Inventing America : The Role of Freemasonry in Early Washington
Locating the District along the Potomac River was not regarded by everyone with enthusiasm . Swampy and low-lying , the land was hardly a Garden of Eden , and there were those who would have preferred the social amenities of New York or Philadelphia . The area where the White House stands was called the Barrens . 16 Andrew Elliott , the surveyor who would help laying out the city , remarked , “ As the President is so much attached to this country , I would not be willing that he knew my real sentiments about it . But this country , intended for the Permanent Residence of Congress , bears no more proportion to the Country about Philadelphia than a [ scrawny ] Crane does to a [ fat ] stall fed Ox !” 17
The Masons who ambitiously founded the first lodges in Washington were possibly regarded by pessimists with considerable skepticism . “ The greatest enemy of L ’ Enfant ’ s plan was Doubt ,” notes Howard Smith . “ It took a very imaginative eye to look about hills and fields and pigsties and imagine a spacious , beautiful city like Paris or St . Petersburg . The average American planter or merchant was apt to think the idea grandiose and impossible to carry out .” 18 The faith needed to be was
21 Within the Virginia part of the new District , two lodges existed prior to 1811 . Lodge No . 22 , charakin to that of sitting in a crude log tavern for a meeting and imagining one was following in the footsteps of King Solomon in the Temple at Jerusalem .
A Vision Unfolds
The United States Constitution ,
Article 1 , Section 8 , Clause 17 , includes language authorizing a federal district . On July 16 , 1790 , Congress authorized President Washington to choose a site , and after much work , on December 1 , 1800 , the capital moved from Philadelphia . The population of Washington itself in 1800 was only 3210 , with another 2993 in Georgetown and 4971 in Alexandria , which suggests that the high level of Masonic activity at the time was disproportionate to the size of the small city . 19
George Washington in March of 1791 had met with the local landowners to persuade them to sell tracts to the government . He pointed out the advantages to them of giving up some of their lands in order to get the influx of government departments and included both Georgetown and Alexandria in the plan ’ s boundaries . 20 He personally selected Jenkins Hill for the location of the new Capitol building . 21
16 Jeffers , Freemasons in America , 95 . 17 Linkletter , A . ( 2007 ). The fabric of America ( p . 91 ). New York : Walker & Company .
18 Smith , H . K . ( 1967 ). Washington D . C .: the story of our nation ’ s capital ( p . 13 ). New York : Random House .
19 “ Population of the 33 Urban Places ”, United States Bureau of the Census , Release Date : June 15 , 1998 . Retrieved March 3 , 2011 from http :// www . census . gov / population / www / documentation / twps0027 / tab03 . txt .
20 In 1846 , Congress ordered the return of the land that Virginia had given for the creation of the District of Columbia .
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