The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Vol. 8 · Thomas Jefferson
QUERY XII.
On _James River_ and its waters, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Hampton, Suffolk, Smithfield, Williamsburg, Petersburg, Richmond, the seat of our government, Manchester, Charlottesville, New London. On _York River_ and its waters, York, Newcastle, Hanover. On _Rappahannock_, Urbanna, Port-Royal, Fredericksburg, Falmouth. On _Potomac_ and its waters, Dumfries, Colchester, Alexandria, Winchester, Staunton. On _Ohio_, Louisville. There are other places at which, like some of the foregoing, the _laws_ have said there shall be towns; but _nature_ has said there shall not, and they remain unworthy of enumeration. _Norfolk_ will probably be the emporium for all the trade of the Chesapeake bay and its waters; and a canal of eight or ten miles will bring to it all that of Albemarle sound and its waters. Secondary to this place, are the towns at the head of the tide waters, to wit, Petersburg on Appomattox; Richmond on James river; Newcastle on York river; Alexandria on Potomac, and Baltimore on Patapsco. From these the distribution will be to subordinate situations in the country. Accidental circumstances, however, may control the indications of nature, and in no instance do they do it more frequently than in the rise and fall of towns.
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