From School to Historical Society

Driving along Arlington Ridge Road you pass an old two-story brick building with a bell tower which was once the Hume School.

Named for civic leader and philanthropist Frank Hume, it is the oldest remaining school building in Arlington.

Built in 1891, the land was purchased for $250 from Frank Hume, a successful wholesale grocer in Washington D.C., who later donated land for an adjacent playground as long as the building was used as a school. When the school was built it was the County’s newest school and attacked as an extravagance as it had three rooms, considered far too large for any “foreseeable” school population. Most schools at that time were one room only.

In 1958, when the school closed, the Hume heirs deeded the property to the Arlington Historical Society, along with a $10,000 donation from one of Frank Hume’s children to help with fundraising for a proposed museum to help preserve Arlington’s heritage. The result was the Arlington Historical Society Museum, which is run primarily by volunteers and has been open at least one day a week since its inception.

What About You?

What do you remember about Hume School? How have you interacted with the Historical Society? Let us know what you remember!