inability to
meet a trust placed on the property in 1807. It was purchased in 1816 by
John Gardner Ladd, senior partner of John Gardner Ladd & Company. Ladd
appears to have come to Alexandria from Providence, Rhode Island, late
in the eighteenth century. He is mentioned in Washington's diary as
dining at Mount Vernon on February 1, 1798. A little glimpse into his
private affairs is revealed by an old customs house record for the year
1817. Under the entry for Thursday, January 2, we discover that the ship
_America_, Captain Luckett in command, sailed for the West Indies and
that "John G. Ladd, Esq., of the house of J.G.L. & Co. goes out in this
ship, with a view of benefitting his health." His will, bearing date of
February 18, 1819, and leaving to his wife, Sarah, for her life "the
entire use and emoluments of my dwelling house and lotts on Prince and
Water Streets (formerly the property of William Hodgson)," seems to
indicate that this wish was not realized. The home remained in the Ladd
family for the better part of thirty-five years.

* * * * *

To Alexandrians of later days, 207 Prince Street was known for many
years as the home of the Honorable Lewis MacKenzie. This house had the
first bathroom and tub in Alexandria. A niece of MacKenzie has stated
that her childhood had no more enthralling experience than leaning out
of the third story window and watching the water pour into Prince Street
from a hole in the wall. It was hit or miss with the pedestrians below!
MacKenzie also had the first heated halls in Alexandria, and nearly
burned up the house in consequence. He simply bricked up a small chimney
in a corner of the hall and installed wood stoves. Despite the hazard,
the warm halls were a great luxury in those days, for before the advent
of central heating all Virginians regarded halls in the wintertime as
places to pass through as quickly as possible.

Lewis MacKenzie, who owned the Fairfax house until 1891, was one of the
eight children of Captain James MacKenzie, mariner. The unique wedding
of his father and mother had been reported by the _Times and Alexandria
Advertiser_ almost a century earlier (1798). Its nautical motif arrests
our attention and carries us to the wharves of Alexandria in the time of
George Washington:

We have to record an event of unusual interest which took place in
our harbor yesterday, on board the good ship "Lexington" which lay in
the strea