109-657: Alexandria Library is the public library in Alexandria, Virginia in the United States. John Wise, a local Alexandria businessman and hotel keeper, hosted a meeting in his home in 1789 to discuss the creation of a Society for the Promotion of Useful Knowledge. Members included Rev. James Muir, physician Elisha Cullen Dick , and George Washington's personal attorney Charles Lee . Though the Society did not last for long, on July 24, 1794,
218-644: A 70-acre area in Potomac Yards to include a concert venue, businesses, and a new arena that would have been home to the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards . The proposal failed in March 2024 with the announcement Virginia negotiations were ending and Monumental planning to sign an additional lease with Washington, D.C. after it did not advance in the Virginia General Assembly . According to
327-793: A Black subscription library also in the District), the City of Alexandria had long ago refused similar funds, though Andrew Carnegie had lived and worked in Alexandria during the American Civil War, before making his fortune. As a condition for their critical donation (which supplemented federal funds from the Public Works Administration and labor from the Works Progress Administration), the family of Kate Waller Barrett , insisted
436-625: A conference among representatives from all the states to consider the adoption of definite commercial regulations. This led to the calling of the Annapolis Convention of 1786 , which in turn led to the calling of the Federal Convention of 1787 . In 1814, during the War of 1812 , the British military carried out a successful raid on Alexandria , which surrendered without a fight. In order to avoid
545-603: A free library card. Thus residents of the District of Columbia, the Maryland Counties of Montgomery, and Prince George's, the Virginia cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, and Virginia counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Fauquier, Frederick, Loudoun, and Prince William are all eligible. 38°48′28″N 77°2′49″W / 38.80778°N 77.04694°W / 38.80778; -77.04694 Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria
654-491: A new one. The Belle Pre Bottle Company held a monopoly on a milk bottle that they patented, yet that organization only lasted 10 years. Most businesses were smaller where the business occupied the first floor of a building and the owner and family lived above. Prohibition closed Portner Brewing in 1916. President Woodrow Wilson visited the Virginia Shipbuilding Corporation on May 30, 1918, to drive
763-564: A new school, Samuel W. Tucker Elementary School, to Tucker in honor of his life's work in the service of desegregation and education. In 2014, the city's library began collecting donations for the Samuel W. Tucker Fund, to expand a collection relating to civil rights history. Also in 2000, the Richmond City Council voted to rename a bridge formerly named after Confederate General J. E. B. Stuart after Tucker, despite controversy. In 2001,
872-499: A new trial, where he was convicted again. Tucker also used a statistical argument in helping Martin A. Martin appeal the death sentences of the " Martinsville Seven". However, state and federal judges rejected the argument that since 1908 Virginia had executed 45 black men for raping white women, yet had executed no white man convicted of rape, so several clients were executed. As the Civil Rights Movement developed during
981-564: A ring of forts built by the Union army for the defense of Washington, D.C. , is located inside the boundaries of present-day Alexandria. There were five military prisons in the city, the largest being the Washington Street Military Prison . After the creation by Washington of the state of West Virginia in 1863 and until the close of the war, Alexandria was the seat of the so-called Restored Government of Virginia , also known as
1090-400: A run-in with the law because a white woman accused him and his brothers of refusing to yield his seat in a "whites only" part of the trolley. He was defended by a lawyer named Thomas Watson, who knew Tucker because he routinely ran errands for Watson and organized papers for him. Tucker was admitted to the state bar in 1934, ironically in the same courtroom where a jury had acquitted him of
1199-572: A shopping center parking lot within the city. Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation later arrested Whalen on July 12, 1966, at his home in the city. In 1961 the original Woodrow Wilson Bridge opened. In 1965, the city integrated schools . In 1971, the city consolidated all high school junior and senior students into T. C. Williams High School . Freshman and sophomore students were assigned to attend either Francis C Hammond or George Washington, formerly four-year high schools, as part of
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#17328591800731308-455: A system-wide overhaul of the public school system, beginning with kindergarten classes, in an attempt to racially "balance" student population throughout the city's public schools to better reflect the city's racial makeup. The plan was known as the "K-6, 2, 2, 2 plan". Classes were broken out, beginning with kindergarten through sixth grade; then seventh through eighth; then freshman and sophomore classes; and finally junior and senior classes, with
1417-557: A tombstone with his elder brother George. The Robert H. Robinson Library that opened in 1940 and closed in 1959 became home of the Alexandria Black History Museum . In 1998, Emporia, Virginia, dedicated a monument in Tucker's honor, with an inscription calling him "an effective, unrelenting advocate for freedom, equality and human dignity – principles he loved – things that matter." In 2000, Alexandria, Virginia dedicated
1526-743: A year later in Washington, D.C., before the Senate Judiciary Committee to oppose the nomination to the Supreme Court of Judge Clement Haynesworth , who had often upheld school segregation. In addition to bringing cases (and appearing before the Supreme Court four more times), Tucker was also active in the NAACP leadership, serving as chairman of the legal staff of the Virginia State Conference, as well as representing Virginia, Maryland and
