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Arlington Public Library

Center for Local History Blog

Dedicated to collecting, preserving and sharing the history of the community.

The Chain Bridge

The first bridge to cross the Potomac in the Washington area was constructed in 1797 when Georgetown merchants built the “Falls Bridge” at the “Little Falls.” 

The bridge was built to replace ferry service and was primarily used to drive cattle across to the Georgetown auction markets after the cattle had drunk heavily at Pimmit Run.

There have been eight bridges built on this site.  The original one was a covered wooden structure that collapsed in 1804, and the second was destroyed by floods after only 6 months.  In 1810, a third bridge was constructed that was truly a “Chain Bridge,” the name by which all subsequent bridges have been known.  Two chains were made from four-foot links of wrought iron and suspended from massive stone towers at either shore.  The bridge itself was 136 feet long and 15 feet wide.

This was a toll bridge which reported $9,000 in collected tolls in 1810.  Tolls, thought to be high, were:

  • Four Horse Carriage: 1 ½ dollars
  • Two Horse Carriage:  1 dollar
  • Four Horse Wagon:  62 ½ cents
  • Two Horse Wagon:  37 ½ cents
  • Gig:  36 ½ cents
  • Man: 6 ½ cents

It was a relatively low bridge, and floods were a continuing problem.  The third, fourth, and fifth structures were all swept away by high water.

The present Chain Bridge, a simple continuous steel girder structure, was built in 1939 with a vertical clearance between the bridge and the river of 45 feet.  Nevertheless, in times of severe flooding, such as that experienced during Hurricane Agnes in 1972, the water level was so high that it became within a few feet of the bridge’s floor.

 

Do you remember Chain Bridge during the 1972 flooding?

 

Arlington Heritage: Eleanor Lee Templeman

Much of what we know about the history of Arlington County is due to the work of Eleanor Lee Templeman, photographer, local historian, and author of several books on the history of the area.

Templeman, although born in 1907 in Washington DC, grew up in California. She moved back east to attend the Critcher School of Painting and Applied Arts, where she graduated in 1929. She subsequently worked as an artist and illustrator for the American Automobile Association and the US Geological Survey.

However, Templeman’s real passion lay in local history. She was a descendent of Richard Bland Lee, uncle to Robert E. Lee, and served as Secretary, Genealogist and Historian of the Society of Lees in Virginia at various points between 1947 and her death in 1990. She was heavily involved with the fights to preserve Fort Marcy, Fort Ethan Allen and Sulley Plantation, and at the time of her death was working with groups to preserve Abingdon Plantation, which is located on Reagan National Airport grounds.

It is Eleanor Lee Templeman’s bibliography, however, that has had such an effect on local historical research. Templeman was constantly writing articles on Arlington and Northern Virginia history for a variety of historical publications, co-authored Northern Virginia Heritage and was the sole author of Arlington Heritage: Vignettes of a Virginia County (seen above). Templeman did the majority of the photography for both books; these photographs are an invaluable resource, documenting important structures, roads, cemeteries and even large trees as they stood in the 1950s and 1960s, when Arlington was undergoing major development. Meant as a “then and now” type of book, her “now” has turned into our “then”.

Templeman was rewarded for her efforts with awards from Marymount University in 1975 and the American Association for State and Local History in 1983. She was the Organized Women Voters of Arlington’s Women of the Year in 1966. Here in the library, the Virginia Room holds multiple copies of Northern Virginia Heritage and Arlington Heritage, and the Arlington Community Archives has PG 900, her photographs from both books, and RG 23, her research and clipping files.

Altha Hall "It’s All in a Name"

Altha Hall

Altha Hall was originally built by a gentleman from Fairfax named Andrew Adgate Lipscomb II (born 1854), who later became Assistant District Attorney of the District of Columbia during President Grover Cleveland’s administration.

In 1886, not long after marrying his wife Lamar Rutherford, Lipscomb ordered construction in Arlington for a mansion to be modeled after one that had been long admired by his wife, a resident of Athens, Georgia. Actual Georgia pine was shipped by rail and used for the paneling and also for the forty-foot pillars, while hardware and fixtures from a castle in England were used on the front doors. Fine Italian marble was used to build the fireplaces and crystal chandeliers from Europe were also procured.

