Alexandria City Council’s Naming Committee will host a public hearing next month on a proposal to rename a street in Seminary Hill named after Confederate Brig. Gen. Alfred Iverson.
Ahead of the public hearing, the city wants public feedback on the proposal to rename Iverson Street as Edmonson Street. The proposed name references sisters Mary Edmonson and Emily Edmonson, who were born into slavery, earned their freedom and became important figures in the abolitionist movement.
The public hearing will be held on Thursday, April 30, from 7-8:30 p.m., at Patrick Henry Recreation Center (4653 Taney Avenue).
The proposal is part of the city’s multi-year plan to rename dozens of streets named after Confederate figures, reversing a 1950s-era City Council ordinance that said “streets running in a generally north-south direction shall, insofar as possible, bear the names of Confederate military leaders,” according to the city.
The first phase of the renaming process, completed in 2024, renamed N. Breckinridge Place to Harriet Jacobs Place; rededicated Jordan Street and Jordan Court (named after Confederate Brig. Gen. Thomas Jordan) as Thomasina Jordan Street/Court; renamed N. and S. Early Street (named after Confederate Gen. Jubal Early) to Earley Street, honoring Lt. Col. Charity Earley, a Black female pioneer in the U.S. military during World War II; and renamed Forrest Street (after Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan) to Forest Street.
In February, City Council voted to rededicate Calhoun Avenue, Stevens Street and Frost Street.
Calhoun Avenue was rededicated for Robert L. “Bob” Calhoun, an attorney who served on Alexandria City Council and in the Virginia Senate. Calhoun is credited with helping to form the DASH bus system and supporting child custody law reforms in Alexandria.
Stevens Street now references Moses Stevens, a post-Civil War Black entrepreneur in Alexandria who ran a livery business, founded Mt. Jezreel Baptist Church and was an early adopter of telephone and automotive infrastructure in the city.
Frost Street was rededicated for John Frost, a Union soldier from Alexandria who is buried at Alexandria National Cemetery.
Along with the three street rededications and proposed renaming of Iverson Street, the second phase of the street renaming process seeks further exploration of restoring Beauregard Street to its original name, South Walter Reed Drive. The City Council Naming Committee directed city staff to explore a renaming strategy and timeline for Beauregard Street, but a formal proposal has not yet been put forward.
Below is a list of Alexandria streets named after Confederate soldiers:
- Ashby Street — Named after Turner Ashby, Jr., cavalry commander for “Stonewall” Jackson
- Beauregard Street — Named after Confederate Gen. Pierre G.T. Beauregard, creator of the Confederate battle flag
- Bragg Street — Named after Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg
- Breckinridge Place — Named after former U.S. Vice President John Cabell Breckinridge, who later serves as a Confederate brigadier general (renamed Harriet Jacobs Place)
- Calhoun Avenue — Named after Confederate Maj. J. Lawrence Calhoun (rededicated as Robert L. “Bob” Calhoun Avenue)
- Chambliss Street — Named after Confederate Gen. John Chambliss
- Dearing Street — Named after James Dearing, the last Confederate general to die in battle
- Donelson Street — Named after Confederate Brig. Gen. Daniel Smith Donelson
- Early Street — Named after Confederate Gen. Jubal Early (rededicated as Earley Street)
- Floyd Street — Named after Confederate Brig. Gen. John Buchanan Floyd
- Forrest Street — Named after Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan (renamed Forest Street)
- French Street — Named after Confederate Brig. Gen. Samuel Gibbs French
- Frost Street — Named after Confederate Brig. Gen. Daniel M. Frost (rededicated as John Frost Street)
- Gordon Street –– Named after Confederate Gen. John Brown Gordon
- Hardee Place — Named after Confederate Gen. William Joseph Hardee
- Hume Avenue — Named after Frank Hume, a former Confederate spy who settled in Alexandria