1635-588: Is Rose T. Dawson. Among its more than 150 employees are more than 40 staff with master's degrees in library science. The library offers a wide variety of programs and services, both in the branches and via the Web site. Each branch has computers for access to the Internet, the catalog, downloadable material and databases. Library sponsored programs include: summer reading, One Book/One City, literary discussion groups, author book signings, children story times and other events for
1744-563: Is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia , United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately 7 miles (11 km) south of downtown Washington, D.C. Alexandria is the third-largest principal city of the Washington metropolitan area , which is part of the larger Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area . As of 2022,
1853-572: Is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Alexandria has a humid subtropical climate , abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. At the 2010 census , there were 139,966 people, 68,082 households and 30,978 families residing in the city. The population density was 8,452.0 inhabitants per square mile (3,263.3/km ). There were 68,082 housing units at an average density of 4,233.2 per square mile (1,634.4/km ). The racial/ethnic mix of
1962-605: The Washington Post , the Chicago Defender ran the story on its front page accompanied by a photograph of the arrest, noting that the protest was being viewed as a "test case" in Virginia. Other African-American newspapers covered the legal action, reporting such developments as Tucker's cross-examination of the police, bringing forth an admission that had the men been white they would not have been arrested under similar circumstances. While Tucker succeeded in defending
2071-612: The Alexandria Black History Museum . In 1947, the Library Society was reconstituted and took the earlier historic name Alexandria Library Company. A lecture series was also revived. Speakers included Thomas Jefferson biographer Dumas Malone . Some of the books belonging in the original collection of the Alexandria Library Company can now be found in the Local History/Special Collections Room at
2180-789: The American International Automobile Dealers Association . Alexandria also has a Chamber of Commerce and other business associations including the West End Business Association, the Del Ray Business Association and the Old Town Business Association. Major employment sectors in Alexandria include management consulting , business and finance, office and administrative support, computer and mathematical, sales, and legal. Jobs in Alexandria are highly concentrated around
2289-713: The Creole serving Two-Nineteen Restaurant. In 1973, Nora Lamborne and Beverly Beidler became the first women elected to the city council. In 1974, the Torpedo Factory Art Center opened. In 1983, the King Street–Old Town station , Braddock Road station , and Eisenhower Avenue station opened as the Washington Metro system expanded. In 1991, the Van Dorn Street station opened and Patricia Ticer became
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#17328591800732398-618: The Food and Nutrition Service . The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), the federal school system for military dependents, is headquartered in Alexandria. Alexandria is home to many charities and non-profit organizations including the national headquarters of Catholic Charities , Citizens for the Republic , Global Impact , Good360 , International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children , Islamic Relief USA , United Way , and Volunteers of America . Trade associations located in
2507-572: The French in America. In March 1785, commissioners from Virginia and Maryland met in Alexandria to discuss the commercial relations of the two states, finishing their business at Mount Vernon . The Mount Vernon Conference concluded on March 28 with an agreement for freedom of trade and freedom of navigation of the Potomac River. The Maryland legislature, in ratifying this agreement on November 22, proposed
2616-631: The Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), The Motley Fool , Oblon law firm, Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed), Port City Brewing Company , Purple Strategies , ThinkFun , and VSE . Several federal agencies are based in Alexandria, including the National Credit Union Administration , United States Patent and Trademark Office , National Science Foundation , Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense , and
2725-538: The Maryland side. On this visit, Smith recorded the presence of a settlement called Assaomeck near the south bank of what is now Hunting Creek . On October 21, 1669, a patent granted 6,000 acres (24 km ) to Robert Howsing for transporting 120 people to the Colony of Virginia . That tract later became the City of Alexandria. Virginia's comprehensive Tobacco Inspection Law of 1730 mandated that all tobacco grown in
2834-553: The Supreme Court of the United States , including Green v. County School Board of New Kent County which, according to The Encyclopedia of Civil Rights In America , "did more to advance school integration than any other Supreme Court decision since Brown ." Tucker was born in Alexandria, Virginia , on June 18, 1913. His father, Samuel A. Tucker, a real estate agent and NAACP member, and teacher mother saw to his formal and informal education. Tucker later said: "I got involved in
2943-420: The U.S. Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 15.5 square miles (40.1 km ), of which 15.0 square miles (38.9 km ) is land and 0.42 square miles (1.1 km ), or 2.85%, is water. Alexandria is bounded on the east by the Potomac River (which forms the boundary between the city and Washington, D.C. and Prince George's County, Maryland ), on the north and northwest by Arlington County , and on
