~~Tidbits of Local History~~ (Arlington, Alexandria: new house, neighborhood, theater)

[normie]

Even though most of northern Virginia is very new (much of it built in the last 40 years) we have some towns with interesting histories.

For example, here's a tidbit I've always found interesting. Did you know Herndon was named after a hero? Commander William Lewis Herndon was the Capt. Sully of his day.

Herndon was the captain of a ship that was caught in a hurricane off the coast of North Carolina. He saved all 150 of its passengers and crew... but in so doing he went down with the ship. At the time, he was considered quite a hero. A few months later the people of (soon to be) Herndon decided to honor the hero by naming the town after him.

At the time they said it was so Commander Herndon would never be forgotten. Of course, ironically, time has passed and few people remember why the town got that name. Oh well, history is fickle....

[Caladium]

In Occoquan you will find a beautiful riverside park. It's a gorgeous place to hike in the fall. Few people realize how this park came to be or what it has to do with local history... and a tale of real horror.

In 1917 a group of women picketed the White House as part of the campaign to win the vote for women. They were arrested and sent to an abandoned workhouse located at Occoquan. There, the women staged hunger strikes to draw attention to their cause.

As a result, the prison guards force-fed them brutally. They beat one woman, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head, and left her there for the night. They smashed a woman's head against an iron bed, and knocked her out cold. Others were grabbed, dragged, beaten, and choked.

When the story got out, reaction was so strong that the workhouse was torn down and the area turned into a park. There is a memorial there that's very thought-provoking. I like to go there before election day. Not only is it stunning in the fall, but it always gives me a little inspiration for why you should vote.

I believe there's a movie about this incident called Iron Ladies or something like that. I haven't seen it myself but I understand it's a pretty intense flick.

[cdmurphy]

Here's a little bit of Brambleton history. (I'm totally cribbing this from a wonderful article in the Loudoun Independent, which has photos and more detail, if you are interested. The piece is by John Toler - click to see some of the articles he's written, many about Loudoun history.)

Brambleton used to be farmland, centered around a settlement called Royville at what is now the intersection of Belmont Ridge Road and Creighton Road. The main business was a general store, Ella A. Hough & Co., owned by John C.C. "Chaney" Hough and his wife Ella. When a post office opened inside the store in 1893, the Houghs asked for it to be named "Royville" after their son Roy, who had died as a teenager from typhoid fever.

There were several large farms in the area. The local schoolhouse, called Brambleton after the Hutchison's farm on which it stood, was located approximately where the big stone waterfall is now, just south of Ryan Road. Brambleton was an old Hutchison family name, and was pronounced "bramble-down."

Royville faded away in the early 20th century, but the large farms remained for many years. The Brambleton Group bought its land in the 1990s, and preserved the Spence family cemetery, which sits behind Legacy Elementary. A few of the streets within Brambleton carry Royville family names. And the last of the Royville family members - Dorothy Nickens - sold almost all of her land to Van Metre for the new Belmont Trace development, but as part of the deal, she will move to a new house on her remaining acre.

[slowlane]

Bailey's Crossroads used to be where the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus encamped and stayed during the off-season when they didn't tour.

Waterford in Loudoun County, settled by Quakers, was the only pro-Union community in the entire state during the Civil War. Today the whole village looks like a western movie set, very quaint and with no businesses, only old houses - they have a big festival every Fall. (Good luck trying to find your way out of the village - I always get lost leaving).

The oldest house in Arlington County is the Moses Ball house, a log structure which is still standing in the Glencarlyn neighborhood. Moses Ball was related to George Washington's mother. There is an Arlington County historical museum in the old Hume School on Arlington Ridge Road (at least I think it's still there).

Willard Scott the TV weatherman (who was also the first Ronald McDonald), Jim Morrison of the "Doors" band, Mama Cass Elliott and John Phillips of the "Mamas and Papas" band, all at different times attended George Washington High School (which is now a middle school) in Alexandria city.

The story of how Confederate guerilla raider John S. Mosby roused a Union General sleeping at night in the town of Fairfax and captured him, is a very amusing tale. Another intesting story is how Union officer Ellsworth was shot and killed by an irate resident of Old Town Alexandria whose Rebel flag he had just taken down. You should be able to find these stories on-line somewhere. The Burke and Herbert Bank in Old Town has been operated the same family since before the Civil War. The bank is very low-tech and old fashioned in its operations. Famous United Mineworkers president John L. Lewis used to own and live in the General Robert E. Lee boyhood home in northern Old Town (now a museum). Lee attended school in a building next door to the "Little Theater of Alexandria" on Wolfe Street.

The W&OD bikepath is the longest paved trail in the USA. It was built along the route of the old "Virginia Creeper" railway.

Clifton, VA used to be a summer resort where Presidents stayed. Dozens of trains a day passed through there in the 1800s.

In downtown Rosslyn in the 1970s, the Arlington Temple United Methodist Church was the world's only church to be located on top of a gasoline station (Don't know if it's still there anymore?) .

St. Mary's of Old Town Alexandria is the oldest Catholic church in the State. Catholicism was originally illegal in VA, and priests were rowed across the river secretly from Maryland on Sundays.

