Georgetown is a neighborhood located in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., along the Potomac River waterfront. Founded in 1751, the city of Georgetown substantially predated the establishment of the city of Washington and the District of Columbia. Georgetown retained its separate municipal status until 1871, when its city charter was revoked by the United States Congress. A separate law in 1895 specifically repealed Georgetown's remaining local ordinances and renamed Georgetown's streets to conform with those in the city of Washington. Today, the primary commercial corridors of Georgetown are M Street and Wisconsin Avenue, which contain high-end shops, bars, and restaurants. Georgetown is home to the main campus of Georgetown University and numerous landmarks, such as the Old Stone House, the oldest standing building in Washington. The embassies of France, Mongolia, Sweden, Thailand, and Ukraine are located in Georgetown.
In 1632, English fur trader Henry Fleet first documented a Native American (Nacotchtank) village called Tohoga on the site of present-day Georgetown and established trade there. At the time of its incorporation in 1751, Georgetown was part of the British colony of the Province of Maryland. The Maryland legislature authorized purchase of 60 acres (240,000 m2) of land from George Gordon and George Beall, and survey of the town was completed in February 1752.
Situated on the fall line, Georgetown was the farthest point upstream to which oceangoing boats could navigate the Potomac River. Gordon constructed a tobacco inspection house along the Potomac in approximately 1745. Tobacco was already being transferred from land to waterways at this location, when the inspection house was built. Warehouses, wharves, and other buildings were then constructed around the inspection house, and it quickly became a small community. It did not take long before Georgetown grew into a thriving port, facilitating trade and shipments of tobacco and other goods from colonial Maryland. One of the most prominent tobacco export businesses was Forrest, Stoddert and Murdock, formed in 1783 in Georgetown, by Uriah Forrest, Benjamin Stoddert, and John Murdock.
