Part 3

The Court ordered the annexation[53] to take effect on December 31, 1929. The line thus established remained in effect until January 1, 1966.

[53] See Appendix.

This was the last annexation of territory from Arlington County. A special provision of the Act[54] establishing the County Manager plan of government, adopted by Arlington in 1930, effective January 1, 1932, prevents the annexation of any _part_ of the County (but permits annexation of the _entire_ County after referendum). In 1938, as a further precaution, the legislative delegation representing Arlington County succeeded in having the General Assembly enact a law[55] which prohibits the annexation of territory from any county which would result in reducing the area of that county to less than 60 square miles of highland. Since Arlington has less than 26 square miles, this Act effectively checks any further such encroachments upon its territory.

[54] Acts of Assembly, 1930, Chapter 167; Cf. also, _Code of Virginia, 1950_, Title 15.1, Sec. 692.

[55] Acts of Assembly, 1938, Chapter 22; Cf. also, _Code of Virginia, 1950_, Title 15.1, Sec. 1056.

Development on both sides of the 1929 boundary line, construction of streets and notably of the Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway--and especially changes in the channel of Four Mile Run--eventually brought dissatisfaction with that line. In 1962, the Arlington and Alexandria legislative delegations secured enactment by the General Assembly of an Act[56] permitting an adjustment in the boundary to be concluded by mutual agreement between the governing bodies of the County and the City, the agreement to be recorded in the Clerk's Office of both jurisdictions.

[56] Acts of Assembly, 1962, Chapter 314.

Negotiations began after the area affected had been surveyed and the private property which might be the subject of exchange had been appraised. Impetus was given by the need of Arlington for land in connection with enlargement of the County sewage treatment facilities; this land, although on the North side of Four Mile Run fell in Alexandria. Finally, the Arlington County Board gave approval in principle to a draft proposal on April 10, 1965,[57] and on April 13, 1965, the Alexandria City Council followed suit. A public hearing was held on May 5, 1965, but final action was deferred pending refinement of the proposal. In December 1965, the final agreement was recorded[58] and the transfer of certain publicly owned property approved by the Circuit Court. The net gain to Arlington's area was 167 acres.

[57] Arlington County Board Minute Book XXI, p. 54.

[58] Alexandria _Deed Book_, 641, p. 188 (December 21, 1965); Arlington _Deed Book_, 1609, p. 453 (December 23, 1965); Arlington _Common Law Order Book_ 85, p. 197. For the description of the new boundary, see Appendix.

This procedure for rectifying boundaries between a County and a City is highly unusual in the Virginia experience.

_Arlington's Boundary with the District of Columbia_

No definite effort was made at the time of the recession of Alexandria County to Virginia to draw a boundary line between the County and the remaining portion of the District of Columbia. As noted above, the various acts bringing about the recession referred only to "the territory heretofore ceded by the Commonwealth of Virginia." The actual boundary was of small moment at the time.

Toward the end of the 19th Century, however, the United States Government acquired lands on the Virginia shore of the Potomac largely through the purchase of the Arlington estate. As the 20th Century progressed, roads (notably the Mount Vernon Boulevard and later the George Washington Memorial Parkway) were constructed, bridges and bridge approaches built and, eventually, the Federal Government undertook to construct the National Airport at Gravelly Point below Alexander's Island. A suit[59] over government activity in making a land fill raised questions as to the exact location of the boundary--and indeed as to whether Alexander's Island really was an island or was a peninsula. This case, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court on May 4, 1931, set the boundary line between the District of Columbia and Virginia at the high water mark of the Potomac on the Virginia shore as it existed in 1791.

[59] _Washington Airport_ vs. _Smoot Sand and Gravel Corp_., 283 U.S. 348. Cf. also, _Marine Railroad and Coal Co_. v. _U.S._, 257 U.S. 47.

But where had that high water mark been? There had been no survey at the time; the shore line had never been marked; and even had it been, the passage of time had made many changes in the river front.[60] A Commission was established[61] to deal with this question. The instructions to this Commission were to take into consideration the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States, the findings and report of the Maryland-Virginia Commission of 1877[62] and the Maryland-Virginia compact of 1785.[63]

[60] This indefinite boundary line "lies in many places some distance from the Potomac River." _Report No. 895_, H.R., 78th Congress, 1st Session.

[61] 48 U.S. Stat. 453; Virginia Acts of Assembly, 1932, p. 485.

