Georgetown is a historic neighborhood and commercial district of Washington, D.C., in Northwest D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751 in the Province of Maryland, the port of Georgetown predated the establishment of the federal district and the City of Washington by 40 years. Georgetown remained a separate municipality until 1871 when the United States Congress created a new consolidated government for the whole District of Columbia. A separate act, passed in 1895, specifically repealed Georgetown's remaining local ordinances and renamed Georgetown's streets to conform with those in the City of Washington.
George Washington Riggs was an American businessman and banker. He was known as "The President's Banker." He was a trustee of the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Peabody Education Fund.
Uriah Forrest was an American statesman and military leader from Maryland. Forrest was born in St. Mary's County in the Province of Maryland, near Leonardtown. In his early childhood, he received only limited schooling. Born into a family with three other brothers, he was the direct descendant of a person who came to Jamestown, Virginia, in 1608.
William Wilson Corcoran was an American banker, philanthropist, and art collector. He founded the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
The Residence Act of 1790, officially titled An Act for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the Government of the United States, is a United States federal statute adopted during the second session of the First United States Congress and signed into law by President George Washington on July 16, 1790. The Act provides for a national capital and permanent seat of government to be established at a site along the Potomac River and empowered President Washington to appoint commissioners to oversee the project. It also set a deadline of December 1800 for the capital to be ready, and designated Philadelphia as the nation's temporary capital while the new seat of government was being built. At the time, the federal government was operating out of New York City.
The history of Washington, D.C., is tied to its role as the capital of the United States. The site of the District of Columbia along the Potomac River was first selected by President George Washington. The city came under attack during the War of 1812 in an episode known as the Burning of Washington. Upon the government's return to the capital, it had to manage the reconstruction of numerous public buildings, including the White House and the United States Capitol. The McMillan Plan of 1901 helped restore and beautify the downtown core area, including establishing the National Mall, along with numerous monuments and museums.
Francis Ignatius Neale, also known as Francis Xavier Neale, was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who led several academic and religious institutions in Washington, D.C., and Maryland. He played a substantial role in the Jesuit order's resurgence in the United States.
The history of Georgetown University spans nearly four hundred years, from the early European settlement of America to the present day. Georgetown University has grown with both its city, Washington, D.C., and the United States, each of which date their founding to the period from 1788 to 1790. Georgetown's origins are in the establishment of the Maryland colony in the seventeenth century. Bishop John Carroll established the school at its present location by the Potomac River after the American Revolution allowed for free religious practice.
The Forrest-Marbury House, located at 3350 M Street NW in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., and is not far from the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Potomac River.
The Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel, also known as the Renwick Chapel or James Renwick Chapel, is a historic building in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. Designed by James Renwick, Jr. in 1850, Oak Hill Cemetery Chapel is the architect's only known example of Gothic Revival church architecture in Washington, D.C. It is located on the highest ridge in Oak Hill Cemetery, near the intersection of 29th and R Streets NW. The chapel is one of two structures in Oak Hill Cemetery listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the other being the Van Ness Mausoleum. The chapel, mausoleum, and cemetery are contributing properties to the Georgetown Historic District, a National Historic Landmark.
Alexander Burton Hagner was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia.
The Presbyterian Burying Ground, also known as the Old Presbyterian Burying Ground, was a historic cemetery which existed between 1802 and 1909 in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was one of the most prominent cemeteries in the city until the 1860s. Burials there tapered significantly after Oak Hill Cemetery was founded nearby in 1848. The Presbyterian Burying Ground closed to new burials in 1887, and about 500 to 700 bodies were disinterred after 1891 when an attempt was made to demolish the cemetery and use the land for housing. The remaining graves fell into extensive disrepair. After a decade of effort, the District of Columbia purchased the cemetery in 1909 and built Volta Park there, leaving nearly 2,000 bodies buried at the site. Occasional human remains and tombstones have been discovered at the park since its construction. A number of figures important in the early history of Georgetown and Washington, D.C., military figures, politicians, merchants, and others were buried at Presbyterian Burying Ground.
Daniel Reintzel was an American merchant who served three terms as mayor of the town of Georgetown, both when it was part of Maryland and when it was part of the District of Columbia.
Holmead's Burying Ground, also known as Holmead's Cemetery and the Western Burial Ground, was a historic 2.94-acre (11,900 m2) cemetery located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was founded by Anthony Holmead in 1794 as a privately owned secular cemetery open to the public. The city of Washington, D.C., constructed the Western Burial Ground on the remainder of the city block in 1798, and the two burial grounds became synonymous. The city took ownership of the private Holmead cemetery in 1820. The unified cemetery went into steep decline around 1850, and it was closed on March 6, 1874. Removal of remains, most of which were reinterred at Graceland Cemetery or Rock Creek Cemetery, continued until 1885.
William Matthews, occasionally spelled Mathews, was an American who became the fifth Roman Catholic priest ordained in the United States and the first such person born in British America. Born in the colonial Province of Maryland, he was briefly a novice in the Society of Jesus. After being ordained, he became influential in establishing Catholic parochial and educational institutions in Washington, D.C. He was the second pastor of St. Patrick's Church, serving for most of his life. He served as the sixth president of Georgetown College, later known as Georgetown University. Matthews acted as president of the Washington Catholic Seminary, which became Gonzaga College High School, and oversaw the continuity of the school during suppression by the church and financial insecurity.
Rev. David Wiley was an American surveyor, politician, writer, scientist, and Presbyterian minister who served as postmaster and mayor of Georgetown, District of Columbia.
John Threlkeld was an American politician, farmer, and landowner who served as an alderman and mayor of Georgetown and a member of the Maryland House of Delegates.
Robert Peter was an American politician, merchant, and landowner who served as the first mayor of Georgetown.
