Arlington began three centuries ago as the farm section of Alexandria County and emerged in the 1900s as a vibrant suburb of the nation's capital. Global notice came after the creation and expansion of Arlington National Cemetery, the Pentagon and Fort Myer, site of history's first airplane casualty--September 17, 1908. Add in some modern marquee employers--PBS, WETA, Nestlé, the Foreign Service Institute and Amazon--and it's a recipe for accelerating...
"Arlington is the smallest, most densely populated county in the United States. Its destiny has been driven by its geographic proximity to Washington, D.C., and very important by the fact that most Potomac River crossings begin in the county. Initially part of a large land grant to Lord Fairfax before the Revolutionary War, what is now Arlington was ceded to help form the new federal government seat by the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1790. It remained...
A historic guide to Washington, D.C.’s neighborhoods, featuring photographs, maps, and beautiful drawings.
- Get off the National Mall and enjoy nine walking and driving tours of Washington, D.C.’s historic neighborhood - Discover the hidden history of the nation’s capital with tales of political intrigue, scandal, romance and tragedy. - Experience the overlooked architectural and cultural treasures...
A tribute to Arlington County featuring archival footage, interviews with residents and insight from historians Kathryn Holt Springston, Sara Collins and Arlington County historic preservation coordinator Michael Levanthal. The program documents the history of Arlington starting with life on the land 10,000 years ago and concluding in recent times with a look at the county's diversity.
The award-winning journalist and author of Hidden History of Alexandria, D.C. combs through the haunted past of this Virginia colonial town.
The ghost of a Revolutionary War spy that fosters a centuries-old grudge against the British, two young lovers parted by fire but reunited in death and Union and Confederate soldiers who still battle at the Hotel Monaco are among the haunts of Alexandria, Virginia. Beside the...
"Behind the bucolic plantation estates of Northern Virginia lies a history of scandal. The region has a rotating cast of greedy supervisors, vain senators, bullying occupiers and party bosses. The Aryan Nations once flooded the streets of Arlington. Infamous floating brothels once sailed the Potomac. Even George Washington's death at his historic estate outside the capital is shrouded in mystery. Join journalist and author Michael Lee Pope as he serves...
When Crandal Mackey was elected commonwealth's attorney in 1903, he set his sights on the illegal bars, bordellos and casinos of Alexandria County. The Virginia county—now Arlington County and parts of Alexandria—was plagued by crime in the streets and corruption at City Hall. Armed with a shotgun and accompanied by an axe-wielding posse, Mackey embarked on a crusade, busting up saloons and conducting raids throughout the county. When the dust...
In the fall of 1870, a massive flood engulfed parts of Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland. What began near Charlottesville as welcome rain at the end of a drought-plagued summer quickly turned into a downpour as it moved west and then north through the Shenandoah Valley. The James, Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers rose, and flooding washed out fields, farms and entire towns. The impact was immense in terms of destruction, casualties and depth of water....
Barry Farm-Hillsdale was created under the auspices of the Freedmen's Bureau in 1867 in what was then the outskirts of the nation's capital. Residents built churches and schools, and the community became successful. In the 1940s, youth from the community courageously desegregated the Anacostia Pool, and the Barry Farm Dwellings was built to house war workers. In the 1950s, community parents joined the fight to desegregate schools in Washington, D.C.,...
"At the beginning of the Civil War, Federal troops secured Alexandria as Union territory. Former slaves, called contrabands, poured in to obtain protection from their former masters. Due to overcrowding, mortality rates were high. Authorities seized an undeveloped parcel of land on South Washington Street, and by March 1864, it had been opened as a cemetery for African Americans. Between 1864 and 1868, more than 1,700 contrabands and freedmen were...