3052-578: The U.S. federal government . The city's largest employers include the U.S. Department of Defense and the Institute for Defense Analyses . Alexandria is the highest-income independent city in Virginia. The historic center of Alexandria is known as Old Town Alexandria , or simply "Old Town". With its concentration of boutiques, restaurants, antique shops and theaters, it is a major draw for city residents and visitors. Like Old Town, many Alexandria neighborhoods are compact and walkable. A large portion of adjacent Fairfax County , mostly south but also west of
3161-443: The slave trade , and as talk increased of abolishing slavery in the national capital, there was concern that Alexandria's economy would suffer greatly if this step were taken. After a referendum, voters petitioned Congress and Virginia to return the portion of the District of Columbia south of the Potomac River (Alexandria County) to Virginia. On July 9, 1846, Congress retroceded Alexandria County to Virginia . The City of Alexandria
3270-506: The "Alexandria Government". During the Union occupation, a recurring contention between the Alexandria citizenry and the military occupiers was the Union army's periodic insistence that church services include prayers for the President of the United States. Failure to do so resulted in incidents including the arrest of ministers in their church. In 1861 and 1862, escaped African American slaves poured into Alexandria. Safely behind Union lines,
3379-532: The City agreed to include the public library's operating expenses in its budget. The Alexandria Library Association became the Alexandria Library Society. Due to practices common in Virginia and other Southern states at the time, the public library originally only permitted white residents to use the facility. On August 21, 1939, several young African American men, in a strategy devised by attorney Samuel Wilbert Tucker (who grew up about two blocks from
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3488-415: The City of Alexandria commit to funding the library's operating expenses. Thus monies from Black taxpayers were used to fund the library, although Tucker had previously shown that the library refused cards to Black prospective patrons. On August 21, 1939, five young black men whom Tucker had recruited and instructed – William Evans, Otto L. Tucker, Edward Gaddis, Morris Murray, and Clarence Strange – entered
3597-425: The District of Columbia on the national board of directors. Tucker twice ran for U.S. Congress in the 4th District (17 southern Virginia counties including Greensville) against segregationist Watkins Abbitt , one of U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd 's key allies—in 1964 as an Independent and in 1968 as a Republican. Though Tucker knew he would never win more than 30% of the vote against the powerful incumbent, he believed
3706-558: The James M. Duncan Branch Library and the law library branch located in the historic Alexandria City Hall near the Barrett branch. Patrons check out more than 1.5 million titles annually, including books, CDs, DVDs, magazines, eAudioBooks, and other items. The system owned 503,191 items and had 700,921 library visitors (more than 1.3 million including its web site) in FY 2017. The library's current director
3815-556: The NAACP Legal Defense Fund). Tucker had returned to Alexandria but decided it had too many black lawyers, so he moved his law practice to Emporia, Virginia , in the heart of Southside Virginia . There, Tucker was the only black lawyer. There were neither black judges nor black jurors. The white legal establishment in Greensville County often did not appreciate Tucker's criminal defense tactics, which attacked not only
3924-538: The NAACP sent attorney Robert Ming from Chicago to defend Tucker before the state court in Emporia. The case was repeatedly dismissed without prejudice (allowing prosecutors to re-file), particularly after Commonwealth's attorney Harold Townsend asserted that Tucker had no right to confront or even identify his accusers because this was a bar proceeding. The NAACP rallied to Tucker's defense in fighting what it viewed as an attempt to derail legal desegregation in Virginia. It
4033-452: The Potomac River, and approximately the line which would become Cameron Street. At the opening of Virginia's 1748–49 legislative session, there was a petition submitted in the House of Burgesses on November 1, 1748, that the "inhabitants of Fairfax (Co.) praying that a town may be established at Hunting Creek Warehouse on Potowmack River," since Hugh West was the owner of the warehouse. The petition
4142-706: The Queen Street library that still carries Mrs. Barrett's name. In 1948, Ellen Coolidge Burke became director. Burke brought bookmobile services to Alexandria, one of the first services in Virginia. She oversaw the growth of the library system by the addition of two new branch libraries. In April 1968 the Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch at 4701 Seminary Road was opened, and in December 1969 the James M. Duncan branch at 2501 Commonwealth Avenue. Burke retired in 1969. Today
4251-524: The Smithsonian, Colonel Francis H. Smith of the Virginia Military Institute , and humorist George W. Bagby . The Civil War took its toll on the library collection. Members were able to remove some of the collection prior to the library's occupation by Union troops. The library was used as a hospital and much of the library's collection was lost during this time. After the war, the building
4360-481: The Union army in various support roles. After all slaves in the seceding states were liberated, even more African Americans came to Alexandria. By the fall of 1863, the population of Alexandria had exploded to 18,000—an increase of 10,000 people in 16 months. As of ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment , Alexandria County's black population was more than 8,700, or about half the total number of residents in
4469-548: The Vernon Theatre opened Jim Morrison of The Doors , as well as Cass Elliot and John Phillips of The Mamas & The Papas attended the George Washington High School in the 1950s. In 1955, then- Representative and future President Gerald R. Ford and his family moved to Alexandria from Georgetown . The Fords remained in their Alexandria home during Ford's tenure as Vice President (1973–1974), as
