John Wise
b. 1762 · d. 1815
Alexandria tavern keeper and landowner who built the 1792 City Tavern addition on North Royal Street. Wise leased the property to John Gadsby in 1796 and continued to operate other establishments in the town.
John Wise was among the most active innkeepers and property developers in Alexandria in the decades after the town’s incorporation. He built the three-story brick addition to the City Tavern on North Royal Street in 1792, attaching it to an earlier two-story tavern [1] Miller, Artisans and Merchants, 1991 Book . In 1796 Wise leased the combined complex to John Gadsby, who would operate it as the city’s preeminent hotel during the years George Washington died and his funeral procession passed through Alexandria.
Wise also held property elsewhere in town, including a store and tavern at the corner of Fairfax and Cameron. He died in 1815 and was buried in the Christ Church yard [2] Powell, History of Old Alexandria, 1928 Book .
Associated places
- 1792–1815
John Wise built the 1792 hotel addition and owned the combined complex through the turn of the century.
Sources
- 1.
T. Michael Miller, Artisans and Merchants of Alexandria, Virginia 1780-1820, Heritage Books, 1991.
Book
- 2.
Mary G. Powell, The History of Old Alexandria, Virginia, from July 13, 1749 to May 24, 1861, Richmond: William Byrd Press, 1928.
Book
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