Bet you didn’t know it’s a big day for D.C.—today our fair city turns 210 years old.

Well, kind of. On this day in 1802 the City of Washington was incorporated by Congress, the first step in the then-ongoing creation of a new capital for the nation. What Congress created then isn’t what we see now, though—while Washington was formalized, Georgetown remained a separate juridiction until decades later, while many of the neighborhoods we now live in existed in the unincorporated Washington County. Virginia’s contribution to the capital’s creation was Alexandria County. It wasn’t until 1871—after we had already lost our portion of Virginia—that Washington, D.C. became what we know of today.

In the intervening decades, we had 21 mayors, all appointed by the president. The first—and longest-serving—was Robert Brent, who lived on property owned by his wife that was eventually annexed by the federal government for the creation of the capital. Afterward, he sold sandstone to the government for the construction of the U.S. Capitol and White House. (Would that have made him the country’s first contractor? How appropriate.) He was appointed to the mayoral post by Thomas Jefferson on June 3, 1802.

In 1821, the Post wrote of Brent:

The family of Robert Brent, the first mayor of Washington, was distinguished in the opening years of the nineteenth century for its service to the infant Capital of the young republic. …Robert Brent first served as justice of the peace for Washington county. He was married to the eldest daughter of Notley Young, one of the original owners of the site on which the Capital was founded and lived in Washington at his father-in-law’s residence for some time. On June 4, 1802, President Jefferson appointed him mayor of Washington. He filled that office until 1812 through various reappointments and for part of his time held the posts of paymaster general of the army and judge of the orphans court as well. During his service as mayor, Mr. Brent received no salary.

The few remaining memories of Brent include the former Brentwood mansion on the campus of Gallaudet University and the neighborhood of the same name in which it’s located. (Both the university and the nearby Union Market are on land once owned by Brent’s family and donated to the city.)

Another mayor whose names you might recognize was John P. Van Ness, who served from 1830 to 1834. A number of former mayors have streets and schools names after them, including Joseph Gales, Jr., William Winston Seaton and Sayles J. Bowen.

Of course, while Washington may have been created in 1802 and the larger District formally incorporated in 1871, it wasn’t until 1975 that D.C. residents were able to elect a mayor and D.C. Council.

And if you feel bad because you didn’t know of this momentous occasion, don’t feel bad: neither did we, at least not until someone from Texas filled us in.