Alexandria

Sister cities

• Caen
• Helsingborg Municipality
• Gyumri
• Dundee

History

According to archaeologists' estimates, a succession of indigenous peoples began to occupy the Chesapeake and Tidewater region about 3,000 to 10,000 years ago. Various Algonquian-speaking peoples inhabited the lands in the Potomac River drainage area since at least the early 14th century. In the summer of 1608, English settler John Smith explored the Potomac River and came into contact with the Patawomeck (loosely affiliated with the Powhatan) and Doeg tribes who lived on the Virginia side, as well as on Theodore Roosevelt Island, and the Piscataway (also known as the Conoy), who resided on the Maryland side. On this visit, Smith recorded the presence of a settlement called Assaomeck near the south bank of what is now Hunting Creek. On October 21, 1669, a patent granted to Robert Howsing for transporting 120 people to the Colony of Virginia; this land would eventually become Alexandria. Virginia's comprehensive Tobacco Inspection Law of 1730 mandated that all tobacco grown in the colony must be brought to locally designated public warehouses for inspection before sale. One of the sites designated for a warehouse on the upper Potomac River was at the mouth of Hunting Creek. After the original site south of the creek was deemed "very inconvenient", the warehouse was built at West's Point to the north. This land had been given to John Alexander and Hugh West by John's father Robert Alexander. Robert's cousin, Philip Alexander, owned a estate to the south, which was bounded by Hunting Creek, Hooff's Run, the Potomac River, and the future Cameron Street. In 1742, Fairfax County was split from Prince William County. Local planters and merchants, including Thomas Fairfax and Lawrence Washington, sought to establish a port for the new county. At the opening of Virginia's…

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 2.85%, is water. Alexandria is bounded on the east by the Potomac River (which forms the boundary between the city and Washington, D.C. and Prince George's County, Maryland), on the north and northwest by Arlington County, and on the south by Fairfax County. The western portions of the city were annexed from those two entities beginning in the 1930s. The addressing system in Alexandria is not uniform and reflects the consolidation of several originally separate communities into a single city. In Old Town Alexandria, building numbers are assigned north and south from King Street and west (only) from the Potomac River. In the areas formerly in the town of Potomac, such as Del Ray and St. Elmo, building numbers are assigned east and west from Commonwealth Avenue and north (only) from King Street. In the western parts of the city, building numbers are assigned north and south from Duke Street. The ZIP Code prefix 223 uniquely identifies the Alexandria postal area. However, the Alexandria postal area extends into Fairfax County and includes addresses outside of the city. Delivery areas have ZIP Codes 22301, 22302, 22303, 22304, 22305, 22306, 22307, 22308, 22309, 22310, 22311, 22312, 22314, and 22315, with other ZIP Codes in use for post office boxes and large mailers (22313, 22331, 22332, 22333). Part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway is the one national protected area within the borders of Alexandria. As of 2024, the City of Alexandria is divided into 19 "Small Area Plans" and 11 additional overlapping plans. These areas and their component neighborhoods include: {|class="wikitable" |- ! Planning area(Small Area Plans) ! Neighborhoods/Subdivisions !Landmarks…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  154,011
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  132,668
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  120,921
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  110,274
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  109,556
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  107,707
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  99,425
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  98,418

Largest nearby schools

• Alexandria City High School
  High · Alexandria · 4,531 students · 14:1 ratio
• FRANCIS C. HAMMOND MIDDLE
  Middle · Alexandria · 1,473 students
• GEORGE WASHINGTON MIDDLE
  Middle · Alexandria · 1,369 students · 13.7:1 ratio
• Patrick Henry K-8 School
  Elementary · Alexandria · 978 students · 15.3:1 ratio
• Mount Vernon Elementary
  Elementary · Alexandria · 880 students · 16.6:1 ratio
• James K. Polk Elementary
  Elementary · Alexandria · 803 students · 15.2:1 ratio
• Samuel W. Tucker Elementary
  Elementary · Alexandria · 759 students · 15.8:1 ratio
• John Adams Elementary
  Elementary · Alexandria · 731 students · 14.3:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2025-10-27
  4 km E of Riverside, Maryland
• M 2.6 — 2021-06-25
  2 km SE of Woodlawn, Maryland
• M 3.03 — 2016-01-17
  3 km NE of Ranson, West Virginia
• M 3.6 — 2010-07-16
  5 km NNW of Barnesville, Maryland