History of Washington, D.C.
Georgetown was established in 1751 when the Maryland legislature purchased sixty acres of land for the town from George Gordon and George Beall at the price of £280, while Alexandria, Virginia was founded in 1749. Situated on the fall line, Georgetown was the farthest point upstream to which oceangoing boats could navigate the Potomac River. The strong flow of the Potomac kept a navigable channel clear year-round; and, the daily tidal lift of the Chesapeake Bay, raised the Potomac's elevation in its lower reach; such that fully laden ocean-going ships could navigate easily, all the way to the Bay. Gordon had constructed a tobacco inspection house along the Potomac in approximately 1745. Warehouses, wharves, and other buildings were added, and the settlement rapidly grew. The Old Stone House, located in Georgetown, was built in 1765 and is the oldest standing building in the District. It did not take long before Georgetown grew into a thriving port, facilitating trade and shipments of tobacco and other goods from colonial Maryland. With the economic and population growth of Georgetown came also the founding of Georgetown University in 1789, at its founding drawing students from as far away as the West Indies.
Louis William Valentine Dubourg
In Baltimore, the Sulpicians had arrived in the early 1790s, intending to found a seminary. John Carroll, Bishop of Baltimore, was hesitant to allow this, but was quick to use them as staff for his new academy, Georgetown College founded in 1791. Dubourg and his companions joined them, and arrived in Baltimore in December 1794. He was appointed to succeed Robert Molyneux as President of the college on 1 October 1796, serving until early 1799. Under his administration, the curriculum expanded and the college's enrollment grew. During his tenure he hosted a visit by former President George Washington in 1797. Washington tied his horse up and entered alone. On 10 July 1798, Dubourg was a dinner guest at Washington's home in Mount Vernon. When Dubourg resigned from Georgetown he was not on good terms with the directors. Bishop John Carroll explained the origin of the problem: “He was too fond of introducing his countrymen into every department; and the Directors had too strong prejudices against every thing, which was derived, in any shape, from France ... in consequence thereof, their judgment had an involuntary bias to blame him”. This tension arose during a time in the country when the Federalists of Hamilton and Adams and the Republicans of Jefferson and Madison were arguing as to whether the U.S. should be allied with Britain or France.