Alexandria History Tours

09/04/2026

One of Alexandria’s fishiest homes is for sale! 🐟

403 S. Fairfax Street is a remarkable surviving example of one of Alexandria’s most distinctive architectural forms: The Flounder House.

Flounder houses are known for their unusual shape, with one long, windowless side traditionally thought to resemble the eyeless side of a flounder fish. Many were built farther back on a lot and were later incorporated into larger homes as construction expanded toward the street.

This particular flounder is especially interesting. It is one of only two known Alexandria examples with the door positioned next to the tall side, an unusual arrangement related to the chimney being located in the center of the house.

The building also tells its history through its brick. In 1959, the house was expanded approximately five feet to the south, and you can still see the difference in the brickwork today.

The property’s documented history goes back even further. Alexandria merchant Mordecai Miller sold the lot to Samuel Baggett in 1816. By 1822, a deed records a two-story brick house on the property.

More than 200 years later, 403 S. Fairfax Street is now for sale.

It isn’t just an old house. It is a rare architectural form in America. These types of houses are not common in other cities. Thus, it’s not only a remarkable piece of Alexandria but also a unique home in American history.

09/03/2026

Walking through Alexandria is one thing. Discovering the people, decisions, and events that shaped these streets is something entirely different.

Our tours bring more than 275 years of Alexandria history to life in the places where it happened, from historic homes and churchyards to taverns and cobblestone streets.

We are grateful whenever a guest takes the time to share an experience like this:

“I take walking tours all the time while I am traveling, and this was one of the best I have ever done!”

Come explore Alexandria with us!

08/30/2026

At age 17, George Washington helped survey the new town of Alexandria, Virginia. His map showed the original grid pattern of seven east-west streets and three north-south streets. Washington copied the survey map from John West Jr., the surveyor of Fairfax County and lead surveyor of Alexandria. Washington was still learning the trade but is credited with assisting West.

Alexandria’s founding in 1749 as a port city just below the fall line of the Potomac River was economically important. It was nearly as far upriver as an ocean-going ship could travel before reaching the falls of the Potomac. This location gave Alexandria access to Atlantic trade while also positioning the new town as a gateway to the American interior.

Many of the families involved in Alexandria’s founding were also looking west. Members of the Fairfax, Washington, and Carlyle families invested in the Ohio Company, which sought land and commercial opportunities in the Ohio River Valley. They saw the Potomac River as an important route to the West and Alexandria as a critical link between the Atlantic world and the American interior.

George Washington’s coming of age paralleled the establishment of Alexandria. Many of the same people who influenced the town’s founding also influenced Washington’s early life and career. William Fairfax and his son George William purchased lots in Alexandria, as did Washington’s older half-brother Lawrence. John Carlyle purchased two of the finest lots in the new town. Carlyle was married to Sarah Fairfax, while Sarah’s sister Anne was married to Lawrence Washington.

It is fitting that one of the most noteworthy early maps of Alexandria was drawn by George Washington. The map contains the names of Alexandria’s founders and early lot owners, including the Fairfaxes, John Carlyle, Lawrence Washington, and Augustine Washington Jr. In many ways, the map reads like an enduring tribute from George Washington to the people who helped shape his early life.

08/27/2026

George Washington began working for Lord Fairfax in 1748. He was hired to help survey the 5.2 million acres of Fairfax land! Washington’s first survey expedition was a one month “Journey over the Mountains.” He recorded the survey in great detail.

George Washington traveled with his friend George William Fairfax, who was a son of Col. Fairfax. At age 16, Washington left the comforts of home and traveled into a wild frontier wilderness. From March 11, 1748 until April 13, 1748, Washington and Fairfax rode miles through mountain terrain, paddled by canoe on several rivers, slept in rough camps, got soaked in the rain, hunted turkey, and, of course, surveyed the vast land claimed by Lord Fairfax.

