- A Brief History of Alexandria
- Early Alexandria: The Colonial and Federal Periods
- The War of 1812
- The Civil War
- Alexandria in the 20th Century and Beyond
- African American History
- Earthquakes in Historic Alexandria
- Historic Alexandria Maps
- The Historic Alexandria Waterfront
- Historic Cemeteries of Alexandria
- Street Names
- Alexandria Archaeology Bibliography: A complete bibliography of publications and site reports. Site reports and public summaries are being posted online as time permits, and all reports can be found at the Alexandria Library, Local History/Special Collections, or by appointment at the Alexandria Archaeology Museum.
Guidebooks, Reports and City Directories
- 1877: Chataigne's Alexandria City Directory, 1877. The directory lists businesses and residents of the City, by address.
- 1883: A Concise History of the City of Alexandria (1883).A Concise History of the City of Alexandria, Va: from 1669 to 1883, with a Directory of Reliable Business Houses in the City, by Brockett, F. L. and G. W. Rock. (Alexandria, 1883). An early history of Alexandria, available from Google Books.
- 1907: Souvenir Virginia Tercentennial 1607-1907 of Historic Alexandria, Virginia (1907). Souvenir Virginia Tercentennial 1607-1907 of Historic Alexandria, Virginia, by Andrew J. Wedderburn (Alexandria, 1907). An illustrated guide to Alexandria buildings and neighborhoods. This book was created as a promotional piece with the support of Alexandria's then-new Chamber of Commerce, founded the same year, and attempted to tie into the statewide excitement surrounding the 300th anniversary of Jamestown. Today, it serves as a useful snapshot of the community, showing Alexandria as a busy city of small industries, shops, and regional commerce, even though its once famous port had long since declined.
- 1923: The Romance of Historic Alexandria. A Thrilling Narrative of Events founded on Facts and Fiction (1923): by Jackson Eugene Beauharnais. An early guidebook to Alexandria, available at the Alexandria Library, Local Special Collections.
- 1947: Historic Homes and Landmarks. Illustrated booklet by Mary Lindsay
- 1949: 200 Years of Progress. A booklet created for Alexandria's Bicentennial in 1949.
- 1956: City of Alexandria Annual Report.
- 1960: City of Alexandria, Virginia. Hometown of George Washington and Robert E. Lee. Illustrated report published by the City of Alexandria.
- 1963: City of Alexandria Master Plan. Prepared by Department of Planning and Urban Renewal.
- 1970: Know Your City. A Study of City Government. Prepared by the League of Women Voters.
- Antebellum Reminiscences of Alexandria, Virginia. Extracted from the Memoirs of Mary Louisa Slacum Benham: Mary Louisa Slacum Benham’s reminiscences describe her life in Alexandria in the first half of the 19th Century. Transcribed and extracted from her memoirs, thought to be written in the 1880s. A variety of topics are discussed: the Potomac River; rural scenes; Christ Church; dancing school; the Alexandria Theater; childhood experiences including food, furnishings and African Americans; and Mount Vernon.
- Alexandria During the Civil War: First Person Accounts: These The following accounts include dramatic excerpts from the diaries of relief worker Julia Wilbur and of a secessionist housewife who fled Alexandria as Union troops arrived; a letter from a head nurse at one of the many hospitals; the writings of an English journalist and an American war correspondent; and selections from The Local News, Alexandria’s wartime newspaper. Additional accounts are provided from patients and staff at Alexandria's Union Hospitals.
- Diaries of Julia Wilbur, March 1860 to July 1866. Transcribed by Alexandria Archaeology, 2013-2014, from the originals in the Quaker Collection, Haverford College, PA. Julia Wilbur, a relief worker from Rochester, NY, came to Alexandria during the Civil War. She kept a detailed diary from the 1840s through her death in 1895. Alexandria Archaeology's transcriptions focus on the period right before, during, and after the War.
- First Person Accounts of the Occupation, War of 1812. Read quotes about Alexandria's occupation by British troops, and reminiscences published in a local newspaper in 1861.
- Oral Histories: The Alexandria Legacies Program: Read transcriptions of more than 80 interviews conducted with long-time City residents. Oral Histories are indexed by name, neighborhood and subject. Subjects include The African American Community, Education, Immigration, Living Legends of Alexandria, Historic Preservation, Civic Leaders, etc.
- Travelers Accounts of the Historic Alexandria Waterfront: Travelers Accounts, written between 1624 and 1900, have been compiled by Alexandria Archaeology as part of a study of the Alexandria Waterfront. The writings are organized by decade.
Learn about historic places in the City of Alexandria. Over 40 sites are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- Civil War Hospitals in Alexandria
- Historic Sites on the National Register of Historic Places
- Historic Districts
- More significant sites
- Self-guided Tours
- Wayfinding Signage
Journals and Newsletters
- The Alexandria Chronicle: The Alexandria Chronicle has been published by the Alexandria Historical Society since 1993. Issues from 2006 to present are available on the Society’s website. Paper copies of earlier issues of the Chronicle, and of the Alexandria History magazine (1978-2002), can be found at the Alexandria Library, Local History/Special Collections.
- The Alexandria Gazette Packet: Artifact Stories: “Alexandria Artifact Stories” were published as a regular feature in the weekly newspaper from 1994 until 1997. The goal of the series was to take a small piece of a cultural heritage and examine it in a wider context to understand and appreciate its significance.
- The Alexandria Times: Out of the Attic: This column continues to be published weekly, and is presented here in a searchable database.
- Discovering the Decades: Discovering the Decades places Alexandria’s history in the context of U.S. history. Originally published in the Alexandria Archaeology Volunteer News, 1999.
- Historic Alexandria Quarterly: Historic Alexandria Quarterly is a scholarly publication produced by the Office of Historic Alexandria from 1996 to 2004.
- C-Span City Tours: The series American History TV of seven videos on Alexandria history originally aired March 16-18, 2013, exploring Alexandria's Archaeology Museum, the Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery, Lee-Fendall House, and the Civil War.