WASHINGTON

Charles Murray petitioned the General Assembly in December 1839 to halt the development of a graveyard in Alexandria for an African-American Methodist congregation that met in Washington D.C. The plat shows the lots in question and those located by Hunting Creek.

The lot in question included a local spring that flowed close to locally used well water by the Hunting Creek bridge. In his petition Murray argued that the graveyard would destroy his property and make the spring and well water unfit for use.

He offered to exchange lots with the congregation, who, presumably, didn't accept his offer.

The Alexandria Canal ran from the town of Alexandria to the Potomac Aqueduct; Alexandrians wanted to connect with the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in Georgetown.

The map's engraver, W.J. Stone clearly shows major roads and topographical detail for land located between Hunting Creek and Little Falls.

Thomas Sinclair issued this map of Alexandria shortly before the town was retro-ceded to Virginia.

The map shows streets, topographical detail, turnpikes, canals, a race course, property owners, several place names and soundings (depths) in the river.

A handwritten note above the remarks section indicates that the lots encircled in ink were the subject of a title dispute between the children of Charles Alexander, Sr. and Charles Alexander, Jr.

William James Stone engraved this map of Washington and it is similar to a very popular map of Washington published in 1818 by Richard King. King's map may have been the first to be published in Washington City.

King's map included vignettes of the President's House and the Capitol - these are missing from Stone's publication.

Stone references several public buildings including the Navy Yard, and the area's roads, turnpikes and railroad lines.

This small derivative of Andrew Ellicott's 1794 topographical map of the District of Columbia was engraved by P.A.F. Tardieu and sold in Paris, France.

He highlights the location of the President's House and the Capitol building.

W.H. Bartlett engraved this view of Washington from the President's House during Martin Van Buren's presidency. It focuses on the National Mall leading to the Capitol building.

D. McClelland engraved this map of Washington City. Washington's street grid is clearly delineated.

He outlined city ward boundaries and identified numerous government and public buildings.

This colorful map of the "Capitol City" was published in an atlas by the very productive Mitchell publishing firm. Alexandria is not included since it was retro-ceded to Virginia in 1846.

Readers can locate churches, the Washington Library and Masonic Hall. It includes vignettes of the plan of the principal floor of the Capitol.

This map's author, W.H. Gamble, was a draughtsman and engraver who worked for the Mitchell publishing firm.

Atlas readers were able to easily identify wards, street names, canals, bridges and other buildings of interest to Americans.

Alvin Jewett Johnson and his publishing company were best known for producing the "New Illustrated Family Atlas" in which this map was published. The "Family Atlas" was sold by subscription by door to door book canvassers.

Street names, waterways, the President's House, the Mall and other places of interest are identified.

This nautical chart by the U.S. Coast Survey is the fourth of four sheets of the Potomac River from Washington D.C. to its entrance into the Chesapeake Bay.

The chart shows soundings, tides, lighthouses and the configuration of the shoreline.

Civil Engineer E.G. Arnold published a topographical map of the District of Columbia that identified the location of fifty-three forts, four batteries and forty army hospitals.

Two days after the Colton firm issued Arnold's map for sale, War Department officials began confiscating any copies they could find, including those purchased for sale. Federal officials entered private residences to seize copies in their efforts to eradicate any vestige of the map, even traveling to New York City to destroy the lithograph stones.

The G. Woolworth Colton publishing firm was compensated when the United States government reimbursed their losses for $8000.00. Very few copies of Arnold's map are extant today.