History of District of Columbia United States of America

The right to vote in the District of Columbia for President of the United States and other national officers, which was extant at the time the territory embraced in the District was ceded to Congress, was exercised by the qualified voters in the District in the Presidential election of November, 1800. It remained in force until the first Monday in December, 1800, when, as announced in the opinion of Justice Cranch, the exclusive jurisdiction of Congress over the District took effect.

The qualifications of voters in the portion derived from Maryland were at that time as follows:

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, a small tract of territory set apart as the site of the capital of the United States, was ceded to the general Government by the State of Maryland, by which it is bounded on all sides except the S. W., which is washed by the Potomac river. The capitol in Washington is in lat. 38° 53´ N., lon. 77° and 2´ W. from Greenwich. American geographers, however, often compute longitude from this place. Originally, the District of Columbia was 10 miles square, or 100 square miles; but, by the retrocession of Alexandria county to Virginia in 1846, it was reduced to 60 square miles, or 38,400 acres, 16,267 of which are improved.

Population: The District of Columbia had 14,093 inhabitants in 1800; 24,023 in 1810; 33,039 in 1820; 89,834 in 1830; 43,712 in 1840, and 51,687 in 1850, of whom 18,548 were white males, 19,479 do. females, 4210 free colored males, 5763 do. females, and 1422 male, and 2265 female slaves. Of the free population, 24,967 were born in the District, 17,989 in other parts of the Union, 32 in British America, 622 in England, 2873 in Ireland, 162 in Scotland and Wales, 1404 in Germany, 80 in France, 234 in other countries, and 77 whose places of birth were unknown; 19 were deaf and dumb, of whom 2 were free colored and 1 a slave; 23 blind, of whom 8 were free colored, and 1 a slave; 22 insane, of whom 8 were free colored, and 1 a slave, and 11 idiotic, of whom 4 were free colored. In the year ending June 1st, 1850, 846 deaths occurred, being about 16 in every one thousand persons.

Counties: The entire district constitutes the county of Washington.

Cities: Washington, the capital of the United States, population, 40,000, and Georgetown, 8336, include nearly the entire population of the district.

Surface: The surface is generally undulating, with some marshes. There are eminences of sufficient prominence to command fine views and give variety to the scene.

Rivers: The Potomac river separates the district from Virginia, which, except a small tributary called the East branch, and Rock creek, separating Washington from Georgetown, is the only stream of importance.

Productions: The district has very little agricultural importance. Products in 1850, 17,370 bushels of wheat; 5509 of rye; 65,230 of Indian corn; 8134 of oats; 28,292 of Irish potatoes; 14,872 pounds of butter; 2279 tons of hay, with some tobacco, peas, beans, sweet potatoes, barley, buckwheat, wine, cheese, beeswax, and honey. Value of live stock produced, $71,643; do. orchard products, $14,843, and do. market garden, $67,222.

Manufactures: In 1850 the District of Columbia had 1 cotton factory, employing $85,000 of capital, and 41 male and 103 female hands, consuming raw material worth $67,000, and producing 1,400,000 yards of stuffs, valued at 100,000; 1 woollen factory, employing $700 capital, and 2 male hands, consuming raw material worth $1630, and producing 10,000 yards of stuff, valued at $2400; 2 furnaces, employing $14,000 capital, and 80 male hands, consuming raw material worth 18,100, and producing 512 tons of castings; &c., valued at $52,695; $12,000 were invested in the manufacture of malt and spirituous liquors, consuming 5000 bushels of barley, and producing 1350 barrels of ale; and 2 tanneries, employing $25,000 capital, consuming raw material worth $25,600, and producing leather valued at $40,000.

Internal Improvements: A few miles of the Washington and Baltimore railroad are in the District of Columbia, and the Chesapeake and Ohio canal has its terminus at Georgetown. These constitute the internal improvements of the district.

Commerce: The imports of 1851?2 amounted to $54,142, and the exports $79,005; tonnage entered, 901; cleared, 2014; belonging to the district; 26,197, of which 3827 86/95 was steam tonnage, and number of vessels built, 27, the tonnage of which was 1995 43/95.

Education: There were in 1850, 2 colleges in the district, with an aggregate of 235 students, and 32,300 volumes in their libraries; 1 medical school with 40 students; and 2611 children taught in common schools, by 29 teachers, at an expense of $11,677.

