On 1 November 1796, George Calvert, James Jett Jr., and James Wheeler petitioned the Virginia General Assembly to "establish a town by the name of Washington on twenty five acres of land of your said petitioners”. The General Assembly responded by passing an act on 14 December 1796 establishing thirteen new towns in Virginia, one of which was the town of Washington. One year later, Calvert, Jett, Wheeler, and William Porter sent a second petition to the General Assembly of Virginia, asking that part of Porter’s land be added to the town. A plan of the proposed streets and lots of the town was attached to the petition; four of the six streets were named after the four petitioners. On 25 December 1797, the General Assembly approved this request.