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4578-587: The Virginia Commission on Women and Minorities in the Legal System, Tucker alluded to that prosecution and noted that he was now being honored "for the very thing for which I'm being recognized today". Meanwhile, in the early 1960s, Tucker formed the firm of Tucker and Marsh with Henry L. Marsh III in Richmond (which Hill would join in 1966). They and the NAACP participated in the long legal struggle to reopen
4687-644: The Virginia State Bar to prosecute them. The Boatwright Committee specifically accused Tucker of soliciting "not less than 10 cases involving litigation" and claimed that some of his plaintiffs were signed up under false pretenses or had not realized they were becoming involved in litigation. Tucker became the only NAACP attorney that the Virginia State Bar attempted to prosecute and disbar for these expanded offenses. That prosecution began in February 1960, and
4796-653: The Virginia bar exam based on his studies in Watson's law office, but had to wait until June 1934, when he reached age 21, to begin practicing law. After two years with the Civilian Conservation Corps , Tucker and his friend George Wilson (a retired army sergeant) began in earnest dismantling segregation in Alexandria, first at the public library opened just 2 blocks from his home in August 1937, but which refused to issue cards to black residents. At 14-years old, he had had
4905-418: The area now known as Old Town as well as the areas of the city northeast of what is now King Street —and all of today's Arlington County share the distinction of having been the portion of Virginia ceded to the U.S. Government in 1791 to help form the new District of Columbia . Over time, a movement grew to separate what was called " Alexandria County " from the District of Columbia. As competition grew with
5014-453: The areas formerly in the town of Potomac , such as Del Ray and St. Elmo, building numbers are assigned east and west from Commonwealth Avenue and north (only) from King Street. In the western parts of the city, building numbers are assigned north and south from Duke Street . The ZIP Code prefix 223 uniquely identifies the Alexandria postal area. However, the Alexandria postal area extends into Fairfax County and includes addresses outside of
5123-638: The army and served in the 366th Infantry , which saw combat in Italy. Tucker rose to the rank of major. As World War II ended, the Virginia State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People had W. Lester Banks as executive secretary, Dr. Jesse M. Tinsley of Richmond and later E. B. Henderson of Falls Church as president, and Oliver W. Hill , Martin A. Martin and Spottswood Robinson as attorneys (the latter as liaison to
5232-611: The base of King Street on the Potomac River on May 24, 1861. A few blocks up King Street from their landing site, the commander of the New York Fire Zouaves , Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth , sortied with a small detachment to remove a large Confederate flag displayed on the roof of the Marshall House Inn that had been visible from the White House. While descending from the roof, Ellsworth was shot dead by James W. Jackson ,
5341-493: The battles important to register the protests as well as aspirations of black voters in the district. In 1976, the NAACP honored Tucker by awarding him the William Robert Ming Advocacy Award for the spirit of financial and personal sacrifice displayed in his legal work. Tucker died on October 19, 1990, survived by his wife Julia. They had no children. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery , sharing
5450-460: The catalog, and the collection had added more biographies, fiction, and magazines. The library was housed in several locations over the ensuing years, including the New Market House next to the City Hall, the Lyceum Company building, and Peabody Hall, which was owned by the Alexandria School Board. Raising funds for the library was a continuing challenge. In 1853, a lecture series was created to raise money. Speakers included Professor Joseph Henry of
5559-447: The changes including being moved to a different school building. The same year that head coach Herman Boone joined the school and lead the football team to a 13–0 season, a state championship, and a national championship runner-up; the basis for the 2000 film Remember the Titans where Boone was portrayed by Denzel Washington . In 1972, Clifford T. Cline purchased the 1890 Victorian house at 219 King Street and converted it into
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#17328591800735668-405: The cities of Alexandria and Washington offered comparative freedom and employment. Alexandria became a major supply depot and transport and hospital center for the Union army. Until the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, escaped slaves legally remained the property of their owners. Therefore, they were labeled contrabands to avoid returning them to their masters. Contrabands worked for
5777-456: The city have an Alexandria mailing address yet are a part of Fairfax County including: Hollin Hills , Franconia , Groveton , Hybla Valley , Huntington , Lincolnia , Belle Haven , Mount Vernon , Fort Hunt , Engleside, Burgundy Village, Waynewood , Wilton Woods, Rose Hill , Virginia Hills, Hayfield , and Kingstowne . Some refer to these areas as Lower Alexandria, South Alexandria, or Alexandria, Fairfax County. The climate in this area
5886-416: The city include the American Counseling Association , the Human Resource Certification Institute , the Society for Human Resource Management , the National Society of Professional Engineers , the National Beer Wholesalers Association , the American Society of Clinical Oncology , National Industries for the Blind, American Physical Therapy Association , the National Association of Convenience Stores , and