Religious Denominations: Of 46 churches the Baptists owned 6, Episcopalians 8, Friends 1, Lutheran 2, Methodists 16, Presbyterians 6, Roman Catholics 6, and Unitarian 1, making about one church for every 1109 persons; value of church property, $363,000.

Government: The District of Columbia is under the direct government of the Congress of the United States, and without any representation in the national Congress, or any vote for president. The judiciary consists, 1. Of a circuit court, with one chief and two associate judges, the former receiving $2700, and the latter $2500 each per annum. 2. Of a criminal court, presided over by one judge, receiving $2000; and, 3. Of an orphans' court, with a judge receiving $1500 per annum. Assessed value of property in 1850, $14,018,874. In January, 1852, there were in the district four banks, with an aggregate capital of $1,182,300, a circulation of $350,000, and $300,000 in coin.

History: In 1790, Maryland and Virginia ceded 100 square miles to the United States. This tract was named the District of Columbia, in honor of the great discoverer of America. This district, about two-thirds of which was on the Maryland shore of the Potomac, was designed for the site of the capital of the nation, and, in accordance with this intention, a city was laid out, public buildings erected, and in 1800 the government officials removed thereto. During the war of 1812, the British forces took Washington, and burned the capitol, (including the library of Congress,) and the president's house. In 1846, Alexandria county was retroceded to Virginia.

Biographies:

Henry David Cooke, governor of the District of Columbia, was born in Sandusky, Ohio, Nov. 23, 1825; son of Eleutheros and Martha (Casswell) Cooke, and brother of Jay Cooke. He was graduated at Transylvania university in 1844 and in 1847 was appointed attach? to William G. Moorhead, U.S. consul at Valparaiso and acting charg? d'affaires at Santiago, Chili. Being delayed on the outward passage by the shipwreck of their vessel, the barge Hortsensia from Baltimore, they were detained for weeks at St. Thomas. Finally, instead of going around Cape Horn, they chartered a fishing smack, went to the Isthmus of Panama, and at last reached Valparaiso by the new route. This led him to agitate the feasibility of a steamship line from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast, via the Isthmus of Panama, in letters to the United States Gazette of Philadelphia and the Courier and Enquirer of New York. Public attention was attracted and as a result a company was organized in 1849. He made two voyages from Valparaiso to San Francisco as supercargo on a ship fitted out by Mr. Moorhead and some English merchants to trade in the new market then just opened. He was in California at the time of the discovery of gold in the Sacramento river, obtained specimens of the metal, and on his return trip to Valparaiso deviated from his course at the request of the commander of the U.S. army in California, in order that Lieutenant Beale might carry dispatches by way of the Isthmus to Washington, D. C. He sent by Lieutenant Beale his nuggets?the first California gold ever seen in the east?to his brother, Jay Cooke, who was a banker in Philadelphia, and in this way the news first reached the east of the discovery of gold in California. He was afterward unfortunate in financial affairs and returned to his native city, where he became a member of the editorial staff of the Register, and later purchased an interest in the paper. He was also part owner of the Columbus State Journal. He was a presidential elector on the Fr?mont ticket in 1856. In 1861 he removed to Georgetown, D. C., and was admitted as a partner in the Washington banking house of his brother, Jay Cooke. In 1871, when the District of Columbia was organized under a territorial government, he was appointed its first governor, and held the office until his resignation four years later. He organized the system of improved streets and highways in the District of Columbia and his plans as formulated and put into partial operation during his two official terms of office were carried out in detail by Governor Shepherd, his successor. Among his many gifts to Georgetown were a Mission church and $20,000 toward an Episcopal church. He died in Georgetown, D. C., Feb. 29, 1881.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Thomas Scott Fillebrown, naval officer, was born in the District of Columbia, Aug. 13, 1834. He entered the U.S. navy as midshipman, Oct. 19, 1841, and served through the war with Mexico. He was promoted passed midshipman, Aug. 10, 1847; lieutenant, Sept. 15, 1855; and lieutenant-commander, July 16, 1862. He was in active service during the civil war, commanding the steamboat Chenango in 1863; the ironclad Passaic in the assault on Fort Sumter in May, 1864; the iron-clad Montauk, operating against Battery Pringle, S.C., in July, 1864; and the steamer Sonoma of the South Atlantic blockading squadron, 1864-65. He was promoted commander, July 25, 1866; captain, Jan. 6, 1874; commodore, May 7, 1883, and was on special duty in the navy department at Washington, D.C., 1866-83. He died in New York city, Sept. 26, 1884.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of District of Columbia

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