Bills passed by the U.S. Congress in 1790-91 created the district on a tract of land ceded (given up) by Maryland and Virginia. The area contained the communities of Alexandria and Washington. The cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol building was laid in 1793. In 1800, Congress moved there from its temporary headquarters in Philadelphia. In 1847, Alexandria and the remainder of the district on the western bank of the Potomac were returned to the state of Virginia by an act of Congress. Georgetown held the status of a separate town within the district from 1878 to 1895, when it was merged with Washington.