5995-641: The city's Metrorail stations, primarily in Old Town North and the Braddock Road area, Old Town, and Carlyle near the Eisenhower Avenue station , as well as along the I-395 corridor on the west side of the city. 13% of people that work in Alexandria live in the city, while 87% commute in, with 37% of those commuters being from Fairfax County . An additional 61,000 people commute out of Alexandria to work. 35% commute to Washington, D.C., and 29% commute to Fairfax County. As of March 2024, 2.0% of Alexandria residents are unemployed. Samuel Wilbert Tucker Samuel Wilbert Tucker (June 18, 1913 – October 19, 1990)
6104-408: The city's diverse population. The Alexandria Library also started offering passport services at the Barrett Branch and Beatley Central Library in October 2016. Non-Residents of the city who work, own property or attend school in the city may obtain a library card without charge. Non-Residents that live in an area that will offer reciprocal library card privileges to Alexandria residents may also obtain
6213-464: The city's population of 159,467 made it the sixth-most populous city in Virginia and the 173rd-most populous city in the nation . Like the rest of Northern Virginia and Central Maryland , present-day Alexandria has been influenced by its proximity to the U.S. capital. It is largely populated by professionals working in the federal civil service , in the U.S. military , or for one of the many private companies which contract to provide services to
6322-468: The city, has Alexandria mailing addresses. However, this area is under the jurisdiction of Fairfax County's government and separate from the independent city. The city is therefore sometimes referred to as the "City of Alexandria" to avoid confusion. According to archaeologists' estimates, a succession of indigenous peoples began to occupy the Chesapeake and Tidewater region about 3,000 to 10,000 years ago. Various Algonquian -speaking peoples inhabited
6431-628: The city. Delivery areas have ZIP Codes 22301, 22302, 22303, 22304, 22305, 22306, 22307, 22308, 22309, 22310, 22311, 22312, 22314, and 22315, with other ZIP Codes in use for post office boxes and large mailers (22313, 22331, 22332, 22333). Part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway is the one national protected area within the borders of Alexandria. As of 2024, the City of Alexandria is divided into 19 "Small Area Plans" and 11 additional overlapping plans. These areas and their component neighborhoods include: Central Alexandria: Old Town North: Hunting Creek area: Bounded by: Many areas outside
6540-424: The civil rights movement on June 18, 1913, in Alexandria. I was born black." Although Alexandria was less segregated than Richmond and Norfolk , it provided no high school for black children, so after graduating from 8th grade, he had to "bootleg" a high school education across the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., at Armstrong High School . Black Virginia children commuted by streetcar. In June 1927, when Tucker
6649-475: The colony must be brought to locally designated public warehouses for inspection before sale. One of the sites designated for a warehouse on the upper Potomac River was at the mouth of Hunting Creek . However, the ground proved to be unsuitable, and the warehouse was built half a mile up-river, where the water was deep near the shore. Following the 1745 settlement of the Colony of Virginia 's 10-year dispute with Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron over
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#17328591800736758-532: The county. This newly enfranchised constituency provided the support necessary to elect the first black Alexandrians to the City Council and the Virginia Legislature. In the waning years of the 19th century, Alexandria suffered its two documented lynchings . The first, in 1897, was Joseph H. McCoy and the second, in 1899, was Benjamin Thomas . Both were Black male teenagers accused, but never convicted, of assaulting young white girls that were known to them. They were both kidnapped from jail and hanged by mobs. At
6867-401: The deep water could easily accommodate sailing ships. Many local tobacco planters, however, wanted a new town further up Hunting Creek, away from nonproductive fields along the river. Around 1746, Captain Philip Alexander II (1704–1753) moved to what is south of present Duke Street in Alexandria. His estate, which consisted of 500 acres (2.0 km ), was bounded by Hunting Creek, Hooff's Run,
6976-445: The definitions of the common law legal ethics offenses of barratry , champerty and maintenance . Legislative committees led by James M. Thomson and John B. Boatwright attempted to use those new laws against the NAACP and cooperating attorneys. The Boatwright Committee subpoenaed NAACP membership lists, and issued reports in November 1957 and November 1958 accusing NAACP attorneys (including Tucker) of violating these laws and urging
7085-473: The evidence against his poor black clients, but racial imbalance in the system itself. For example, Tucker defended Jodie Bailey who, after drinking, stabbed the popular white proprietor of an automobile repair business during a charge dispute, and the man died. With NAACP help, Tucker established that in the previous three decades, no trial jury in Greensville County had included any black jurors. The Virginia Supreme Court overturned Bailey's conviction, but ordered
7194-414: The first rivet into the keel of the SS Gunston Hall . In 1930, Alexandria annexed the town adjacent to Potomac Yard incorporated in 1908 named Potomac . In 1938 the Mt. Vernon Drive-In cinema opened. In 1939, the segregated public library experienced a sit-in organized by Samuel Wilbert Tucker . In 1940, both the Robert Robinson Library, which is now the Alexandria Black History Museum , and
7303-476: The first woman to be elected mayor. Until 2014, local legislation mandated that all new north–south streets in the city be named for Confederate military leaders . Efforts have increased in recent years to expedite the renaming of these streets with Mayor Justin Wilson and the City Council setting a goal of renaming three of these streets annually. In 2019, the name of U.S. 1 was changed from Jefferson Davis Highway to Richmond Highway. In November 2020,
