the Potomac
River, along the Virginia side of the Potomac River across the
mouths of all tributaries affected by the tides of the river to
Second Street, Alexandria, Virginia, from Second Street to the
present established pierhead line, and following said pierhead line
to its connection with the District of Columbia-Maryland boundary
line; that whenever said mean high-watermark on the Virginia shore
is altered by artificial fill and excavations made by the United
States, or by alluvion or erosion, then the boundary shall follow
the new mean high-water mark on the Virginia shore as altered, or
whenever the location of the pierhead line along the Alexandria
water front is altered, then the boundary shall follow the new
location of the pierhead line."
The Act also provided that all the land on the Virginia side of the
Potomac lying between the boundary line as now adopted and the mean
high water mark as it existed on January 24, 1791 (wherever that was!)
should be ceded to the State of Virginia. The United States, however,
reserved concurrent jurisdiction over this area.
Here the matter rests very uneasily today. The exact line was surveyed,
monumented, and mapped by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey over the
years 1946-1947.[68] However, the working agreements reached by the law
enforcement officials of the various jurisdictions concerned have not
always proven satisfactory. The long history of the location of the
Potomac River boundary of Arlington County cannot yet be said to have
reached its end.
[68] Unpublished Report dated March 27, 1947, from Lt. Comdr.
Roswell C. Bolstad, Chief of Party, on Project G-815, Coast and
Geodetic Survey, Department of Commerce.
_Postscript--Towns in Arlington County_
Of the three towns which have lain within Arlington County, the only
one whose limits have been of importance to the territorial extent of
the County is Alexandria. Nonetheless, to complete the record, some
mention should be made of the Town of Potomac and the Town of Falls
Church, the first of which lay wholly within Arlington, and the second,
partly so.
Falls Church is the older town. It was chartered by the General
Assembly on March 30, 1875.[69] The charter set forth the boundaries as:
"Beginning at the corner of Alexandria and Fairfax Counties on J.
C. DePutron's farm; thence to the corner of W. H. Ellison and Koon
[sic] on D. H. Barrett's line; thence to the corner of Sewell and
Hollidge, on the new cut road; thence to the corner of J. E. Birch
and H. J. England, on the Falls Church and Fairfax Courthouse road;
thence to a stone in the road being a corner of B. F. Shreve,
Newton, and others; thence to the crossing of the Alexandria and
Georgetown roads at Taylor's corners; thence along the line of said
Georgetown road to the corner of Samuel Shreve and John Febrey;
thence to a pin oak tree near Dr. L. E. Gott's spring; thence to
the northeast corner of John Brown's barn; thence to the crossing
of Isaac Crossmun's and Bowen's line on the Chain Bridge Road;
thence to the place of beginning."
[69] Acts of Assembly 1874/75, Chapter 316.
[Illustration: MAP V
The Towns of Falls Church and Potomac in Arlington County
Drafted by W. B. Allison and B. Sims]
After Arlington adopted the County Manager form of government, the
residents of so much of the Town of Falls Church as lay within
Arlington County (Map V) sought to have the charter amended to reduce
the limits of the Town to that portion which lay in Fairfax. An action
was brought on July 7, 1932, and the Circuit Court granted the petition
on January 17, 1935.[70] This decision was appealed, however, and it was
not until the next year (April 30, 1936) that the order went into
effect,[71] after the lower court had been upheld by the Virginia
Supreme Court of Appeals.
[70] Arlington County, _Common Law Order Book 16_, p. 235 and
p. 309.
[71] Arlington County, _Common Law Order Book 17_, p. 130 and
p. 138.
The area affected by the order is described as:
"Beginning at a large planted stone on the estate of the late J. C.
DePutron, at the original western corner of the District of
Columbia, which is also at the corner of Fairfax and Arlington
counties, and at the corner of the Town of Falls Church; thence
with the boundary of said Town S. 83 deg. 15' E. 2,404 feet more or
less, to a planted stone in the center of Little Falls Street also
called the Chain Bridge Road, at a point at which said street is
intersected by the boundary of the land formerly known as the Bowen
tract; thence with the boundary of said Town S. 49 deg. 15' E. 3,482
feet, more or less, to a planted granite stone at a point which
formerly marked the northeast corner of John Brown's barn; thence
with the boundary of said Town S. 28 deg. 45' E. 2,410 feet, more or
less, to a point at which there formerly stood a large pin oak on
the Gott tract; thence with the boundary of the said Town S. 4 deg. 15'
W. to the boundary between Fairfax and Arlington counties; thence
with the said boundary in a northwesterly direction to the place of
beginning."
