Washington, District of Columbia : Washington, DC City Data

History
A Southern site for the new country's capital was agreed upon at a dinner between James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, hosted by Thomas Jefferson. The city was designed by Pierre Charles L'Enfant, Major in the United States Army. The initial plan for the "Federal District" was a diamond, measuring 10 miles (16 km) on each side, totaling 100 square miles (260 km2). The actual site on the Potomac River was chosen by President Washington. Washington may have chosen the site for its natural scenery, believing the Potomac would become a great navigable waterway. The city was officially named "Washington" on September 9, 1791. Out of modesty, George Washington never referred to it as such, preferring to call it "the Federal City". Despite choosing the site and living nearby at Mount Vernon, he rarely visited.

Initially, the District of Columbia included four distinct sections, of which the city of Washington was only one. The others were Alexandria County, Georgetown, and the County of Washington. Georgetown occupied the boundaries that remain current today. Alexandria County included the present-day City of Alexandria, as well as the current Arlington County, Virginia--essentially all land south of the Potomac River. Washington City occupied much of its current area, but ended at present-day Rock Creek Park on the west and Florida Avenue and Benning Road on the north. Florida Avenue was then called "Boundary Street." The remainder of the district was Washington County.

In 1791-92, Andrew Ellicott and the free African-American Benjamin Banneker surveyed the border of the District with both Virginia and Maryland, placing boundary stones at every mile point; many of these still stand.

The cornerstone of the White House, the first newly constructed building of the new Capital, was laid on October 13, 1792. That was the day after the very first solemn celebrations of Columbus Day, marking its 300th anniversary.

On August 24, 1814, British forces burned the capital during the most notable raid of the War of 1812 in retaliation for the sacking and burning of York (modern day Toronto) during the winter months, which had left many Canadians homeless. President James Madison and U.S. forces fled before the British forces, who burned public buildings including the Capitol, and the Treasury building. The White House was also burned and gutted. The Navy Yard was also burned, but by American sailors. The home of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, located at the Marine Barracks, was one of the few Government buildings not burned by the raiding British soldiers out of a sign of respect and is now the oldest public building in continuous use in the nation's capital. The damage done by the British forces is often exaggerated and was not as reckless as the sacking of York. Civilians were not directly targeted and, initially, the British had approached the city hoping to secure a truce. However, they were fired upon, triggering frustration and anger among the British, which ultimately led to the sacking of government buildings.

In 1846, the populants of Alexandria County, who resented the loss of business with the competing port of Georgetown and feared greater impact if slavery were outlawed in the capital, voted in a referendum to ask Congress to retrocede Alexandria back to the state of Virginia. Congress agreed to do so on July 9 of that year.

Washington remained a small city of a few thousand permanent residents until the outbreak of the U.S. Civil War in 1861. The significant expansion of the federal government to administer the war and its legacies-such as veterans' pensionsled to notable growth in the city's population.

In July 1864, Confederate forces under Jubal Anderson Early made a brief raid into Washington, culminating in the Battle of Fort Stevens. The Confederates were repulsed and Early eventually returned to the Shenandoah Valley. The site, now called Battleground National Cemetery is located near present day Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Northwest Washington. The battle was the only battle where a U.S. President, Abraham Lincoln, was present and under enemy fire while in office.

In the early 1870s, Washington was given a territorial government, but Governor Alexander Shepherd's reputation for extravagance resulted in Congress abolishing his office in favor of direct rule. Congressional governance of the District would continue for a century.

In 1878, Congress passed an Organic Act that made the boundaries of the city of Washington coterminous with those of the District of Columbia. This effectively eliminated Washington County; Georgetown, technically made a part of the city, was allowed to remain nominally separate until 1895 when it was formally combined with Washington.

The Washington Monument opened in 1888. Plans were laid to further develop the monumental aspects of the city, with work contributed by such noted figures as Frederick Law Olmsted and Daniel Burnham. However, development of the Lincoln Memorial and other structures on the National Mall did not begin until the early 20th century.

The District's population peaked in 1950, when the census for that year recorded a record population of 802,178 people. At the time, the city was the ninth-largest in the country, ahead of Boston and behind Saint Louis. The population declined in the following decades, mirroring the suburban out-migration of many of the nation's older urban centers following World War II.

The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on March 29, 1961, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to vote for president and have their votes count in the Electoral College.

The first 4.6 miles (7.4 km) of the Washington Metro subway system opened on March 27, 1976.

Walter Washington became the first elected mayor of the District in 1974. Marion Barry became mayor in 1978, but he was arrested for drug use in an FBI sting operation on January 18, 1990, and would serve a six-month jail term. His successor, Sharon Pratt Kelly, became the first black woman to lead a city of that size and importance in the U.S. Barry however defeated her in the 1994 primary and was once again elected mayor for his fourth term, during which time the city nearly became insolvent and was forced to give up some home rule to a congressionally-appointed financial control board. In 1998, Anthony Williams was elected the city's mayor and led the city into a fiscal recovery, which made him a popular figure. Williams was reelected in 2002.

On September 29, 2004, Major League Baseball officially relocated the Montreal Expos to Washington for the 2005 season, now named the Washington Nationals, despite opposition from Orioles owner Peter Angelos. A very public back-and-forth between the city council and MLB threatened to scuttle the agreement until December 21, when a plan for a new stadium in Southeast D.C. was finalized. The Nationals will play at R.F.K. Stadium until the new stadium is ready on the waterfront in 2008.

*Quoted From Wikipedia.com