It was a formative moment in George Washington’s life. The journey in 1748 was like a coming of age for him. He was setting off into the world. He was forging his destiny in a quintessential American way of heading west into the wild unknown. At his side, Washington’s friend George William Fairfax was with him. This friendship would last decades even after George William Fairfax went back to England.

If you like the series, please follow and share. Support our work by visiting us and taking a tour in Alexandria. We cover the history of George Washington and the Fairfax family on many of our fantastic tours!

Source: Founders Online. “A Journal of my Journey over the Mountains began Friday the 11th of March 1747/8.”

08/24/2026

George Washington’s father, Augustine, died on April 12, 1743. George was 11 years old. When his father died, Lawerence Washington inherited Augustine’s property on Little Hunting Creek. Lawrence was George’s half-brother from Augustine’s previous marriage to Jane Butler. George Washington greatly admired and looked up to his older brother Lawrence.

Lawrence had just finished serving as a Captain in the War of Jenkins Ear. Lawrence respected his commander British Admiral Edward Vernon. In fact, he renamed Little Hunting Creek plantation “Mount Vernon” after Admiral Vernon. The name remains to this day.

Mount Vernon was a neighboring property of Belvoir. By 1741, the Fairfax family was living at Belvoir. In 1743, Lawrence married Anne Fairfax, who was the daughter of Col. William Fairfax. This marriage was important for young George Washington. It meant that George was a frequent guest both at Mount Vernon and at Belvoir.

Lawrence assumed a role as mentor and father figure to George. However, Col. Fairfax also took on that role and became a very important part of George Washington’s early career. Washington frequently sought Col. Fairfax’s counsel and guidance. Lawrence died in 1752 and Col. Fairfax helped George Washington with advice during the French and Indian War.

Lawrence’s marriage to Anne was an important link that brought George into the orbit of one of the most powerful and well connected families in colonial Virginia.

Follow along as we continue to show the relationship of George Washington and the Fairfax family.

08/21/2026

Have you heard the name “Fairfax”? Today, most people know Fairfax County in Virginia. Alexandria was once the county seat of Fairfax County. The Fairfax family significantly influenced the life and career of George Washington. Without the patronage of the Fairfax family, who knows what or who George Washington would have become. We will explore the impact of George Washington’s relationship to the Fairfax’s in this new series.

Let’s begin with the land that they claimed in Virginia. By 1719, Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron controlled a 5.2 million acre proprietorship. The land was granted to his maternal grandfather, Lord Culpepper. King Charles II granted it as one of seven land grants. King Charles II was rewarding his loyal supporters with land grants for their loyalty during the English Civil War. Thus, the land was political patronage.

Lord Culpepper’s daughter married the 5th Lord Fairfax and the land passed to the 6th Lord Fairfax, who eventually moved to Virginia to oversee and live on his vast property.

Thomas Fairfax hired his cousin Colonel William Fairfax to help manage and monetize the proprietorship. It was Col. Fairfax who had an estate built on the Potomac River called Belvoir Manor by 1741. Belvoir means “beautiful view.”

Belvoir is today part of Fort Belvoir and is a U.S. Army base. George Washington spent much of his teenage years and adulthood at Belvoir. He was close with the Fairfax family and considered both Lord Fairfax and Col. Fairfax mentors. He was personally friends with members of the Fairfax family such as George William Fairfax and his wife Sarah Cary aka “Sally.”

Over the course of this series, we plan on unpacking these relationships and helping people understand the significance of George Washington’s relationship with the Fairfax family and, of course, how the Fairfax family was part of early Alexandria.

We discuss these relationships both on our tours and in the book George Washington and Alexandria: A Founding Friendship.

Please follow and share if you like the series!

08/20/2026

Alexandria is packed with history. But it is not always easy to find. This is where we come in!

Stories and hidden gems are tucked throughout the beautiful streets of Old Town Alexandria. We take pride in helping people uncover the people, places and stories that make Alexandria so much fun to explore.

Even the well known landmarks have hidden history and stories behind the stories. We love to tell them!

