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.
- –
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)
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Now
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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 link below opens the sign's page on this site, with the full image and trail context.
301 S. St. Asaph St.
Suffragists and a Courtroom Decision in Alexandria
200 block S. St. Asaph near Patrick St.
Sources
- 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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