Old Town in Alexandria, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
The Long Story of The Jones Point Ropewalk
1833-1850
| | Jones Point Park | |
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), December 22, 2018
1. The Long Story of The Jones Point Ropewalk Marker
[Caption:]
The Jones Point ropewalk was a two-story building with larger wheels than are pictured here, but the process of making rope was the same. Walking backward between two reels a spinner unwound lengths of hemp from around the waist and spun the fiber in each hand to create rope. A spinner could walk as much as 20 miles in a 10-hour workday.
Archaeological Evidence
Excavations at Jones Point revealed the remains of the ropewalk's foundations and a black stain down the middle—probably from the tar applied to cordage to resist rotting from seawater.
...every afternoon during the summer, it was the custom of the boys to go thither after school...to indulge in the luxury of a bath. They began to undress in the western part, and run naked through the long building...
At the entrance on the west there was a huge reel for rope, on which the boys used to stand and turn each other over, the rise and fall being probably twenty feet, and on occasion a boy threw out his back as he passed the second story window...
—Description of the abandoned Jones Point ropewalk,
this page online
With its windows all a-row,
Like the port-holes of a hulk,
Human spiders spin and spin,
Backward down their
threads so thin
Dropping, each a hempen bulk.
—Henry Worth Longfellow, 1859
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce. A significant historical date for this entry is June 3, 1873.
Location. 38° 47.444′ N, 77° 2.515′ W. Marker is in Alexandria, Virginia. It is in Old Town. It can be reached from Jones Point Drive east of South Royal Street, on the right when traveling east.
PLEASE NOTE: The automated Touch for directions link at the end of this paragraph, when used in driving mode, takes you to I-95s Wilson Bridge, where you cannot park, much less stop, and then seems to indicate that you should jump off the bridge and walk to the marker. You will surely break your neckamong many other bonesif you jump off the bridge. Instead, set your destination to Jones Point Park Parking in order to obtain driving directions to where you can park and walk to the marker. . Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 100 Jones Point Dr, Alexandria VA 22314, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area and in Northern Virginia. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers.
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), December 22, 2018
2. The Long Story of The Jones Point Ropewalk Marker
Another marker is no longer nearby. Original Federal Boundary Stone, District of Columbia, South Cornerstone (was about 400 feet away but has been permanently removed).
Closeup from photo No. 1
3. The Jones Point Ropewalk
The Jones Point ropewalk was a two-story building with larger wheels than are pictured here, but the process of making rope was the same. Walking backward between two reels a spinner unwound lengths of hemp from around the waist and spun the fiber in each hand to create rope. A spinner could walk as much as 20 miles in a 10-hour workday.
Close-up of image on marker
Closeup from photo No. 1
4. The Ropewalk
In that building, long and low,
With its windows all a-row,
Like the port-holes of a hulk,
Human spiders spin and spin,
Backward down their
threads so thin
Dropping, each a hempen bulk.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1859
Verse from The Ropewalk, in Birds of Passage by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
With its windows all a-row,
Like the port-holes of a hulk,
Human spiders spin and spin,
Backward down their
threads so thin
Dropping, each a hempen bulk.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1859
Verse from The Ropewalk, in Birds of Passage by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Closeup from photo No. 1
5. Archaeological Evidence
Excavations at Jones Point revealed the remains of the ropewalk's foundations and a black stain down the middleprobably from the tar applied to cordage to resist rotting from seawater.
Close-up of URS photo on marker.
Photographed by Allen C. Browne, October 7, 2012
6. The Jones Point Ropewalk (1300 feet)
Map showing the Jones Point Ropewalk, Jones Point and Alexandria, incised into the base on which the marker is mounted.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 5, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 23, 2018, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 1,195 times since then and 49 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 23, 2018, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 3, 4, 5. submitted on April 14, 2021, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. 6. submitted on April 15, 2021, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
