lar to the above, over Stock creek, a branch of Pelefon river, in Washington county.

CIVIL DIVISIONS.

This State is divided into eighty-two counties, and by another divifion is formed into parishes, many of which are commensurate with the counties: but fometimes a county comprehends more than one parish, and fometimes a parish more than one county. This divifion had relation to the religion of the State, a minifter of the Anglican church, with a fixed falary, having been heretofore eftablined in each parish. The names and fituations of these counties are as follow:

There are no townships in this State, nor any towns of confequence, owing, probably, to the interfection of the country by navigable rivers, which brings the trade to the doors of the inhabitants, and prevents the neceffity of their going in queft of it to a distance. Williamsburgh, which, till the year 1780, was the feat of government, never contained above eighteen hundred inhabitants, and Norfolk, the most populous town they ever had in Virginia, contained but fix thousand. The towns, or more properly villages or hamlets, are as follow:

On James river and its waters-Norfolk, Portsmouth, Hampton, Suffolk, Smithfield, Williamfburgh, Peterburgh, Richmond, the feat of government, Manchester, Charlottefville, New London.-On York river and its waters, York, Newcastle, Hanover.-On Rappahannock, Urbanna, Port Royal, Fredericksburgh, Falmouth.On Potomack and its waters, Dumfries, Colchester, Alexandria, Winchester, Staunton.

4

There

There are places at which, like fome of the foregoing, the laws have faid there fhall be towns, but nature has faid there shall not; and they remain unworthy of enumeration. Norfolk will probably become the emporium for all the trade of the Chesapeak bay and its waters; and a canal of eight or ten miles, which will probably foon be completed, will bring to it all that of Albemarle found and its waters. Secondary to this place, are the towns at the head of the tide waters, to wit, Petersburgh on Appamattox, Richmond on James river, Newcastle on York river, Fredericksburgh on the Rappahannock, and Alexandria on the Potomack. From these the diftribution will be to fubordinate fituations of the country. Accidental circumftances, however, may controul the indications of nature, and in no inftances do they do it more frequently than in the rife and fall of

towns.

To the foregoing general account, we had the following more particular descriptions:

ALEXANDRIA.

Alexandria ftands on the fouth bank of Potomack river in Fairfax county; its fituation is elevated and pleasant; the foil is clay. The original fettlers, anticipating its future growth and importance, laid out the streets upon the plan of Philadelphia. It contains about fix hundred houses, many of which are handfomely built, and about fix thousand inhabitants. This town, upon opening the naviga tion of Potomack river, and in confequence of its vicinity to the city of Washington, will probably be one of the moft thriving commercial places on the continent.

MOUNT VERNON.

Mount Vernon, the celebrated feat of Prefident Washington, is pleasantly fituated on the Virginia bank of the Potomack, where it is nearly two miles wide, and, is about two hundred and eighty miles from the fea, and one hundred and twenty-feven from Point Look-out, at the mouth of the river. It is nine miles below Alexandria, and four miles above the beautiful feat of the late Col. Fairfax, called Bellevoir. The area of the mount is two hundred feet above the furface of the river; and, after furnishing a lawn of five acres in front, and about the same in rear of the buildings, falls off rather abruptly on those two quarters. On the north end it subfides gradually into extenfive pafture grounds; while on the fouth it flopes VOL. III.

more

On either wing is a thick
Parallel with them, on the

more steeply in a fhorter diftance, and terminates with the coach houfe, ftables, vineyard, and nurferies. grove of different flowering foreft trees. land fide, are two fpacious gardens, into which one is led by two ferpentine gravel walks, planted with weeping willows and flady fhrubs. The manfion house itself (though much embellifhed by, yet not perfectly fatisfactory to the chafle taste of the prefent poffeffor) appears venerable and convenient. The fuperb banquetting room has been finished fince he returned home from the army. A lofty portico, ninety-fix feet in length, fupported by eight pillars, has a pleafing effect when viewed from the water; the whole affemblage of the green-house, fchool-house, offices and fervants halls, when feen from the land-fide, bears a resemblance to a rural village; efpecially as the lands on that fide are laid out fomewhat in the form of English gardens, in meadows and grafs grounds, ornamented with little copfes, circular clumps and fingle trees. A finall park on the margin of the river, where the English fallow-deer and the American wild deer are seen through the thickets, alternately with the veffels as they are failing along, add a romantic and picturesque appearance to the whole fcenery. On the opposite fide of a small creek to the northward, an extenfive plain, exhibiting corn fields and cattle grazing, affords in fummer a luxuriant landscape; while the blended verdure of woodlands and cultivated declivities, on the Maryland fhore, variegates the prospect in a charming manner. Such are the philofophic fhades to which the late commander in chief of the American armies retired from the tumultuous fcenes of a bufy world, and which he has fince left to dignify, by his unequalled abi. litics, the most important office in the gift of his fellow citizens.

FREDERICKSBURGH.

Frederickfburgh, in the county of Spotfylvania, is fituated on the fouth fide of Rappahannock river, one hundred and ten miles from its mouth, and contains about two hundred houfes, principally on one street, which runs nearly parallel with the river, and one thoufand five hundred inhabitants.

RICHMOND,

Richmond, in the county of Henrico, is the prefent feat of government, and stands on the north fide of James river, just at the foot of the falls, and contains between five and fix hundred houses,

and

and from five to fix thousand inhabitants. Part of the houses are built upon the margin of the river, convenient for business; the rest are upon a hill which overlooks the lower part of the town, and commands an extensive prospect of the river and adjacent country. The new houfes are well built. A large ftate-house, or capitol, has lately been erected on the hill. The lower part of the town is divided by a creek, over which is a convenient bridge. A bridge between three and four hundred yards in length has lately been thrown across James river, at the foot of the fall, by Colonel Mayo. That part from Manchester to the island is built on fifteen boats. From the

ifland to the rocks was formerly a floating bridge of rafts, but Colonel Mayo has now built it of framed log piers, filled with ftone. From the rocks to the landing at Richmond, the bridge is continued on framed piers filled with stone. This bridge connects Richmond with Manchester; and as the paffengers pay toll, it produces a confiderable revenue to Colonel Mayo, who is the fole proprietor.

The falls above the bridge are seven miles in length. A noble canal is nearly, if not quite, completed on the north fide of the river, which is to terminate in a bason of about two acres, in the town of Richmond. From this balon to the wharfs in the river will be a land carriage of about a mile. This canal is cutting under the di rection of a company, who have calculated the expense at thirty thousand pounds Virginia money; this they have divided into five hundred fhares of fixty pounds each. The opening of this canal promifes the addition of much wealth to Richmond.

PETERSBURGH.

Petersburgh, twenty-five miles fouthward of Richmond, ftands on the fouth fide of Appamattox river, and contains upwards of three hundred houses in two divifions; one is upon a clay cold foil, and is very dirty, the other upon a plain of fand or loam. There is no regularity and very little elegance in Petersburgh, it is merely a place of bufinefs. The Free Mafons have a hall tolerably elegant. It is very unhealthy, being fhut out from the accefs of the winds by high hills on every fide.* This confinedfituation has such an effect upon the conftitutions of the inhabitants, that they very nearly refemble thofe of hard drinkers; hence, in the opinion of phyficians,

* It is afferted, as an undoubted fact, by a number of gentlemen well acquainted with this town, that, in 1781, "one child only born in it had arrived to manhood, and he was a cripple."

they