<P> Potomac Yard was one of the busiest rail yards on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States . Today, it refers to the neighborhood encompassing the same, which straddles southeastern Arlington County and northern Alexandria, Virginia, bounded by U.S. Route 1, the George Washington Memorial Parkway, Four Mile Run, and Braddock Road . It may also refer to one of several developments on the site, especially the Potomac Yard Retail Center strip mall . </P> <P> English settlers built several plantations on the site in the 18th century . The land, much owned by the Swann and Daingerfield families, became part of Alexandria County, D.C. with the creation of the District of Columbia in 1791, and retroceded to Virginia in 1846 . </P>

Potomac yard shopping center on route 1 and old town alexandria