Congress approved a law to create a permanent national capital on the Potomac River, while keeping the federal government in Philadelphia for up to ten years. This decision linked national politics to questions about where federal power would physically sit, and it set deadlines that pressured planners to build quickly.
President George Washington signed the Residence Act into law, formally authorizing a new permanent seat of government. The act also empowered the president to choose the specific site within limits set by Congress and to appoint commissioners to oversee construction.
Washington publicly announced the general location for the federal district near Georgetown, tying the future capital to the Potomac River. This step moved the project from a political compromise to a concrete geographic commitment, allowing surveying and negotiations with landowners to intensify.
After Congress expanded the allowable area, Washington issued a proclamation setting the district’s boundaries as a ten-mile square beginning at Jones Point. He directed the appointed commissioners to have the boundary lines surveyed and marked, turning a legal idea into a mapped territory.
Survey teams led by Andrew Ellicott began running the boundary lines and placing the original boundary stones around the new district. This work mattered because it fixed the capital’s footprint on the ground and made future land sales and construction planning possible.
Pierre-Charles L’Enfant reported to Washington about the plan he was framing for the “intended federal city,” describing how local measurements and lines on the ground guided the layout. The plan’s broad avenues and major public sites shaped how the capital would function as both a city and a symbol of the federal government.
The city commissioners officially named the federal city “Washington,” and the wider district “Columbia.” Naming helped standardize documents, land transactions, and public messaging as the project shifted from surveying to major building and settlement efforts.
Conflicts over authority and decision-making escalated between L’Enfant and the district commissioners, including controversies over property and construction. By late February 1792, the dispute ended with L’Enfant’s dismissal, and others continued the planning work using versions of his design.
After a design competition, the commissioners selected James Hoban’s proposal for the President’s House (later the White House). Choosing a workable design was crucial because the Residence Act’s timetable left limited years to construct buildings needed for a full federal move.
Builders laid the cornerstone for the President’s House on October 13, 1792, marking a visible start to the executive mansion’s construction. The project depended on a mix of skilled labor and difficult work conditions, and it became one of the most urgent buildings needed for the 1800 relocation.
Washington led the ceremonial laying of the U.S. Capitol cornerstone, signaling that the legislative branch would have a permanent home in the new city. Construction was expensive and slow, but the Capitol was essential: without a meeting place for Congress, the federal move could not be completed on schedule.
On November 17, 1800, the Senate convened for the first time in Washington, D.C., as the federal government’s ten-year transition period ended. Only part of the Capitol was ready, but meeting there made the relocation real and anchored the new capital’s role in national government.
Congress passed an organic act placing the District of Columbia formally under federal control and organizing it into Washington County and Alexandria County. This law clarified that the capital district was governed differently than a state, shaping local rights and institutions for decades.
Creation of the U.S. Capital: Residence Act and Construction of Washington, D.C. (1790–1800)