Alexandria County

E36599

Alexandria County was a former county in the early 19th-century District of Columbia that encompassed the city of Alexandria and surrounding areas on the Virginia side of the Potomac River before being retroceded to Virginia.

Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Alexandria County, Virginia (historical) 1

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf former county
historical administrative division
borderedBy Fairfax County, Virginia
Potomac River
Washington County, District of Columbia
capital City of Alexandria
surface form: Alexandria
contains City of Alexandria
rural areas surrounding the City of Alexandria
country United States of America
divisionOfCounty City of Alexandria
surface form: City of Alexandria (independent city after retrocession)

remaining county area later renamed Arlington County
existedAsCountyOfDistrictOfColumbiaFrom 1801
existedAsCountyOfDistrictOfColumbiaUntil 1846
federalDistrictComponent southern portion of the original District of Columbia
formedFrom portion of Virginia ceded to the federal government for the District of Columbia
geographicRegion Mid-Atlantic states
surface form: Mid-Atlantic United States
governingBody Alexandria County Court
historicalEra early 19th century
jurisdictionTypeWhileInDC county of the District of Columbia
legalSystem American common law
legislativeActCreatingDCCounties District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801
locatedIn District of Columbia
Virginia
locatedOn Virginia side of the Potomac River
namedAfter City of Alexandria
partOf Virginia
surface form: Commonwealth of Virginia (after retrocession)

District of Columbia
surface form: District of Columbia (prior to retrocession)
partOfFederalDistrict no (after 1847)
yes (before 1846)
presentDayLocationCorrespondsTo Arlington County
surface form: Arlington County, Virginia

City of Alexandria, Virginia
primaryLanguage English
reasonForRetrocession concerns over potential abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia
economic concerns in Alexandria
lack of congressional representation for residents
renamedPortion Arlington County (name adopted 1920)
retrocededTo Virginia
retrocessionCompleted 1847
retrocessionYear 1846
stateAfterRetrocession Virginia
stateBeforeCessionToDC Virginia
status defunct
successorAdministrativeUnit Arlington, Virginia
surface form: Arlington County, Virginia

Alexandria, Virginia
surface form: independent city of Alexandria, Virginia
usedFor local civil administration
local criminal jurisdiction

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Alexandria, Virginia countySeatOf Alexandria County
this entity surface form: Alexandria County, Virginia (historical)