when did dc give land back to virginia
District of Columbia retrocession In 1846, the area of 31 square miles (80 km2) which was ceded by Virginia was returned,[2] leaving 69 square miles (179 km2) of territory originally ceded by Maryland as the current area of the District in its entirety.[3] 21st-century proposals to return the remaining portion of the District of Columbia to the state of Maryland are cited as one way to provide full voting representation in Congress and return local control of the city to its residents.[4]