The Alexandria Gazette was a succession of newspapers based in Alexandria, Virginia , United States. The newspaper offers an important source of information for events in Alexandria, particularly in the nineteenth century. The newspaper served as the dominant newspaper in Alexandria from 1834 to 1974. It served as a voice to the Whig Party and later the Democratic Party .
15-592: The predecessor to the Gazette was established on February 5, 1784, by George Richards & Company as the Virginia Journal . The Alexandria Gazette building on Prince Street was burned during the Civil War by rioting federal troops. It was rebuilt by the publisher and editor Edgar Snowden after the war. The newspaper was subsequently located at 317 King Street. A successor to the earlier iterations ran as
30-481: A daily newspaper from 1834 to 1974. Its first publisher was Edgar Snowden (1810–1875), who represented Alexandria in the Virginia House of Delegates several times as well as unsuccessfully run for Governor of Virginia (losing to Extra-Billy Smith ). Snowden was pro-slavery and threatened abolitionist publishers William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan with lynching should they visit Alexandria. During
45-705: A fire and later rebuilt. In 1864, Snowden was arrested by military authorities and detained for a brief period. Snowden's other business holdings included the Fauquier and Alexandria Turnpike Company and the Alexandria Canal . Snowden died on September 24, 1875, at the age of 64. He is buried at the Trinity United Methodist Church cemetery in Alexandria. Alexandria Canal (Virginia) The Alexandria Canal
60-642: A portion of the railroad's route that had traveled within the canal's grade. The section of the Blue Line opened on July 1, 1977. After the Key Bridge was completed in 1923, the old superstructure of the Aqueduct Bridge was removed. During the 1980s, Alexandria City archaeologists and the developer of the neighboring Trans-Potomac Canal Center excavated the Tidal Basin and Lock and covered
75-550: A series of four locks between Washington Street and the Potomac River in the northern portion of Alexandria. The Canal ended at a Tidal Basin (Pool No. 1) and a Tidal Lock (Lift Lock No. 1) located at the north end of Old Town Alexandria. The canal was abandoned in 1886. Ten years after the canal closed, an electric trolley line was constructed in 1896 in Arlington on the bed of the towpath that traveled near and along
90-595: The Whig Party . In addition to printing the Gazette , Snowden ran a printing office business. During the American Civil War , Snowden used his periodical, The Local News, to promote the cause of the Confederacy . As such, his newspaper became a target for attacks during the war. His printing plant was seized by Union officers, property was demolished and looted, and the building was destroyed in
105-651: The Virginia House of Delegates from 1846 to 1853. In 1850, Snowden was elected to serve as a representative to the Virginia Constitutional Convention . Snowden was pro-slavery and threatened abolitionist publishers William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan with lynching should they visit Alexandria. In 1853, Snowden was the Whig party nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives for Virginia's 7th congressional district , but
120-598: The canal's west side (see: Washington-Mount Vernon line of the Washington, Alexandria, and Mount Vernon Electric Railway ). Arlington's South Eads Street now approximates the canal's route in this area. Also in 1896, the Washington Southern Railway opened a line that traveled between the southern end of the Long Bridge and the southern end of the Aqueduct Bridge. The line, which passed
135-532: The first half of the 20th century U.S. Representative Charles Creighton Carlin and his son Charles Creighton Carlin Jr. edited the paper. The paper is prominently shown in Alfred Hitchcock 's 1969 film Topaz . This article about a Virginia newspaper is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Edgar Snowden Edgar Snowden Sr. (December 21, 1810 – September 24, 1875)
150-784: The present site of The Pentagon , traveled within the grade of the former canal in the area that lies between Arlington National Cemetery and the Potomac River. The line became in 1904 the Rosslyn Connecting Railroad , which the Pennsylvania Railroad owned through a subsidiary, the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad (PB&W). The Rosslyn Connecting Railroad abandoned nearly all of its line in 1962 and closed in 1969. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority then constructed an open section of Metrorail 's Blue Line along
165-655: Was a canal in the United States that connected the city of Alexandria to Georgetown in the District of Columbia . In 1830, merchants from Alexandria (which at the time was within the jurisdiction of the federal District of Columbia) proposed linking their city to Georgetown to capitalize on the new Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (C&O Canal). Congress granted a charter to the Alexandria Canal Company in 1830. Construction began in 1833 and
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#1732775948847180-484: Was active in local politics in Alexandria, and served on the city's Common Council for five years. From 1840 to 1843, Snowden served as mayor of Alexandria. During his time as mayor, he advocated for the retrocession of Alexandria to Virginia, which was approved in 1846. After the retrocession of the City of Alexandria and Alexandria County back to Virginia , Snowden served several terms as Alexandria's representative in
195-490: Was an American newspaperman and politician from Virginia who served as mayor of Alexandria, D.C. and represented Alexandria in the Virginia House of Delegates . Edgar Snowden was born on December 21, 1810. Snowden attended law school and briefly worked as an attorney. He married Louisa Grymes (1814 –1897) and they had eleven children, including Edgar Snowden Jr ., a member of the Virginia Senate . Snowden
210-651: Was completed in 1843. The Aqueduct Bridge (also begun in 1833 and completed in 1843) enabled canal boats from the C&;O Canal to cross the Potomac River without descending to the river level. The boats would then continue their trips downstream on a canal on the southwest side of the Potomac until they reached Alexandria's seaport . The canal ran southwards for seven miles through today's Arlington County and City of Alexandria, Virginia, dropping 38 feet through
225-466: Was defeated by William "Extra-Billy" Smith . In 1857, Snowden ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Virginia against incumbent Extra-Billy Smith. After his father's Samuel Snowden's death, Snowden took over the role of publisher and editor of his newspaper, the Alexandria Gazette . The newspaper served as the dominant newspaper in Alexandria during the period, and advanced the views of
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