Named in honor of King George II or it's founders George Beall and George Gordon, the "Town of George" which was to become known as Georgetown is a neighborhood located in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., along the Potomac River waterfront. It was formerly a separate city, predating the establishment of the District of Columbia and the founding of Washington, D.C.

First settled by Europeans in 1696, Georgetown was incorporated as a town and first regularly settled in 1751, when the area was part of the British colony of the Province of Maryland, later one of the 13 original states. Situated on the fall line, Georgetown was the farthest point upstream to which oceangoing boats could navigate the Potomac River. It grew into a thriving port and became a key point for transferring goods, particularly tobacco, from boats on the Potomac to boats on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.