7412-404: The founders of the Society once again met at Wise's home to establish a subscription library. During the first year, 119 men joined the circulating library which was to be called the Library Company of Alexandria. Members agreed to pay an initiation fee and annual dues. The company was chartered as a corporation in 1798 in an act passed by the General Assembly of Virginia . Druggist Edward Stabler
7521-403: The hotel's proprietor. One of Ellsworth's soldiers immediately killed Jackson. Ellsworth was publicized as a Union martyr, and the incident generated great excitement in the North, with many children being named for him. Jackson's death defending his home caused a similar sensation in the South. Alexandria remained under military occupation until the end of the Civil War. Fort Ward , one of
7630-414: The idea and strongly favored a site at the head of Hunting Creek (also known as Great Hunting Creek). It has been said that in order to avoid a predicament the petitioners offered to name the new town Alexandria , in honor of Philip's family. As a result, Philip and his cousin Captain John Alexander (1711–1763) gave land to assist in the development of Alexandria and are thus listed as the founders. This John
7739-452: The interments would not be disturbed, although the few gravestones were transferred to the Woodlawn Quaker Meetinghouse and a granite marker acknowledges the former use. Thus, the new library building was built without a basement, but rather on a concrete slab foundation (as were subsequent additions). The Library Company cooperated in this effort, contracting with the Alexandria City Council to turn over its collections to City of Alexandria as
7848-664: The lands in the Potomac River drainage area since at least the early 14th century . In the summer of 1608, English settler John Smith explored the Potomac River and came into contact with the Patawomeck (loosely affiliated with the Powhatan ) and Doeg tribes who lived on the Virginia side, as well as on Theodore Roosevelt Island , and the Piscataway (also known as the Conoy), who resided on
7957-471: The largest slave trading companies in the country. By the 1830s, they were sending more than 1,000 slaves annually from Alexandria to their Natchez, Mississippi , New Orleans , and later Texas markets to help meet the demand for slaves in Mississippi and nearby states. Later owned by Price, Birch & Co., the slave pen became a jail under Union occupation. A portion of the City of Alexandria—most of
8066-415: The legislature and fell out of favor in the mid-1750s. The town of Alexandria did not become incorporated until 1779. In 1755, General Edward Braddock organized his fatal expedition against Fort Duquesne at Carlyle House in Alexandria. In April 1755, the governors of Virginia, and the provinces of Maryland , Pennsylvania , Massachusetts , and New York met to determine upon concerted action against
8175-480: The library by uniformed police has itself become a learning aid in Alexandria. Periodically, the city has commemorated the sit-in and used it as a teaching opportunity about the Jim Crow segregation era, with students from Samuel W. Tucker Elementary donning similar attire, acting out the sit-in events and posing in recreations of the photograph. World War II interrupted his fledgling legal practice. Tucker entered
8284-555: The library consists of a new central building (built in 2000 and named for mayor Charles E. Beatley ) and four branch libraries, and includes two special divisions: Local History /Special Collections (in what became the Kate Waller Barret Branch Library) and a Talking Books division for the blind and visually handicapped. The other library buildings are: the Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch Library,
8393-536: The library moved to the Confederate Hall, now known as the Robert E. Lee Camp Hall Museum, where it stayed for 34 years. In 1937, Dr. Robert South Barrett donated funds to build a public library in memory of his mother, physician Dr. Kate Waller Barrett (1857-1925). The Society of Friends granted a 99-year lease for use of its former Quaker Burial Ground (then used as a playground). An informal agreement provided that
8502-406: The library one by one, requested applications for library cards and, when refused, each one took a book off the shelf and sat down in the reading room until they were removed by the police. Tucker had instructed the men to dress well, speak politely and offer no resistance to the police so as to minimize the chance of the men being found guilty of disorderly conduct or resisting arrest. Tucker defended
8611-492: The library's collection was published in 1797. The collection grew over time, bolstered in part by the fact that some members paid their dues in books. Most members were initially men, although records exist showing some women were members as early as 1798. One noted female member in 1817 was Mary L.F. Custis , wife of George Washington Parke Custis . The catalog published in 1801 indicated a collection of 452 books, mostly on history and travel. By 1815, there were 1,022 entries in
8720-404: The men in the ensuing legal actions, which resulted in the disorderly conduct charges against the protestors being dropped by city attorney Armistead Boothe (who would later become a key figure in desegregating Virginia schools), and in a branch library being established for blacks. While the sit-in received a four-paragraph story in the local Alexandria Gazette newspaper and brief mention in
8829-478: The new library), staged a peaceable sit-in at the library to enable African Americans to use that public facility in the first known non-violent sit-in of the Civil rights movement in America. Although they were arrested, charges were ultimately dropped by city attorney Armistead Boothe , and a branch library was built in 1940 for African Americans and named after Robert H. Robinson, which closed circa 1960 and now houses