Join us in Old Town Alexandria. We want to welcome you and show you everything Alexandria has to offer.

08/17/2026

136 miles of railroad track packed into a three mile stretch of Alexandria!

Alexandria’s Potomac Yard was a major East Coast railroad classification center. Railcars were disassembled from one train, classified, sorted, and re-assembled onto new trains. The trains then continued on to their next destination. Think of this operation like sorting packages at a post office but this was for train cars not mail.

It operated under the Richmond, Fredericksburg, & Potomac (RF&P) Railroad and the classification site grew to 700 acres. It included 89 classification tracks with 50 northbound and 39 southbound. At its peak, 100 trains arrived daily with up to 100 railcars per train. It was a 24/7 operation and employed 1,600 workers in 1945.

Technology and transportation trends led to a slow decline and by the 1980s, the railroad classification center was shutdown. But the land remained extremely valuable and redevelopment plans were discussed, debated, and pushed forward in the 1990s.

The area is still undergoing significant changes with a new metro stop opened in 2023 and a brand new Virginia Tech innovation campus opened in 2025.

It’s a great example of the history that is in Alexandria that is not always easy to see. But it’s an amazing piece of history that puts Alexandria’s story in the heart of America’s transportation and industrial history.

Follow for more great history and share if you like what we are doing in Alexandria. Be sure to support our work by taking a guided tour of historic Alexandria. See you soon!

08/14/2026

Did you know that 136 miles of railroad track once occupied a stretch of Alexandria only about 2½ to 3 miles long?

Today, Potomac Yard is home to shops, condos, townhomes, a Metro stop, and Virginia Tech’s new Innovation Campus. But for much of the 20th century, this area looked completely different.

Potomac Yard opened in 1906 and became one of the largest railroad classification centers on the East Coast. At its height, it contained 89 classification tracks and serviced more than 100 trains per day.

During World War II, the scale was extraordinary. Approximately 1,600 people worked at Potomac Yard, and at its 1945 peak, more than 10,000 freight cars could be handled in a single day.

But perhaps the most fascinating part is how it worked.

Freight trains arriving in Alexandria were broken apart and individual cars sorted according to destination. Cars were pushed over artificial hills called “humps,” uncoupled, and then gravity helped send them rolling onto different classification tracks. From there, the cars were assembled into new trains to continue their journeys north or south.

Almost all traces of this massive railroad operation have disappeared from the landscape today.

We recently had the opportunity to provide a private Potomac Yard history tour for residents of The Riviera, which inspired us to take a deeper look at the incredible railroad history beneath one of Alexandria’s fastest-changing neighborhoods.

Read our latest blog post on the history of Potomac Yard here:

Long before the shops, apartments, and Metro station, Potomac Yard was one of the busiest railroad classification yards on the East Coast — a 136-mile maze of track where, at its WWII peak, workers sorted more than 10,000 freight cars a day. Here's how a working rail yard became one of Alexandria'...

08/14/2026

The best way to explore historic Old Town Alexandria in one day!

If you only have one day, here’s how we’d spend it:

8 AM: Coffee at Café Du S☀️leil | Coffee Shop or Old Town Dolci Gelati Café ☕️

9 AM: Explore the Waterfront 🌊

10:30 AM: Discover Alexandria Walking Tour with Alexandria History Tours 🇺🇸

12:30 PM: Lunch BARCA Pier & Wine Bar 🍽️

2:00 PM: Shop in Old Town The Old Town Shop | Local and Regional Gifts and Principle Gallery 🛍️

3:30 PM: Ice Cream at Dolci Gelati 🍦

4:00 PM: Revolutionary War Walking Tour 🇺🇸

6:00 PM: Dinner Ada's on the River or Mia's Italian Kitchen ALX 🍽️

When you take a tour with Alexandria History Tours, you receive 10% off purchases at Dolci Gelati and The Old Town Shop.

Comment “Guide” and we will send you our full 2026 Alexandria Visitor Guide.

See you in Old Town Alexandria soon!