Alexandria's Main Street: Urban Archaeology on the 500 Block of King Street

The site of the Alexandria Courthouse, on the 500 block of King Street, was the last of the six Urban Renewal blocks to be excavated in the 1960s and 1970s. This site was excavated in 1977 by City Archaeologist Pamela J. Cressey, along with staff and volunteers. The work was funded in part by a grant from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Amanda Iacobelli worked with Dr. Cressey to cull through field records, artifact catalogues and historic research, to provide this summary of the archaeology and history of the block.

The Archaeology Project: Site 44AX1

• Project Overview 
• Digging the Block 
• Excavation Summaries
  • Feature 5 (C)
  • Feature 6 (D)
  • Feature 7 (B)
  • Feature 14
  • Feature 17 (X)
  • Feature DD
  • Feature LL
  • Feature PP
  • Feature QQ
  • Feature VV
  • Feature AAA
• Images: Urban Renewal in Action 
• A Musket in a Privy
• References

History of the Block

• Social History 
• Lot Histories 

The People

• William Halley, Millstone Maker 
• Adam Lynn Jr., a Prominent Merchant in Alexandria 
• Ann Buckland, “Gentlewoman” 
• The Miller Family: Quakers and Merchants 
• Harriet Williams, Independent Enslaved Woman 
• Samuel Lindsay, insurance agent 
• A Legacy of Shoemakers 
• Lewis McKenzie, First Mayor of Alexandria 
• German and German-Jewish Immigrants