614
Wolfe Street
Two-story brick schoolhouse built 1786 on Wolfe Street. George Washington George Washington b. 1732 · d. 1799 Planter, military commander, and first President of the United States. Master of Mount Vernon from 1761 until his death in 1799, and a regular presence in Alexandria, which he … was a founding trustee and bequeathed funds for free education of poor children. Later home to a free school for Black children operated by the city’s Quaker community.
- 1786
- Federal
- Extant
- Old and Historic Alexandria District
Place narrative
The Alexandria Academy was chartered in 1785 as the city’s first private school; the Wolfe Street building was completed the following year. George Washington, who served as a founding trustee, gave the Academy fifty dollars annually toward the education of orphans and the children of indigent families, and bequeathed an additional four thousand dollars in his 1799 will toward the same purpose. [1] Powell, History of Old Alexandria, 1928 Book
Through the early nineteenth century the Academy operated as the primary boys’ classical school in Alexandria, with parallel teaching arrangements for girls and, briefly, a free school for Black children operated by the city’s Quaker community. The building survives at 614 Wolfe Street as a contributing structure of the Old and Historic Alexandria District.
Timeline
1 chronological entry across 1 era.
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George Washington served as a founding trustee of the Alexandria Academy from its 1785 charter and bequeathed $4,000 in his will toward free education of poor children at the school. [1] Source Powell, History of Old Alexandria, 1928
The building
- Federal
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Connected
George Washington
b. 1732 · d. 1799
Planter, military commander, and first President of the United States. Master of Mount Vernon from 1761 until his death in 1799, and a regular presence in Alexandria, which he …
Operator · Institutional · %!d(float64=1785)–%!d(float64=1799)
Nearby in time
Abdelrhman 1990 · via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 133 North Fairfax Street
Federal-style 1807 banking house, the first chartered bank in Alexandria. NRHP-listed 1973.
![Old Loyd [i.e. Lloyd] House, Alexandria, Va.](/images/gtdju7ejdnwoq7p/old_loyd_i_e_lloyd_house_alexandria_va_2rutnb54Yg._hu_952f28a739427277.jpg)
Old Loyd [i.e. Lloyd] House, Alexandria, Va. · Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division · http://www.loc.gov/item/2016803285/ 220 North Washington Street
Late-Georgian 1797 townhouse at the corner of North Washington and Queen built by merchant John Wise. Charles Lee, U.S. Attorney General and …
The original uploader was Ser Amantio di Nicolao at English Wikipedia . · via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0 105 South Fairfax Street
Apothecary operated 1792-1933 by the Stabler and Leadbeater families; designated a National Historic Landmark in 2021. NRHP-listed 1982.
Bruce Andersen from Washington, DC · via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0 Fifth of the original DC southwestern boundary stones, near the Arlington line. NRHP-listed 1991.
Nearby in space
Farragutful · via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 228 South Pitt Street
Federal-Greek Revival 1817 sanctuary, the second oldest Episcopal congregation in Alexandria after Christ Church. NRHP-listed 1985.
530 South St. Asaph Street 530 South St. Asaph Street
Continuously operating school site on South St. Asaph Street whose institutional lineage runs from the city's segregated Black schools of …
320 South Washington Street 320 South Washington Street
Founded in 1863 by formerly enslaved Black congregants; one of the earliest independent Black Baptist churches in the South. NRHP-listed …
413 Prince Street 413 Prince Street
Early-19th-century brick building used as the Bank of Potomac's executive office and as a Virginia governor's residence. NRHP-listed 2025.
Now
No current occupant on file. Are you, or someone you know, the present occupant? Claim this place to add operating hours, a current photo, and a short note.
Wolfe Street
Named for General James Wolfe, hero of the Battle of Quebec (1759), c. 1796.
Interpretive signs nearby
The City of Alexandria has installed 2 historical interpretive signs within walking distance of this place. Each links to the actual sign image on alexandriava.gov.
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301 S. St. Asaph St.
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Suffragists and a Courtroom Decision in Alexandria
200 block S. St. Asaph near Patrick St.
Sources
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1.
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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