Maryland’s Gift to the Nation: a Capital City
by Kate Whitmore and James H. Johnston
A common myth surrounding the formation of Washington. D.C. relates that the land chosen was a worthless swamp, selected because it was close to George Washington’s Mount Vernon. The truth is, the District of Columbia was chosen as the seat of government because of a compromise between northern and southern states and because the then-existing port of Georgetown, Maryland, was expected to become a commercial hub and a gateway to the interior. In 1791, President George Washington selected sixty-nine square miles of Maryland and thirty-one square miles of Virginia to be ceded to the federal government. Residents of Montgomery County should not make the mistake of divorcing their county’s history from that of the District of Columbia. The decision to locate the capital of the United States on the banks of the Potomac River is the most important event in Montgomery County’s history. Read why in the latest issue of Unfinished Revolution.