The Town of Potomac was chartered by the General Assembly in 1908.[72]
Its boundaries (Map V) were described as:
"Beginning at the north intersection of Bellefont Avenue in the
subdivision of 'Del Ray' with the Washington and Alexandria
Turnpike, thence northerly along the west line of the Turnpike to
the old Georgetown Road, the northern boundary of the subdivision
of St. Elmo; thence westerly along the south side of the Georgetown
Road to the dividing line of Susan P. A. Calvert and Charles E.
Wood; thence with the line of Calvert and Wood to the west line of
the Washington, Alexandria and Mt. Vernon R.R. Co., to its
intersection with Lloyd's Lane and Bellefont Avenue to the
beginning."
[72] Acts of Assembly 1908, Chapter 273.
All this area was included in the annexation to Alexandria which was
effected in 1929 (cf. p. 23).
One proposed town deserves mention. In 1920 a group of citizens
petitioned the Circuit Court for a town charter for Clarendon. The
Court denied the petition. Upon appeal, the Supreme Court of Appeals of
Virginia upheld the lower court, declaring that all of Arlington County
was a "continuous, contiguous, and homogeneous community" and as such
should not be subjected to subdivision for the purpose of incorporating
a town.[73] Since Arlington is even more a "continuous, contiguous, and
homogeneous" community than it was in 1922 there is no prospect that
ever again will there be a town within the bounds of the County.
[73] _Bennett_ v. _Garrett_, 112 S.E. 772, decided June 15,
1922.
APPENDIX
_Annexation of 1915_
Text of the order of the Supreme Court of Appeals setting the area to
be annexed by Alexandria as of April 1, 1915:
"1st. That the following territory in Fairfax County be, and the
same is hereby annexed to the City of Alexandria, to
wit:--Beginning at a point in mid-channel of Hunting Creek
southward of Alexandria Water Company's pumping station with the
east side of a lane, called Robert's Lane; running thence
northwardly with the east line of said Lane, extended, and with the
east line of said Lane to the south side of the Little River
Turnpike; thence across the Little River Turnpike in the same
direction to the extreme west corner of Shooter's Hill section of
George Washington Park sub-division; thence with the west boundary
of said Shooter's Hill section to the corner of said Shooter's Hill
section and Section No. 2 of said sub-division; thence with the
west boundary of said Section No. 2 of said sub-division to a point
on the south side of Janney's Road fifty (50) feet west from the
intersection of the south side of Janney's Road and the west side
of the Leesburg Turnpike; thence continuing to about 25 degrees
east to the old District of Columbia line, being the dividing line
between said Fairfax County and Alexandria County; and thence
southwestwardly with the said old District line to Jones Point on
the Potomac River; thence southwardly down the said River to the
mid-channel of Hunting Creek: thence with the meanderings of the
mid-channel of Hunting Creek up stream, to the point of
beginning.... 2nd. That the following described territory in
Alexandria County be, and the same is, hereby annexed to the City
of Alexandria: Beginning at the northwest corner of the present
city boundary, and extended said line westwardly, in the same
course until it intersects with the north side of the Braddock
Road; thence southwardly, to the Old District line at the northwest
corner of the land annexed from Fairfax County; thence with the
said old District line southeastwardly to the southwest corner of
the present city boundary about twenty feet west of Hooff's Run;
thence following the western boundary line of the present city to
the northwest corner of the present boundary line of the city and
the point of beginning.... And it is further ordered that the
boundary lines of the City of Alexandria after annexation shall be
as follows: Beginning in the Potomac River at the northeast corner
of the present boundary of the City of Alexandria and following the
present north boundary line of the City of Alexandria to the
northwest corner of the City, thence prolonging said line in the
same direction until it intersects with the north side of the
Braddock Road; then southwardly to a point on the south side of
Janney's Lane fifty (50) feet from the west side of Leesburg
Turnpike; thence southwardly along the west boundary line of George
Washington Park subdivision to the Alexandria Water Company
property and reservoir; thence southwardly with the west line of
Alexandria Water Company's property to the north side of the Little
River Turnpike; thence across the Little River Turnpike and with
the east side of Robert's Lane and continuing with the east side of
Robert's Lane extended to the mid-channel of Hunting Creek; thence
downstream with the meandering of the mid-channel of Hunting Creek
to the Potomac River, thence up the Potomac River to Jones Point
and thence with the west side of the Potomac River to the point of
beginning, the northeast corner of the present boundary of the City
of Alexandria."