Glebe Road which runs the length of Arlington, was named because it was on the "Glebe" landholdings of the Episcopal rector who in the 1700s lived halfway between the Falls Church and Alexandria Christ Church, both parishes he served together which were separated by miles of farmland.

[newgatedenizen]

Waterford in Loudoun County, settled by Quakers, was the only pro-Union community in the entire state during the Civil War.

Although Fairfax County voted 942 to 289 in favor of the Ordinance of Secession on May 23, 1861, at the Lydecker's Store precinct in Vienna the majority voted against secession.

[normie]

Wow, great list slow lane! Rep points for you!

Originally Posted by slowlane

Bailey's Crossroads used to be where the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus encamped and stayed during the off-season when they didn't tour.

Waterford in Loudoun County, settled by Quakers, was the only pro-Union community in the entire state during the Civil War. Today the whole village looks like a western movie set, very quaint and with no businesses, only old houses - they have a big festival every Fall. (Good luck trying to find your way out of the village - I always get lost leaving).

The oldest house in Arlington County is the Moses Ball house, a log structure which is still standing in the Glencarlyn neighborhood. Moses Ball was related to George Washington's mother. There is an Arlington County historical museum in the old Hume School on Arlington Ridge Road (at least I think it's still there).

Willard Scott the TV weatherman (who was also the first Ronald McDonald), Jim Morrison of the "Doors" band, Mama Cass Elliott and John Phillips of the "Mamas and Papas" band, all at different times attended George Washington High School (which is now a middle school) in Alexandria city.

The story of how Confederate guerilla raider John S. Mosby roused a Union General sleeping at night in the town of Fairfax and captured him, is a very amusing tale. Another intesting story is how Union officer Ellsworth was shot and killed by an irate resident of Old Town Alexandria whose Rebel flag he had just taken down. You should be able to find these stories on-line somewhere. The Burke and Herbert Bank in Old Town has been operated the same family since before the Civil War. The bank is very low-tech and old fashioned in its operations. Famous United Mineworkers president John L. Lewis used to own and live in the General Robert E. Lee boyhood home in northern Old Town (now a museum). Lee attended school in a building next door to the "Little Theater of Alexandria" on Wolfe Street.

The W&OD bikepath is the longest paved trail in the USA. It was built along the route of the old "Virginia Creeper" railway.

Clifton, VA used to be a summer resort where Presidents stayed. Dozens of trains a day passed through there in the 1800s.

In downtown Rosslyn in the 1970s, the Arlington Temple United Methodist Church was the world's only church to be located on top of a gasoline station (Don't know if it's still there anymore?) .

St. Mary's of Old Town Alexandria is the oldest Catholic church in the State. Catholicism was originally illegal in VA, and priests were rowed across the river secretly from Maryland on Sundays.

Glebe Road which runs the length of Arlington, was named because it was on the "Glebe" landholdings of the Episcopal rector who in the 1700s lived halfway between the Falls Church and Alexandria Christ Church, both parishes he served together which were separated by miles of farmland.

[car54]

Originally Posted by normie

Even though most of northern Virginia is very new (much of it built in the last 40 years) we have some towns with interesting histories.

For example, here's a tidbit I've always found interesting. Did you know Herndon was named after a hero? Commander William Lewis Herndon was the Capt. Sully of his day.

Herndon was the captain of a ship that was caught in a hurricane off the coast of North Carolina. He saved all 150 of its passengers and crew... but in so doing he went down with the ship. At the time, he was considered quite a hero. A few months later the people of (soon to be) Herndon decided to honor the hero by naming the town after him.

At the time they said it was so Commander Herndon would never be forgotten. Of course, ironically, time has passed and few people remember why the town got that name. Oh well, history is fickle....

That would be the USS Central America, which was bound for New York, carrying 13-15 TONS of gold from California. The gold was recovered recently and after a long court battle, the salvors got to keep over 90% of it. Cdr Herndon was "old school"...back in the days that the Captain went down with his ship, or at least was the last one off. Nowadays, the Captain and crew are the first ones off and the heck with the passengers. Two US Navy ships have also been named after Herndon.


More history....there was once a Nike missile site near Fairfax County Pkwy and Popes Head Rd....now it's illegal to set off a firecracker in Fairfax County!

[normie]

Originally Posted by car54

More history....there was once a Nike missile site near Fairfax County Pkwy and Popes Head Rd....now it's illegal to set off a firecracker in Fairfax County!

So that explains another one of our "loony" laws. Funny how those laws always have a story that makes some sense, no matter how loony they seem today.

[Beach-rat]

Originally Posted by car54

More history....there was once a Nike missile site near Fairfax County Pkwy and Popes Head Rd....now it's illegal to set off a firecracker in Fairfax County!

And.. there also was one in Lorton, behind/next to South County High School on Silverbrook Road, and Another on Utterback Store Road in Great Falls..

[Caladium]

A few places here are named Wolf Trap. It's not just a colorful name--wolves used to run wild here and early homesteaders helped pay for their property by trapping wolves for bounty money.