[62] _Code of Virginia, 1950_, Title 7.1, Sec. 7. This Commission dealt only with the boundary below Jones Point but chose _low water mark_ as the line. The pertinent words of the agreement (ratified by Virginia in 1878) are: "The low water mark on the Potomac to which Virginia has a right in the soil, is to be measured ... from low-water mark at one headland to low water at another, without following indentations, bays, creeks, inlets, or affluent rivers. Virginia is entitled not only to full dominion over the soil to low water mark on the south shore of the Potomac, but has a right to such use of the river...." Interpretation of this agreement took many years and it was 1930 before the line actually was surveyed and monumented.

[63] _Code of Virginia, 1950_, Title 7.1, Sec. 7. Cf. also page 9 above.

The Commission accumulated a large volume of testimony and exhibits and completed its report[64] in 1935. It found that the "fair and proper boundary is the low water mark on the Virginia shore running from headland to headland across creeks and inlets." It pointed out that inasmuch as the mark of 1791 could not be determined the low water mark should be accepted as of this day. It suggested that an exception be made at Roaches Run where the line should run 150 feet west of and parallel to the west line of the Mount Vernon Boulevard.

[64] Report of District of Columbia--Virginia Boundary Commission, 74th Congress, 2nd Session, _House Document_ 374.

Several bills[65] were introduced into Congress to give effect to the decision of the Commission but none was enacted at this time. The completion of the Airport and the Pentagon Building gave urgency to the problem: conflicts of jurisdiction hampered law enforcement and complicated the question of tax collection. Moreover, Virginia was anxious to insure that the liquor control laws of the State and not those of the District of Columbia should be in effect at the National Airport. In 1942, the General Assembly had adopted an Act[66] covering the boundary question, on the assumption that the bill then pending in Congress would be passed. Disagreement over the details of the jurisdiction to be ceded and accepted by Virginia and the United States Government prevented passage of a Federal Act until 1945 when Public Law 208 was enacted by the 79th Congress. This was followed by an Act[67] of the Virginia General Assembly repealing the 1942 Act and ratifying the 1945 Federal Act.

[65] 76th Congress, 3rd Session, H.R. 9976; S. 4114. 77th Congress, 1st Session, H.R. 1045; H.R. 5073. 78th Congress, 1st Session, S. 19; H.R. 746; H.R. 3664. The Arlington County Board endorsed H.R. 9976; cf. Minute Book V, p. 423 and VII, p. 500.

[66] Acts of Assembly, 1942, Chapter 267.

[67] Acts of Assembly, 1946, Chapter 26. _Code of Virginia, 1950_, Title 7.1, Sec. 10.

This law is in effect today. It provides that the boundary line

"shall begin at a point where the northwest boundary of the District of Columbia intercepts the high-water mark of the Virginia shore of the Potomac River and following the present mean high-water mark; thence in a southeasterly direction along the Virginia shore of the Potomac River to Little River, along the Virginia shore of Little River to Boundary Channel, along the Virginia side of Boundary Channel to the main body of the Potomac River, along the Virginia side of the Potomac River across the mouths of all tributaries affected by the tides of the river to Second Street, Alexandria, Virginia, from Second Street to the present established pierhead line, and following said pierhead line to its connection with the District of Columbia-Maryland boundary line; that whenever said mean high-watermark on the Virginia shore is altered by artificial fill and excavations made by the United States, or by alluvion or erosion, then the boundary shall follow the new mean high-water mark on the Virginia shore as altered, or whenever the location of the pierhead line along the Alexandria water front is altered, then the boundary shall follow the new location of the pierhead line."

The Act also provided that all the land on the Virginia side of the Potomac lying between the boundary line as now adopted and the mean high water mark as it existed on January 24, 1791 (wherever that was!) should be ceded to the State of Virginia. The United States, however, reserved concurrent jurisdiction over this area.

Here the matter rests very uneasily today. The exact line was surveyed, monumented, and mapped by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey over the years 1946-1947.[68] However, the working agreements reached by the law enforcement officials of the various jurisdictions concerned have not always proven satisfactory. The long history of the location of the Potomac River boundary of Arlington County cannot yet be said to have reached its end.

[68] Unpublished Report dated March 27, 1947, from Lt. Comdr. Roswell C. Bolstad, Chief of Party, on Project G-815, Coast and Geodetic Survey, Department of Commerce.

_Postscript--Towns in Arlington County_

Of the three towns which have lain within Arlington County, the only one whose limits have been of importance to the territorial extent of the County is Alexandria. Nonetheless, to complete the record, some mention should be made of the Town of Potomac and the Town of Falls Church, the first of which lay wholly within Arlington, and the second, partly so.

