District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871
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| Long title | An Act to provide a Government for the District of Columbia. |
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| Nicknames | District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871 |
| Enacted by | the 41st United States Congress |
| Citations | |
| Statutes at Large | 16 Stat. 419 |
| Legislative history | |
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The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871 is an Act of Congress that repealed the individual charters of the cities of Washington and Georgetown and established a new territorial government for the whole District of Columbia. Though Congress repealed the territorial government in 1874, the legislation was the first to create a single municipal government for the federal district.
The passage of the Residence Act in 1790 created a new federal district that would become the capital of the United States. Formed from land donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia, the capital territory already included two large settlements at its creation: the port of Georgetown, Maryland and the town of Alexandria, Virginia. A new capital city named in honor of President George Washington was founded to the east of Georgetown in 1791.
Shortly after establishing operations in the new capital, Congress passed the Organic Act of 1801, which organized the federal territory. Congress allowed the cities of Washington and Georgetown to each maintain their own municipal governments. The remainder of the unincorporated territory within the federal district formed the new County of Washington, which was governed by a levy court consisting of three Justices of the Peace appointed by the President. The City of Alexandria and adjacent Alexandria County also maintained their own local governments but were returned by Congress to the state of Virginia in 1846.
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