8938-763: The plan was no more than segregation by another name, 14 years after Brown . Then in May 1968, the Court ruled that the freedom-of-choice plan was an inadequate remedy and also decided that school boards had an "affirmative duty" to desegregate their schools, as the procedures improperly put a burden upon schoolchildren and their parents that Brown II had placed squarely on the School Board". Patience for "mere deliberate speed" had run out. The next day, Tucker appeared before U.S. District Judge Robert Merhige Jr. in Richmond with 40 files of desegregation cases he wanted reopened. He also appeared
9047-404: The population was: In 2000, there were 61,889 households, of which 18.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.2% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 55.2% were non-families. 43.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size
9156-522: The port of Georgetown and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal fostered development on the north side of the Potomac River, Alexandria's economy stagnated; at the same time, residents had lost any representation in Congress and the right to vote and were disappointed with the negligible economic benefit (on the Alexandria side) of being part of the national capital. Alexandria still had an important port and market in
9265-450: The postwar era, Tucker came to have a central role in its legal battles in Virginia. He ultimately filed suits in nearly 50 counties, including Alexandria and neighboring Arlington and Fairfax . By the time Brown v. Board of Education was decided in 1954 and 1955, the NAACP state legal staff had grown to a dozen cooperating attorneys (including Tucker), and had filed fifteen petitions requesting desegregation with local school boards by
9374-605: The public schools in Prince Edward County, Virginia , which that county closed in 1959 to avoid desegregation, and which only reopened pursuant to court order in 1964. Tucker also continued to fight against racial discrimination in jury selection . In 1966, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund named Tucker "lawyer of the year". In 1967, for example, Tucker had about 150 civil rights cases before state and federal courts. Tucker's greatest legal achievement
9483-458: The school board to open a subscription library in Peabody Hall, using the old books stored there. Permission was given and doors to the new subscription library opened on December 1, 1897. In 1902, the library moved to the first floor of a house in the 1300 block of Prince Street while negotiations were underway for a permanent move to the Confederate Hall, located at 806 Prince Street. In May 1903,
9592-408: The school board unanimously voted to rename T. C. Williams High School and Matthew Maury Elementary School. The high school was renamed Alexandria City High School and Maury Elementary was renamed Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School, effective July 1, 2021. In December 2023, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and Monumental Sports & Entertainment founder Ted Leonsis announced plans to develop
9701-527: The sit-in participants, he was not satisfied with the separate but equal resolution of creating a new branch library, the Robert H. Robinson Library , for blacks. In a 1940 letter to the librarian of the whites-only library, Tucker stated that he would refuse to accept a card to the new blacks-only branch library in lieu of a card to be used at the existing library. The photograph of the sit-in participants in jackets and ties calmly but resolutely being escorted from
9810-408: The south by Fairfax County . The western portions of the city were annexed from those two entities beginning in the 1930s. The addressing system in Alexandria is not uniform and reflects the consolidation of several originally separate communities into a single city. In Old Town Alexandria , building numbers are assigned north and south from King Street and west (only) from the Potomac River. In
9919-447: The spring of 1956. However, U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd had vowed Massive Resistance to school desegregation, and that fall a special session of the Virginia General Assembly adopted (and Governor Thomas B. Stanley signed) a package of new laws to maintain segregation and close desegregating schools, which came to be known as the " Stanley Plan ." That collection of bills also contained seven relating to NAACP activities, and expanded
10028-573: The town's destruction, twenty-two merchant ships and large quantities of flour , tobacco , cotton , wine , and sugar were handed over by Alexandria's municipal authorities to the British. In 1823 William Holland Wilmer , Francis Scott Key , and others founded the Virginia Theological Seminary . From 1828 to 1836, Alexandria was home to the Franklin & Armfield Slave Market, one of
10137-536: The trolley car incident which occurred in 1927, and began practicing in Alexandria. In 1939, Tucker organized a sit-in at Alexandria Library, which refused to issue library cards to black residents. It had opened two years previously, replacing a previous whites-only subscription library that had been housed in a former home for Confederate veterans. Also, while the District of Columbia had built an integrated public library decades earlier with funds donated by Andrew Carnegie (and which Tucker had often visited, as he did
10246-591: The turn of the 20th century the most common production in the city was glass, fertilizer, beer, and leather. The glass often went into beer bottles. Much of the Virginia Glass Company effort went to supply the demands of the Robert Portner Brewing Company, until fire destroyed the St. Asaph Street plant on February 18, 1905. The Old Dominion Glass Company also had a glass works fall to fire, then built
10355-576: The vice president did not yet have an official residence . Following the resignation of Richard Nixon , Ford spent his first 10 days as President in the house before moving to the White House . In March 1959, Lieutenant Colonel William Henry Whalen , the "highest-ranking American ever recruited as a mole by the Russian Intelligence Service ", provided Colonel Sergei A. Edemski three classified Army manuals in exchange for $ 3,500 at
