Alexandria Library -- Special Collections

Document of the Month

May 2004

Alexandria Water Company, Property Book, 1867


The first section of the book lists property owners and tenants. Each entry includes a brief description of the property and its water use. Examples of water use include "7 wash basins, 4 water closets," "H2O in yard," and "soda fountains, store and kitchen."

The second section consists of "drawings of squares." Each schematic shows water service into various structures on a city block.

Just after the Civil War, Richard Henry Lloyd lived on the corner of Washington and Queen in a brick dwelling built around 1797-1798. The neighboring structures housed an office of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (popularly known as the Freedmen's Bureau) and a school for African-Americans.

Place the cursor over the image to view a detail of the schematic.

Related Resources
  • Phil Erickson (comp). Alexandria Water Company Permits: The First 1000 "Pipers"
  • Stuart D. Hubbard. "Northern Virginia Life Expectancies: A Comparison of Fairfax County & Alexandria City (1800-1880), "Northern Virginia Heritage, June 1987
  • Steven J. Shephard. Obtaining Water and Discarding Waste: An Overview of Attitudes and Practices in Nineteenth-Century Alexandria, Virginia
  • Manuscript Collection Box 103C: Virginia American Water Company -- Company Records -- Alexandria Water Company, Property Book, 1867
  • Manuscript Collection Box 164, Folder 6: Alexandria Water Company, Annual Reports, 1851-1879
  • Manuscript Collection Box 202: Alexandria Chamber of Commerce Records
  • Manuscript Collection Box 240: VF Utilities


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