Falls Church is the older town. It was chartered by the General Assembly on March 30, 1875.[69] The charter set forth the boundaries as:

"Beginning at the corner of Alexandria and Fairfax Counties on J. C. DePutron's farm; thence to the corner of W. H. Ellison and Koon [sic] on D. H. Barrett's line; thence to the corner of Sewell and Hollidge, on the new cut road; thence to the corner of J. E. Birch and H. J. England, on the Falls Church and Fairfax Courthouse road; thence to a stone in the road being a corner of B. F. Shreve, Newton, and others; thence to the crossing of the Alexandria and Georgetown roads at Taylor's corners; thence along the line of said Georgetown road to the corner of Samuel Shreve and John Febrey; thence to a pin oak tree near Dr. L. E. Gott's spring; thence to the northeast corner of John Brown's barn; thence to the crossing of Isaac Crossmun's and Bowen's line on the Chain Bridge Road; thence to the place of beginning."

[69] Acts of Assembly 1874/75, Chapter 316.

After Arlington adopted the County Manager form of government, the residents of so much of the Town of Falls Church as lay within Arlington County (Map V) sought to have the charter amended to reduce the limits of the Town to that portion which lay in Fairfax. An action was brought on July 7, 1932, and the Circuit Court granted the petition on January 17, 1935.[70] This decision was appealed, however, and it was not until the next year (April 30, 1936) that the order went into effect,[71] after the lower court had been upheld by the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.

[70] Arlington County, _Common Law Order Book 16_, p. 235 and p. 309.

[71] Arlington County, _Common Law Order Book 17_, p. 130 and p. 138.

The area affected by the order is described as:

"Beginning at a large planted stone on the estate of the late J. C. DePutron, at the original western corner of the District of Columbia, which is also at the corner of Fairfax and Arlington counties, and at the corner of the Town of Falls Church; thence with the boundary of said Town S. 83 deg. 15' E. 2,404 feet more or less, to a planted stone in the center of Little Falls Street also called the Chain Bridge Road, at a point at which said street is intersected by the boundary of the land formerly known as the Bowen tract; thence with the boundary of said Town S. 49 deg. 15' E. 3,482 feet, more or less, to a planted granite stone at a point which formerly marked the northeast corner of John Brown's barn; thence with the boundary of said Town S. 28 deg. 45' E. 2,410 feet, more or less, to a point at which there formerly stood a large pin oak on the Gott tract; thence with the boundary of the said Town S. 4 deg. 15' W. to the boundary between Fairfax and Arlington counties; thence with the said boundary in a northwesterly direction to the place of beginning."

The Town of Potomac was chartered by the General Assembly in 1908.[72] Its boundaries (Map V) were described as:

"Beginning at the north intersection of Bellefont Avenue in the subdivision of 'Del Ray' with the Washington and Alexandria Turnpike, thence northerly along the west line of the Turnpike to the old Georgetown Road, the northern boundary of the subdivision of St. Elmo; thence westerly along the south side of the Georgetown Road to the dividing line of Susan P. A. Calvert and Charles E. Wood; thence with the line of Calvert and Wood to the west line of the Washington, Alexandria and Mt. Vernon R.R. Co., to its intersection with Lloyd's Lane and Bellefont Avenue to the beginning."

[72] Acts of Assembly 1908, Chapter 273.

All this area was included in the annexation to Alexandria which was effected in 1929 (cf. p. 23).

One proposed town deserves mention. In 1920 a group of citizens petitioned the Circuit Court for a town charter for Clarendon. The Court denied the petition. Upon appeal, the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia upheld the lower court, declaring that all of Arlington County was a "continuous, contiguous, and homogeneous community" and as such should not be subjected to subdivision for the purpose of incorporating a town.[73] Since Arlington is even more a "continuous, contiguous, and homogeneous" community than it was in 1922 there is no prospect that ever again will there be a town within the bounds of the County.

[73] _Bennett_ v. _Garrett_, 112 S.E. 772, decided June 15, 1922.

APPENDIX

_Annexation of 1915_

Text of the order of the Supreme Court of Appeals setting the area to be annexed by Alexandria as of April 1, 1915:

"1st. That the following territory in Fairfax County be, and the same is hereby annexed to the City of Alexandria, to wit:--Beginning at a point in mid-channel of Hunting Creek southward of Alexandria Water Company's pumping station with the east side of a lane, called Robert's Lane; running thence northwardly with the east line of said Lane, extended, and with the east line of said Lane to the south side of the Little River Turnpike; thence across the Little River Turnpike in the same direction to the extreme west corner of Shooter's Hill section of George Washington Park sub-division; thence with the west boundary of said Shooter's Hill section to the corner of said Shooter's Hill section and Section No. 2 of said sub-division; thence with the west boundary of said Section No. 2 of said sub-division to a point on the south side of Janney's Road fifty (50) feet west from the intersection of the south side of Janney's Road and the west side of the Leesburg Turnpike; thence continuing to about 25 degrees east to the old District of Columbia line, being the dividing line between said Fairfax County and Alexandria County; and thence southwestwardly with the said old District line to Jones Point on the Potomac River; thence southwardly down the said River to the mid-channel of Hunting Creek: thence with the meanderings of the mid-channel of Hunting Creek up stream, to the point of beginning.... 2nd. That the following described territory in Alexandria County be, and the same is, hereby annexed to the City of Alexandria: Beginning at the northwest corner of the present city boundary, and extended said line westwardly, in the same course until it intersects with the north side of the Braddock Road; thence southwardly, to the Old District line at the northwest corner of the land annexed from Fairfax County; thence with the said old District line southeastwardly to the southwest corner of the present city boundary about twenty feet west of Hooff's Run; thence following the western boundary line of the present city to the northwest corner of the present boundary line of the city and the point of beginning.... And it is further ordered that the boundary lines of the City of Alexandria after annexation shall be as follows: Beginning in the Potomac River at the northeast corner of the present boundary of the City of Alexandria and following the present north boundary line of the City of Alexandria to the northwest corner of the City, thence prolonging said line in the same direction until it intersects with the north side of the Braddock Road; then southwardly to a point on the south side of Janney's Lane fifty (50) feet from the west side of Leesburg Turnpike; thence southwardly along the west boundary line of George Washington Park subdivision to the Alexandria Water Company property and reservoir; thence southwardly with the west line of Alexandria Water Company's property to the north side of the Little River Turnpike; thence across the Little River Turnpike and with the east side of Robert's Lane and continuing with the east side of Robert's Lane extended to the mid-channel of Hunting Creek; thence downstream with the meandering of the mid-channel of Hunting Creek to the Potomac River, thence up the Potomac River to Jones Point and thence with the west side of the Potomac River to the point of beginning, the northeast corner of the present boundary of the City of Alexandria."

_Annexation of 1929_

Text of the order of the Supreme Court of Appeals setting the area to be annexed by Alexandria as of December 31, 1929:

"Beginning at the intersection of the north corporate limits of Alexandria Virginia with the west shore of the Potomac River, thence extending N. 80 deg. 39' W. along said north boundary line to the northwest corner of the corporate limits as the same was established prior to the year 1915; thence with the line as established March 22, 1915, and continuing said north corporate line N. 80 deg. 39' W., 4,353.86 feet to a set stone at the corner on the north side of the Braddock Road within the subdivision of Northwest Alexandria; thence S. 30 deg. 11' W., 1,892.20 feet to the intersection with the line separating Fairfax and Arlington Counties; thence with the line of said two counties N. 45 deg. 02' 50" W., 6,434.88 feet to a point in the center line of the Braddock Road (having passed over an original milestone in said county line at 3,244.70 feet); thence following along the center line of said Braddock Road, S. 84 deg. 22' 30" E., 264.20 feet to a point where said Braddock Road is intersected by the southwardly projection of the Seminary Road: thence departing from said Braddock Road and following along the center line of said Seminary Road the following courses: N. 5 deg. 02' 30" E. 811.50 feet, N. 22 deg. 46' 30" E. 611.05 feet, N. 1 deg. 23' W., 1,551.40 feet, N. 20 deg. 03' E. 319.13 feet, N. 19 deg. 48' E. 385.49 feet, N. 37 deg. 45' W. 183.32 feet, N. 2 deg. 57' E. 140.89 feet, N. 28 deg. 00' E. 165.41 feet, N. 5 deg. 59' E., 145.83 feet N. 13 deg. 47' W. 436.37 feet, N. 9 deg. 02' W. 1,447.08 feet, and N. 2 deg. 10' 30" E. 274.90 feet to the point where said center line of said Seminary Road intersects the south right-of-way line of the Washington and Old Dominion Railway; thence with said south right-of-way line S. 77 deg. 39' 30" E., 1885.80 more or less, to the center line of the channel of Four Mile Run; thence down the mid-channel line of said Four Mile Run following the meanderings thereof as the same passes under the Washington Virginia Railway (now the Mount Vernon, Alexandria and Washington Railway) the Washington and Alexandria Road, and extending to the intersection of the said Run with the Potomac River; thence following along the west shore line of said Potomac River southwardly to the point of beginning."

_Boundary Adjustment 1966_

Text of the description of the new Arlington-Alexandria boundary in effect on January 1, 1966, by mutual agreement: