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Lomax Church and Library Celebrate Records Acquisition

Donation Received from one of Arlington's Oldest Black Churches

On February 9, 2020, Arlington's Lomax A.M.E. Zion Church and the Center for Local History celebrated the donation of the Church's archival records to the Center's Community Archives. 

The donation included a large 19th century pulpit bible, printed in 1856.

Now members of the community and beyond can research and discover more about the history of one of Arlington's oldest African-American churches.

Photo of Lomax Bible

19th-century pulpit Bible, currently on display at the Center for Local History.

From Left: Arlington County Board Member Matt de Ferranti, Reverend Dr. Adrian V. Nelson, Arlington County Board Chairwoman Libby Garvey, Unidentified Church Member, Center for Local History Manager Judith Knudsen, Lomax Archives Chairwoman Brenda Cox, Unidentified Church Member, Bishop W. Darin Moore, Virtual Library Services Manager Stacia Aho, and Unidentified Church Members.

First established by freed slaves on June 12, 1866, in Freedman's Village, Lomax was originally named Wesley Zion Church under the leadership of Reverend Richard Thompkins. In 1874, the congregation decided to purchase land for a permanent home at an original price of $75 with a down payment of $5. In 1876, when T.H. Lomax was elected Bishop and assigned to the Lomax District, the name was changed to Lomax A.M.E. Zion Church.

In the days leading up to the March on Washington in August of 1963, civil-rights activists from around the country were housed in the Lomax Fellowship Hall, and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Reverend Ralph Abernathy spoke in the church parking lot prior to this monumental event. A photo of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Reverend Ralph Abernathy speaking with members of the Lomax Church can be viewed at the Center for Local History.

Reverend Dr. Adrian V. Nelson (third from left) and Bishop W. Darin Moore (second from right) with members of the Lomax Church in front of 19th-century pulpit Bible on display at the Center for Local History.

19th-century pulpit Bible, printed in 1856, donated by Arlington's Lomax A.M.E. Zion Church; currently on display at the Center for Local History.

Center for Local History manager Judith Knudsen and her team worked with Lomax Church Archives Committee and its Chairwoman, Brenda Cox, to prepare and move materials for the acquisition. This donation was years in the making and both the Center for Local History and the church's Archives Committee spent countless hours to facilitate the exchange of materials.

Over 100 members of the Lomax Church, as well as Deputy County Manager Shannon Flanagan-Watson and three County Board Members: Arlington County Board Chairwoman Libby Garvey; Arlington County Board Member Matt de Ferranti; and Arlington County Board Member Christian Dorsey attended the ceremony.

Judith Knudsen and Libby Garvey both gave introductions before Reverend Dr. Adrian V. Nelson and Bishop W. Darin Moore each delivered a speech to those in attendance, highlighting the history of the Church and the significance of the archival donation.

Reverend Dr. Adrian V. Nelson

Bishop W. Darin Moore

After the ceremony, a reception was held in the Center for Local History, where food and refreshments were served, courtesy of the Friends of the Arlington Public Library.

The Center for Local History invites the Arlington Community to play an active role in documenting their history by donating physical and/or digital materials for the Center for Local History’s permanent collection.

Learn more about the donation process, and how to make a donation.

Valentine’s Day Postcards

The price of a stamp to mail a postcard in the early 1900s was just one penny. 

Postcard sent from Morgantown. WV, February 14, 1913

Postcard sent from Annapolis, MD, February 12, 1909

These Valentine's Day postcards, part of a collection sent from around the region to Miss Irene Andris, have postmarks ranging from 1906 through 1913. Some include personal messages, but many are simply addressed to the recipient.

Irene Andris was the grandmother of a Library employee, who donated the collection to the Center for Local History.

Postcard sent from Morgantown. WV, date stamp illegible.

Postcard sent from Morgantown. WV, February 14, 10 a.m., no year.

The Center for Local History has a large collection of holiday-themed postcards from the early-to-mid 20th Century. There are also postcards for birthdays, New Year’s, Christmas, Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, and the Fourth of July. 

The first American postcard was pressed in 1873. Postcards quickly became an inexpensive form of communication, growing in popularity throughout the 19th and 20th Centuries. The study and collection of postcards, which you've just learned a little bit about by reading this, is called Deltiology.

To see more of the postcard collection, or to learn more about Arlington's history, visit the Center for Local History on the first floor of the Central Library.

Do you have a question about this story, or a personal experience to share? 

Use this form to send a message to the Center for Local History.

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Exhibition Pays Tribute to Women in Arlington

Women's Work: Then & Now

The 29 Arlington women profiled in the exhibit include (from left to right) Caroline Gary Romano, Margarite Syphax, Seema Jain, Dr. Phoebe Hall Knipling, Mary A. R. Marshall, Gertrude Crocker, Marguerete Luter and Cornelia Bruere Rose, Jr.

In March, Arlington Public Library will launch a new exhibition at Central Library, titled “Women’s Work: Then & Now.”

  • March 5 through April 2 at Central Library.
  • Exhibition opening Thursday, March 5, 6:30 p.m., followed by an author talk with featured guest Liza Mundy, author of "Code Girls."
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The opening reception will be followed by an author talk with Liza Mundy. In "Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II," Mundy uncovers the truth about the army of women code-breakers who worked behind the scenes here in Arlington and in Washington DC, and brings to life the forgotten history of these unsung heroes whose efforts helped save hundreds of lives.

The exhibition commemorates both Arlington County’s 100th anniversary and the 100 years since the passage of the 19th Amendment. Included in this exhibition are stories, photographs, letters and memorabilia, which spotlight individuals and groups of Arlington women who dedicate their work to improve their community and the lives of others.

“These stories show that women are strong, resilient, even fierce when necessary, and that they are more than able to carry out the work before them,” said Diane Kresh, Director of Arlington Public Library. “Arlington would not be the same without them.”

Discover and learn about the work of Anna Barber, Charlene Bickford, Ellen Bozman, Judith Brewer, Elizabeth Campbell, Gertrude Crocker, Pauline Haislip Duncan, Alice Fleet, Alice Foster, Saundra Green, Critchett Hodukavich, Seema Jain, Carolyn (Carrie) Johnson, Cintia Johnson, Dr. Phoebe Hall Knipling, Puwen Lee, Marguerete Luter, Mary A. R. Marshall, Sushmita Mazumdar, Ruby Lee Minar, Constance (Connie) Ramirez, Caroline Gary Romano, Cornelia Bruere Rose, Jr., Virginia Lillis Smith, Florence Starzynski, Margarite Syphax, Nancy Tate, Marjorie Varner, and Dr. Emma Violand-Sanchez.

The nominees, selected by the 16 exhibition partners, were based on their groundbreaking, visionary and ongoing contributions to the communities they serve. Also included in this exhibition, are women who were curated from the Center for Local History’s online exhibition, “Women’s Work: Stories of Persistence and Influence.”

The exhibition partners are AED-Cultural Arts, Arlington County Commission on the Status of Women, Arlington County Department of Human Services, Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation, Arlington County Fire Department, Arlington County Police Department, Arlington County Sheriff’s Office, Arlington Food Assistance Center, Arlington Historical Society, Arlington Public Schools, CPHD-Historic Preservation, Encore Learning, Friends of the Arlington Public Library, Girl Scouts Association 60, League of Women Voters of Arlington and WomenWork (WoW) Employee Resource Group.

All Library Locations Closed Monday, Feb. 17 for George Washington Day

In Virginia, the official state holiday celebrated on the third Monday of February is named “George Washington Day.”

The federal holiday celebrated on the same day is named “Washington’s Birthday.”

And Maryland calls it something else…

So if you live in the Metro DC area, keeping track of this holiday’s name can be confusing.

Learn more about the history of this holiday in Virginia, and what is celebrated in the DMV.

George Washington Day? Presidents Day? Washington’s Birthday?

The Federal Holiday Celebrated the 3rd Monday in February is "Washington's Birthday"

Edward Penfield, illustrator. Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division,  cph.3g12932.

But if you live in the Metro DC area, keeping track of this holiday's name can be confusing...

  • In Virginia, the official state holiday celebrated on the third Monday of February is named George Washington Day.
  • In Maryland, they now celebrate the state holiday President's Day on the third Monday, but until 1996, MD celebrated Lincoln's birthday on Feb. 12 and Washington's Birthday on the third Monday of February.
  • In Washington D.C., the Human Resources Department matches the federal holiday and marks the third Monday of February as Washington's Birthday (pdf p.14).
  • The United States Office of Personell Management (Federal Government) marks the third Monday of February as Washington's Birthday.

While "Lincoln's Birthday" is a separate holiday in some states, and "Presidents Day" is the name of the holiday in other states (although no one agrees on the punctuation), the term "Presidents Day" was never adopted as the name of the federal holiday.

From the Encyclopaedia Britannica:

Presidents Day: In the United States, [a holiday] (third Monday in February) popularly recognized as honouring George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. The day is sometimes understood as a celebration of the birthdays and lives of all U.S. presidents.

The origin of Presidents’ Day lies in the 1880s, when the birthday of Washington—commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolution and the first president of the United States—was first celebrated as a federal holiday. In 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Bill, which moved a number of federal holidays to Mondays. The change was designed to schedule certain holidays so that workers had a number of long weekends throughout the year, but it has been opposed by those who believe that those holidays should be celebrated on the dates they actually commemorate.

During debate on the bill, it was proposed that Washington’s Birthday be renamed Presidents’ Day to honour the birthdays of both Washington (February 22) and Lincoln (February 12); although Lincoln’s birthday was celebrated in many states, it was never an official federal holiday. Following much discussion, Congress rejected the name change.

After the bill went into effect in 1971, however, Presidents’ Day became the commonly accepted name, due in part to retailers’ use of that name to promote sales and the holiday’s proximity to Lincoln’s birthday. Presidents’ Day is usually marked by public ceremonies in Washington, D.C., and throughout the country.

"Presidents’ Day." Britannica Academic, Encyclopædia Britannica, 18 Feb. 2011. academic-eb-com.library.access.arlingtonva.us/levels/collegiate/article/Presidents-Day/389228.  Accessed 12 Feb. 2018.

[Article originally posted Feb. 9, 2012. Sources checked and citations updated February 12, 2018; February 6, 2019; February 10, 2020]

Oral History: Renting in Clarendon in the 1950s

Interview with Ann Brock

Arlington Voices the Oral History Collection

Oral histories are used to understand historical events, actors, and movements from the point of view of real people’s personal experiences.

Arlington in the 1940s and 1950s was very different than it is today, but it has always remained an interesting and unique place to live. In this oral history segment, longtime Clarendon resident Ann Brock shares her memories of renting apartments in the neighborhood when she and her husband were newlyweds in the early 1950s.

Photo of Clarendon Circle Intersection, circa 1950s. On the right is Washington Boulevard, top center is Clarendon Boulevard. and left is Wilson Boulevard.

Narrator: Ann Brock
Interviewer: Emily Curley
Date: February 27, 2019

EC: So where was the first place that you lived in Clarendon?

AB: Are you ready for this?

EC: I’m ready.

AB: Where the IHOP is now, there was a Chinese laundry and my husband and I had an apartment over top the Chinese laundry. That was our first residence.

EC: (laughs) Okay, and what was that like?

AB: It was unusual—(laughing)—but it was fun.

EC: Okay. So where did you move after that?

AB: Well, I’ve got to think because we moved quite a few places. Let me say at one point we lived on North Nelson Street in a duplex apartment there. And then we lived at what was called then, the Lehigh apartments which bordered Arlington Boulevard and the name Lehigh came from the old Arlington Boulevard being Lee Boulevard, which divided north and south. And then we moved, briefly, out to McLean and we were only there about a year and then we came back. We rented our house on Washington Boulevard for fourteen years before we purchased it.

EC: Okay. Can you describe what renting was like back then? Was it as difficult as it is now?

AB: Oh, it was nothing—when we lived in the Lehigh apartment we had a one-bedroom apartment for $37.50 a month. And then after we had our son we moved to a two-bedroom apartment in Lehigh, same place, and that was $97.50 a month. Unbelievable isn’t it?

The goal of the Arlington Voices project is to showcase the Center for Local History’s oral history collection in a publicly accessible and shareable way.

The Arlington Public Library began collecting oral histories of long-time residents in the 1970s, and since then the scope of the collection has expanded to capture the diverse voices of Arlington’s community. In 2016, staff members and volunteers recorded many additional hours of interviews, building the collection to 575 catalogued oral histories.

To browse our list of narrators indexed by interview subject, check out our community archive. To read a full transcript of an interview, visit the Center for Local History located at Central Library.

Arlington Reads Starts March 10 with Roxane Gay

Arlington Reads brings authors and readers together to talk about the important topics of our time.

Spring Authors:

  • March 10 – Roxane Gay in conversation with Library Director Diane Kresh
  • April 2 – Laila Lalami
  • April 22 – Rebecca Traister
  • May 7 – Valeria Luiselli
  • May 19 – Brooke Gladstone in conversation with Library Director Diane Kresh

Register to Vote in 2020 at Your Library

Deadline to Register for March 3 Primary Election: Monday, Feb. 10

Voter Registration

Register

Or update your registration

Get Help

Arlington County Voter Registration staff and trained volunteers will be available to help you learn more about voting and elections, including:

  • Absentee voting
  • Sample ballots
  • Polling place updates
  • ID required on election day

Learn more about Arlington County’s 100th Anniversary celebration of the 19th Amendment.

Question for the Archives: Where Was My School?

Last week the Center for Local History was contacted by a patron looking for the name of an Arlington school he attended for one year as a child.

1952 Arlington property map

The man was able to give us the following information: He lived on North Richmond Street, in North Arlington, and the bus ride to the unknown school was short. He mentioned the school was older and made of brick. And when Taylor Elementary School opened the following year in 1953, he switched schools.

After looking at our maps and checking on when specific schools were built, archivist Heather determined that it’s most likely that the patron went to Woodmont Elementary School in the 1952-53 school year. Woodmont was built in 1926, with a few later additions. The other candidate that was farther away, Nottingham, was built in 1952, so it wouldn’t have that “old” feel the patron mentioned. Woodmont is also close enough to North Richmond Street to be considered a short bus ride in 1952.

1952 Arlington property map

To see more items like these, or to learn more about Arlington's history, visit the Center for Local History on the first floor of the Central Library.

Do you have a question about this story, or a personal experience to share? 

Use this form to send a message to the Center for Local History.

Center For Local History - Blog Post Message Form

Do you have a question about this story, or a personal experience to share? Use this form to send a message to the Center for Local History.

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