10464-745: The western boundary of the Northern Neck Proprietary , when the Privy Council in London found in favor of Lord Fairfax's expanded claim, some of the Fairfax County gentry formed the Ohio Company of Virginia. They intended to conduct trade into the interior of America, and they required a trading center near the head of navigation on the Potomac. The best location was Hunting Creek tobacco warehouse, since
10573-568: The young men not guilty. Tucker began drafting deeds to help his father at an early age, and also began reading the law books of Tom Watson, a lawyer who shared an office with the senior Tucker. Samuel attended Howard University whose chaplain Howard Thurman had become an outspoken proponent of Mahatma Gandhi 's nonviolent resistance strategy and where Charles Houston established the nation's first program in civil rights law. He earned his undergraduate degree in 1933. Tucker soon qualified for
10682-516: Was $ 103,284 and median family income was $ 130,395. Additionally, 8.6% of the population of the population were below the poverty line. 14.2% of those under the age of 18 and 3.1% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. According to 2022 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, 69.9% of Alexandria residents aged 25 and older have attained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared with 42.2% statewide. Companies headquartered in Alexandria include Crooked Beat Records , Five Guys ,
10791-556: Was 14, he, 2 brothers and a friend refused to leave their seats after a streetcar crossed the river into Alexandria, despite the request of a white woman who believed one of the seats was designated only for whites. She swore out a warrant charging them with disorderly conduct and abusive language, and the police levied no fine upon the 11 year old Otto Tucker, but fined Samuel Tucker $ 5 plus court costs and his older brother George $ 50 plus court costs, claiming that as eldest he should have known better. However, on appeal, an all-white jury found
10900-415: Was 2.04 and the average family size was 2.87. The age distribution was 16.8% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 43.5% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 91.7 males. According to 2019 Census Bureau data, the median household income
11009-476: Was an American lawyer and a cooperating attorney with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). His civil rights career began as he organized a 1939 sit-in at the then-segregated Alexandria, Virginia public library. A partner in the Richmond, Virginia , firm of Hill, Tucker and Marsh (formerly Hill , Martin and Robinson ), Tucker argued and won several civil rights cases before
11118-463: Was conducted on July 13–14, 1749. Almost immediately upon establishment, the town founders called the new town "Belhaven", believed to be in honor of a Scottish patriot, John Hamilton, 2nd Lord Belhaven and Stenton , the Northern Neck tobacco trade being then dominated by Scots. The name Belhaven was used in official lotteries to raise money for a Church and Market House, but it was never approved by
11227-488: Was elected the first librarian and the library's first location is believed to have been housed in his apothecary shop . James Kennedy was elected the second librarian, and the library moved to his residence and place of business. Kennedy sold books from his personal collection to the Library Company. Those books and other bought from two local merchants formed the foundation of the subscription library. The first catalog of
11336-486: Was introduced by Lawrence Washington , the representative for Fairfax County, the son-in-law of William Fairfax , and a founding member of the Ohio Company. To support the company's push for a town on the river, Lawrence's younger brother George Washington , an aspiring surveyor, made a sketch of the shoreline touting the advantages of the tobacco warehouse site. Since the river site was amidst his estate, Philip opposed
11445-401: Was probably Green v. County School Board of New Kent County , which challenged a freedom-of-choice plan the school board had enacted supposedly to desegregate the county schools on a voluntary basis, and which allowed white children to attend segregation academies at public expense. The case went to the Supreme Court of the United States , which heard statistical arguments from Tucker that
11554-610: Was re-chartered in 1852 and became independent of Alexandria County in 1870. The remaining portion of Alexandria County changed its name to Arlington County in 1920. The first fatalities of the North and South in the American Civil War occurred in Alexandria. Within a month of the Battle of Fort Sumter , the Civil War's first battle, Union Army troops occupied Alexandria, landing troops at
11663-552: Was sold to a private owner who planned to turn the building into a private residence and asked the library to remove what was left of the collection. Funds continued to be hard to come by and in 1879, the Library Company closed. The remainder of its collection was stored in Peabody Hall. In 1897, a group of women in Alexandria formed the Alexandria Library Association. The leaders of the group were Virginia Corse, Mrs. William B. Smoot, and Virginia Burke. They petitioned
11772-662: Was the son of Robert Alexander II (1688–1735). On May 2, 1749, the House of Burgesses approved the river location and ordered "Mr. Washington do go up with a Message to the Council and acquaint them that this House have agreed to the Amendments titled An Act for erecting a Town at Hunting Creek Warehouse, in the County of Fairfax." A "Public Vendue" (auction) was advertised for July, and the county surveyor laid out street lanes and town lots. The auction
11881-467: Was transferred to Sussex County and finally dismissed in early 1962, although the judges orally reprimanded Tucker for his handling of an estate case. In January 1963 in NAACP v. Button , the NAACP won other cases it had filed to stop enforcement of the last of the newly expanded laws. Furthermore, when in 1987, both Tucker and Oliver Hill received awards from Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell on behalf of
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