City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: NOVEMBER 6, 2025
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
THROUGH: JAMES F. PARAJON, CITY MANAGER
FROM: GRETCHEN BULOVA, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF HISTORIC ALEXANDRIA
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of a Resolution to Authorize the City Manager to Accept a Transfer of an Alexandria Archaeological Collection from Goodwin and Associates.
BODY
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ISSUE: Consideration of approval for the Office of Historic Alexandria (OHA) to accept the transfer of an archaeological collection from site 44AX197 excavated in Alexandria that is currently located at Goodwin & Associates, a cultural resource management firm in Frederick, Maryland.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council:
1) Accept the transfer of the collection from Goodwin & Associates to the City.
2) Authorize the City Manager, in coordination with Goodwin & Associates, to establish clear legal title to the collection.
3) Authorize the City Manager to execute all documents that may be required to finalize acceptance and ownership of the collection to the City.
BACKGROUND: Alexandria Archaeology (AA), a division of the Office of Historic Alexandria (OHA), seeks to obtain from Goodwin & Associates a collection related to one of the few archaeologically studied urban plantation sites, excavated during the archaeological investigation of the 500 block of North Henry Street (44AX197) - a crucial step in the ultimate reanalysis and potential exhibition of this significant resource.
Development work began on the 500 block of North Henry Street (DSP 2003-00019,) in 2003. Alexandria Archaeology, in carrying out its mandate under the City’s Archaeological Protection Code (Ordinance No. 3413 passed November 18, 1989 and Section 11-411 of the 1992 Zoning Ordinance), required documentary research and an archaeological investigation of the property. The applicant contracted Goodwin & Associates (known as R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates, Inc. at the time) to perform this work, and a final report was approved by Alexandria Archaeology in January 2012 (Archaeological Investigations of the Colross Site (44AX0197) Alexandria, Virginia).
Alexandria Archaeology is the preferred repository for all collections excavated within the City of Alexandria, curating about 3 million artifacts from over 260 sites. Our Archaeological Standards (revised 2021) require that collections excavated under the purview of the Protection Code must be stored in a repository meeting federal curation standards (36 CFR 79) and Alexandria Archaeology must be notified and approve of this location. However, the collection from site 44AX197 was not deeded to the City nor was Alexandria Archaeology alerted to its curation location. The burden of obtaining clear title to collections amassed under the Protection Code falls with the CRM firm. A deed was not obtained at the time of the archaeological investigations and standards of the code were not met for this project.
The collection from 44AX197 has been stored at Goodwin & Associates since its excavation, but in 2025 the company moved its Frederick, MD offices prompting staff to reassess the collections they stored. Goodwin & Associates staff provided a letter dated September 3, 2025 detailing how the cultural resource management firm acquired this collection, their attempts at contacting the original applicant/developer, and expressing their support for transferring the collection to the City of Alexandria. The collection consists of five Hollinger boxes of artifacts and records. Alexandria Archaeology staff began corresponding with Goodwin & Associates’ Project Manager/ Laboratory Supervisor to develop a plan for returning the collection to Alexandria for long term curation. Goodwin & Associates does not hold a clear title to this collection despite repeated attempts over the years to secure a signed deed of gift from the property owner/development company of 500 North Henry Street at the time of the excavation. The development company Diamond Properties, LLC. no longer exists.
Upon transfer, the City would use the state’s undocumented property law (Chapter 26 Section 55.1-2606) to establish clear title to the collection. This process would start five years after the collection is transferred to Alexandria and would require publishing newspaper notices of the City’s intent to claim title to the property.
It is critical that the City of Alexandria receive this collection and pursue clear title according to our standards. This collection represents an important part of Alexandria’s history. Excavations revealed features and contexts at site 44AX197 that are associated with the Colross estate, an early 19th century plantation. John Potts, secretary of the Potomac Company, began construction of the mansion in 1799, and it was completed in 1802. Potts sold the estate to Jonathan Swift, a diplomat and prominent Alexandria merchant, in 1803. Swift died in 1824 and Alexandria attorney and Circuit Court judge Thomas Mason, the grandson of George Mason, purchased the property. Colross was a place of enslavement for numerous African American people within these households over the decades. During the Civil War, the estate was seized and used by federal authorities. In the 1930s the actual estate building was purchased and moved to New Jersey. Colross is one of the only archaeologically documented urban plantation sites in Alexandria. The remains of the property were remarkably well preserved, and archaeologists uncovered stables, an outdoor kitchen, a mid-19th century cistern, and a pattern of elaborate brick walkways on the block.
DISCUSSION: Goodwin & Associates did not secure a signed deed of gift from the property owner/developer (Diamond Properties, LLC. and Diamond Alexandria, LLC.) upon the completion of fieldwork for this project in 2005. The LLC has long since dissolved. Goodwin & Associates attempted to contact former Diamond Properties contacts/managers via email in 2025 but received no responses.
There is a small but unlikely chance that an individual or entity may make a valid claim within the next five years. However, even if a valid claim is made, that claimant will have to ensure that the collection is curated at a facility that meets the City of Alexandria Archaeological Standards as outlined in the City’s Protection Code.
A complete list of the artifacts included in this collection can be found in Appendix I <https://media.alexandriava.gov/docs-archives/historic/info/archaeology/sitereportsanderscolrossax197.pdf?_gl=1*1j0l5j8*_ga*NDE3MDQ2ODA4LjE2OTY0NDQ1MzM.*_ga_249CRKJTTH*czE3NTUwMTA1NDckbzM3OSRnMCR0MTc1NTAxMDU0NyRqNjAkbDAkaDA.> of the archaeological report. Artifacts include a variety of 19th century ceramic, glass, metal, and other miscellaneous material types.
FISCAL IMPACT: The fiscal impact of acquiring this collection will be minimal and will include the staff time and resources necessary to undertake Virginia’s undocumented property law for this collection. Newspaper advertising rates range from about $50-250 per column inch, depending on the publication and location within the publication.
ATTACHMENTS: Resolution.
STAFF:
Eleanor Breen, City Archaeologist