- Imboden Street — Named after Confederate Gen. John D. Imboden
- Iverson Street — Named after Confederate Gen. Alfred Iverson
- Jackson Place — Named after Confederate defender James W. Jackson, who killed Union Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth at the Marshall House on May 24, 1861
- Janneys Lane — Named after Confederate Maj. Eli Hamilton Janney
- Jordan Street — Named after Confederate Brig. Gen. Thomas Jordan (rededicated as Thomasina Jordan Street)
- Kemper Street — Named after Confederate soldier James Lawson Kemper
- Lee Street — Named for the Lee family, after the death of Robert E. Lee’s wife, Mary Anna Custis Lee, in 1873
- Longstreet Lane — Named for Confederate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet
- Maury Lane — Named after Confederate Naval Chief Matthew Fontaine Maury, who also had an elementary school named after him in Alexandria
- Pegram Street — Named after Confederate Brig Gen. John Pegram
- Reynolds Street — Named after Alexander Welch Reynolds or Daniel H. Reynolds, both Confederate brigadier generals
- Quantrell Avenue — Named after Confederate Brig. Gen. William Clark Quantrell
- Rosser Street — Named after Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas L. Rosser
- Van Dorn Street — Named after Confederate Brig. Gen. Earl Van Dorn
- Wheeler Avenue — Named after Confederate Gen. Joseph Wheeler
There are also a number of streets that the city identified as possibly named after Confederate soldiers. Those are:
- Armistead Street — Possibly named after Confederate Gen. Louis Addison Armistead
- Cockrell Street — Possibly named after Confederate Brig. Gen. Francis Cockrell or his family
- Davis Avenue — Possibly named after Jefferson Davis, former Confederate States of America president
- Frazier Street — Possibly named after Confederate Col. James Frazier
- Gorgas Place — Possibly named after Confederate Gen. Josiah Gorgas
- Hampton Drive — Possibly named after Confederate calvary officer Wade Hampton
- Herbert Street — Possibly named after Confederate Col. Arthur Herbert, commander of the 17th Virginia Regiment
- Jordan Court — Possibly named after Confederate Brig. Gen. Thomas Jordan (rededicated as Thomasina Jordan Court)
- Kirkland Place — Possibly named after Confederate Sgt. Richard Rowland Kirkland, the “angel” of the battle of Fredericksburg, who cared for wounded Union soldiers
- Lee Court — Possibly named after Confederate commander Gen. Robert E. Lee
- Mosby Street — Possibly named after Confederate calvary commander John Singleton Mosby
- Palmer Place — Possibly named after Confederate Gen. Joseph Palmer
- Paxton Street — Possibly named after Confederate Gen. Elisha Franklin Paxton
- Pelham Street — Possibly named after Confederate Lt. Col. John Pelham
- Pickett Street — Possibly named after Confederate Brig. Gen. George E. Pickett
- Pierpont Street — Possibly named after Confederate hero James Lord Pierpoint
- Pryor Street — Possibly named after Confederate Gen. Roger Atkinson Pryor
- Roberts Street — Possibly named after Confederate Brig. Gen. William Paul Roberts
- Rhoades Place — Possibly named after Confederate Gen. Robert G. Rhoades
- Ripley Street — Possibly named after Confederate Gen. Roswell Ripley
- Scott Street — Possibly named after Confederate Gen. Thomas Scott
- Shelley Street — Possibly named after Confederate Gen. Charles Miller Shelley
- Sterling Avenue — Possibly named after Confederate Gen. Sterling Price
- Stevens Street — Possibly named after Confederate Brig. Gen. Clement Hoffman Stevens (rededicated as Moses Stevens Street)
- Stevenson Avenue — Possibly named after Confederate Brig. Walter Husted Stevenson
- Stewart Street — Possibly named after Confederate Gen. Alexander P. Stewart
- Stonewall Road — Possibly named after Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson
- Thomas Street — Possibly named after Confederate Gen. Allen Thomas
- Tyler Place — Possibly named after Confederate Gen. Robert Tyler or Confederate field officer Grayson Tyler
Iverson Street image via Google Maps; Calhoun Avenue Street image via City of Alexandria
