Alexandria was once part of Lord Fairfax's "proprietary" land grant, then later part of the District of Columbia - and, after being "retroceded" back to Virginia, it was the state capital between 1863-65. The "Restored Government of Virginia" was created in 1861, and the state capital of that version of Virginia was located in Wheeling.
The Emancipation Proclamation listed the areas under Federal control and thus "safe" for locating the rival state government until Richmond was captured by the Federal army. In Virginia, those Federally-controlled areas included the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth. The Eastern Shore was too far away for any government center. Hampton Roads was under military control of the Army, and the control of the military leaders would have limited the authority of any civilian state officials in the Norfolk area.
Pierpont chose to locate the Restored Government in Alexandria, in the shadow of his political sponsors in Washington and in a community protected by a ring of Federal Army forts. Alexandria served as the state capital, and Pierpont as the state governor, until the Union Army captured Richmond in April, 1865.
Compare the 1970 and 2000 statistics on homeownership (from the Fannie Mae Foundation) that a high percentage of apartments in Alexandria were converted into condos over the last 30 years:
| Place Name | State | Homeownership Rate (percent) | Owner-Occupied Housing Units | Renter-Occupied Housing Units | Total Occupied Housing Units | Population: April 1, 2000 |
||||||||||||
| 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | |||
| Alexandria city | VA | 25.9 | 36.5 | 40.5 | 40.0 | 11,014 | 17,876 | 21,561 | 24,745 | 31,463 | 31,128 | 31,719 | 37,144 | 42,477 | 49,004 | 53,280 | 61,889 | 128,283 |
| Chesapeake city | VA | 72.0 | 72.7 | 73.0 | 74.9 | 18,098 | 26,462 | 37,916 | 52,335 | 7,055 | 9,921 | 14,049 | 17,565 | 25,153 | 36,383 | 51,965 | 69,900 | 199,184 |
| Hampton city | VA | 63.2 | 61.3 | 59.2 | 58.6 | 21,870 | 25,430 | 29,431 | 31,570 | 12,716 | 16,076 | 20,242 | 22,317 | 34,586 | 41,506 | 49,673 | 53,887 | 146,437 |
| Newport News city | VA | 55.4 | 52.0 | 50.0 | 52.4 | 21,884 | 26,682 | 31,993 | 36,513 | 17,653 | 24,632 | 31,959 | 33,173 | 39,537 | 51,314 | 63,952 | 69,686 | 180,150 |
| Norfolk city | VA | 42.8 | 43.9 | 44.0 | 45.5 | 37,157 | 38,575 | 39,383 | 39,238 | 49,585 | 49,227 | 50,095 | 46,972 | 86,742 | 87,802 | 89,478 | 86,210 | 234,403 |
| Portsmouth city | VA | 55.2 | 57.6 | 55.9 | 58.6 | 19,065 | 21,161 | 21,644 | 22,356 | 15,446 | 15,585 | 17,097 | 15,814 | 34,511 | 36,746 | 38,741 | 38,170 | 100,565 |
| Richmond city | VA | 49.1 | 47.2 | 46.3 | 46.1 | 40,599 | 40,462 | 39,515 | 39,008 | 42,170 | 45,335 | 45,822 | 45,541 | 82,769 | 85,797 | 85,337 | 84,549 | 197,790 |
| Virginia Beach city | VA | 68.4 | 64.2 | 62.5 | 65.6 | 30,865 | 54,693 | 84,723 | 101,308 | 14,264 | 30,462 | 50,843 | 53,147 | 45,129 | 85,155 | 135,566 | 154,455 | 425,257 |
To move into Alexandria today, you have to be prepared to pay dearly for property. As real estate agents constantly repeat, value of property is determined by three things - location, location, and location.
What makes Alexandria so attractive? It's not a center on manufacturing, it's not a high-tech locus like Silicon Valley. It's a small city... but it's adjacent to Washington DC. There's a convenient commute to the Federal agencies via the George Washington Memorial Parkway or the Metro, both funded by the United States taxpayers. The property owners in Alexandria could never have invested the dollars necessary to build the Metro - but as described below, the leaders of Alexandria have made sure it had excellent transportation facilities since the community was started in 1749.