_Annexation of 1929_
Text of the order of the Supreme Court of Appeals setting the area to
be annexed by Alexandria as of December 31, 1929:
"Beginning at the intersection of the north corporate limits of
Alexandria Virginia with the west shore of the Potomac River,
thence extending N. 80 deg. 39' W. along said north boundary line to
the northwest corner of the corporate limits as the same was
established prior to the year 1915; thence with the line as
established March 22, 1915, and continuing said north corporate
line N. 80 deg. 39' W., 4,353.86 feet to a set stone at the corner on
the north side of the Braddock Road within the subdivision of
Northwest Alexandria; thence S. 30 deg. 11' W., 1,892.20 feet to the
intersection with the line separating Fairfax and Arlington
Counties; thence with the line of said two counties N. 45 deg. 02' 50"
W., 6,434.88 feet to a point in the center line of the Braddock
Road (having passed over an original milestone in said county line
at 3,244.70 feet); thence following along the center line of said
Braddock Road, S. 84 deg. 22' 30" E., 264.20 feet to a point where said
Braddock Road is intersected by the southwardly projection of the
Seminary Road: thence departing from said Braddock Road and
following along the center line of said Seminary Road the following
courses: N. 5 deg. 02' 30" E. 811.50 feet, N. 22 deg. 46' 30" E. 611.05
feet, N. 1 deg. 23' W., 1,551.40 feet, N. 20 deg. 03' E. 319.13 feet, N.
19 deg. 48' E. 385.49 feet, N. 37 deg. 45' W. 183.32 feet, N. 2 deg. 57' E.
140.89 feet, N. 28 deg. 00' E. 165.41 feet, N. 5 deg. 59' E., 145.83 feet
N. 13 deg. 47' W. 436.37 feet, N. 9 deg. 02' W. 1,447.08 feet, and N. 2 deg.
10' 30" E. 274.90 feet to the point where said center line of said
Seminary Road intersects the south right-of-way line of the
Washington and Old Dominion Railway; thence with said south
right-of-way line S. 77 deg. 39' 30" E., 1885.80 more or less, to the
center line of the channel of Four Mile Run; thence down the
mid-channel line of said Four Mile Run following the meanderings
thereof as the same passes under the Washington Virginia Railway
(now the Mount Vernon, Alexandria and Washington Railway) the
Washington and Alexandria Road, and extending to the intersection
of the said Run with the Potomac River; thence following along the
west shore line of said Potomac River southwardly to the point of
beginning."
_Boundary Adjustment 1966_
Text of the description of the new Arlington-Alexandria boundary in
effect on January 1, 1966, by mutual agreement:
"A line beginning at a point on the common boundary between Fairfax
County and the City of Alexandria, Virginia, said point being in
the existing right of way of Route #7 and is further defined as
point #134 having Virginia State Coordinates of N. 431,495.42 and
E. 2,395,581.64 as shown on a map recorded with a deed of
annexation in Deed Book 332, page 559, of the land records of the
City of Alexandria, Virginia; thence running along said common
boundary N. 55 deg. 50' 10" E., 69.09 feet to the boundary corner #135
whose coordinates are N. 431,534.22 and E. 2,395,638.81, said point
#135 also being shown on the aforementioned boundary map; thence
still running with the last mentioned course and across Route #7
1.29 feet (70.38 feet in all) to a point having coordinates N.
431,534.94 and E. 2,395,639.88; thence running N. 09 deg. 13' 10" E.
0.69 feet to a point lying on the northerly side of Route #7, 40
feet from same and having coordinates N. 431,535.62 and E.
2,395,639.99; thence running along the northerly side of Route #7
S. 66 deg. 38' 20" E., 96.13 feet to a point of curvature whose
coordinates are N. 431,497.50 and E. 2,395,728.24 thence continuing
with said northerly side of Route #7 and its extension and
following the arc of a curve to the right whose radius is 2331.83
feet and whose chord and chord bearing are 810.17 feet and S. 56 deg.
38' 05" E. respectively, for an arc distance of 814.30 feet to a
point on the extension of the northerly side of 25th Street, and
whose coordinates are N. 431,051.93 and E. 2,396,404.88; thence
running along said extension and thence with the northerly side of
said street N. 50 deg. 54' 13" E., 39.53 feet to a point of curvature
whose coordinates are N. 431,076.86 and E. 2,396,435.56; thence
following the arc of a curve to the right whose radius is 115.60
feet and whose chord and chord bearing are 42.17 feet and N. 61 deg.
24' 48" E. respectively, for an arc distance of 42.41 feet to a
point of tangency whose coordinates are N. 431,097.04 and E.
2,396,472.59; thence continuing along 25th Street N. 71 deg. 55' 23" E.
220.00 feet to a point whose coordinates are N. 431,165.30 and E.
2,396,681.73; thence turning and running across 25th Street and
thence along the common boundary between lots #503 and #5 of