
The County of Washington was one of five original political entities within the
District of Columbia
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
, the capital of the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Formed by the
Organic Act of 1801 from parts of
Montgomery and
Prince George's County, Maryland
Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it ...
, Washington County referred to all of the District of Columbia "on the east side of the Potomac, together with the islands therein." The bed of the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...
was also considered to be part of Washington County.
Originally Alexandria County, D.C. formed the portion of the District west of the Potomac River, ceded by the commonwealth of
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
.
Alexandria County, including the
City of Alexandria, was
returned to Virginia by Congress in 1846, leaving just Washington County. Within Washington County there were two incorporated areas, the City of Washington and the City of Georgetown. At times the rural parts outside of the cities were referred to as "Washington County" but all three were part of the county. Upon the passage of the
District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871
The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871 is an Act of Congress that repealed the individual charters of the cities of Washington and Georgetown, D.C., Georgetown and established a new territorial government for the whole District of Columbi ...
, the three governments were unified under a single District government and made coterminous, ending Washington County's separate identity.
Government
Starting in 1801, Washington County was governed by a board of commissioners, or a levy court, made up all of the
Justices of the Peace, or magistrates, of the county appointed by the President and the number of those were not fixed. In 1812, the board was reorganized with seven magistrates, two from east of Rock Creek but outside of Washington City, two from west of Rock Creek but outside of Georgetown and three from Georgetown, with none from Washington City until 1848 when four members from the city were added. The board was again changed in 1863 when it was reduced to nine members, three from the city of Washington, one from Georgetown, and five from county lands outside the city. These justices carried out the duties of
county commissioners. Despite being within the federal territory, Congress left Washington County subject to the laws of Maryland.
History
Rural Washington County, the part outside of the cities, included
Pleasant Plains, the estate of the Holmead family;
Edgewood, home of Treasury Secretary
Salmon P. Chase; and
Petworth, the estate of Colonel
John Tayloe III. Also contained in rural Washington County was the
U.S. Soldiers' Retirement Home, where President
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
lived during his summers as president. Despite its comparatively large geographic size, rural Washington County was sparsely populated until the end of the 19th century.
Slavery was legal in Washington County, as it was in Maryland, but it was illegal to import a slave from Alexandria County for sale in Washington County. Slavery was ended in Washington County in April 1862 by the
District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act. Except for the abolition of slavery by the unionist "Restored Government of Virginia" in April 1864, the DC Emancipation Act was the last part of the United States to end slavery before the 13th Amendment ended it throughout the country.
During the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
(1861–65), Washington County contained a partial circle of defensive fortifications that made Washington one of the most heavily fortified cities in the world at that time. The forts surrounding
Union-held territory in Virginia completed the defense circle. The
Battle of Fort Stevens, July 11–12, 1864, took place in Washington County.
After the Civil War, many of the old estates in Washington County were sold and developed into suburbs for the growing capital city. Among the earliest developments were
LeDroit Park and
Mount Pleasant, which eventually became the first "
streetcar suburb
A streetcar suburb is a residential community whose growth and development was strongly shaped by the use of streetcar lines as a primary means of transportation. Such suburbs developed in the United States in the years before the automobile, when ...
".
Uniontown and
Barry Farm, a settlement for
freedmen, developed east of the
Anacostia River
The Anacostia River is a river in the Mid-Atlantic states, Mid Atlantic region of the United States. It flows from Prince George's County, Maryland, Prince George's County in Maryland into Washington, D.C., where it joins with the Washington Ch ...
.
Washington County and the cities of Washington and Georgetown were abolished in 1871 following the passage of the
District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871
The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871 is an Act of Congress that repealed the individual charters of the cities of Washington and Georgetown, D.C., Georgetown and established a new territorial government for the whole District of Columbi ...
. This law brought the entire District of Columbia under the control of a territorial government headed by an appointed governor, an appointed eleven-member council, and a locally-elected 22-member assembly. Two of the eleven council seats were reserved for representatives from the District outside of the cities of Washington and Georgetown. Three years later, Congress abolished the territorial government in favor of direct rule over the District by an appointed three-member commission.
See also
*
History of Washington, D.C.
References
{{Authority control
1801 establishments in Washington, D.C.
1871 disestablishments in the United States
Former counties of the United States
History of the District of Columbia
Populated places established in 1801
Populated places disestablished in 1871