The Lipscombs moved into their mansion in 1889, having named it “Ruthcomb” as a composite of their names, Rutherford and Lipscomb.

After the death of Mr. Lipscomb, the property was sold in 1905 to Mr. and Mrs. Thaddeus Matthew Tyssowski of Washington. She was the former Alice Walton Green of Lewinsville, Virginia. Emulating the previous owners, the new occupants renamed the home “Altha Hall”, a combination of their names, Alice and Thaddeus. Mr. Tyssowski was a successful businessman and insurance company executive and his son, Colonel John Tyssowski, married Catherine Woodward. John later became Chairman of the Board of Directors of Woodward & Lothrop.

In 1921, the Tyssowski family sold Altha Hall to Dr. W.S. Benedict, who lived there for 14 years before moving to a country estate near Sterling, Virginia. The hall was then leased by Tyssowski to Miss Anna Payne, who held a nursery school and kindergarten there. The property was then sold in 1957 to a group of real estate investors who had the property rezoned from residential, in hopes of turning it into a potential apartment house site. During this time, the house was occupied by the Lentz family until its destruction in 1959.

Further information about Altha Hall can be found in the excellent book “Arlington Heritage: Vignettes of a Virginia County” by Eleanor Lee Templeman, which is available for checkout here at Central Library. The photograph above is from the booklet “A Brief History of Alexandria County, Virginia,” published under the auspices of the county Board of Supervisors, of which early area activist and official Crandall Mackey was a member.

What About You?

Do you remember Altha Hall? Did you ever visit the property? We want to hear from you!

 

Central Library Goes Solar

Beginning the first week of June 2011, Arlington County’s Department of Environmental Services will install solar panels on the roof of the Central Library to help reduce the facility’s "peak demand" energy usage, offset a portion of its electricity consumption, and ultimately save money.

The 60-kilowatts solar photovoltaic system will consist of 250 solar panels on the roof of the Central Library, in order to:

  • Collect sunlight during all seasons
  • Offset a portion of the building’s electrical consumption
  • Save approximately $14,000 in energy costs annually
  • Reduce the County’s CO2 emissions by about 100,000 pounds annually

As part of Fresh AIRE (Arlington Initiative to Reduce Emissions), the new solar photovoltaic system will contribute to Arlington’s goal to reduce the County government greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent by 2012. Central Library is an ideal facility for a solar photovoltaic system, due to its large, flat roof that can easily collect sunlight, coupled with previous AIRE energy efficiency improvements.

This project is funded entirely by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program administered by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Impact on Library Service:

  • The work will have little to no impact on access to Central Library or its services.
  • Construction is scheduled to begin in early June and will take approximately two months to complete, weather-permitting.
  • During the work, ten parking spaces in the north parking lot will be used for a six week period for storage and staging.
  • If additional parking spaces are needed, patrons will be given as much notice as possible.

Energy Improvements at Central Library

With one of the largest public library collections in Metro DC, Central Library runs the typical heating, cooling, ventilation (HVAC), lighting, and water heating equipment associated with a commercial building, as well as a robust public access computer center and office equipment for staff use.

A series of adjustments and retrofits to Central Library’s building systems over the last decade have:

  • Cut electricity consumption by 38 percent from 2000 to 2010
  • Saved over $90,000 in avoided electricity costs
  • Prevented nearly 580 metric tons in CO2 emissions - the same as taking 400 cars off the road or planting nearly 15,000 trees.

For more information about the solar panel installation, please contact Viswanadhan Yallayi at 703-228-0755 in the Arlington County Department of Environmental Services.

For details about Fresh AIRE and Arlington’s efforts to improve energy efficiency in County facilities, please contact John Morrill at 703-228-4426. Or visit http://www.arlingtonva.us/ and search “central library solar panels.”

The Birth of the Internet: in Arlington and at the Library

On Tuesday, May 17, the Arlington County Board honored the founders of ARPANet, which we now see as the beginning of the internet and the World Wide Web. As described on the County NewsRoom:

These scientists [who are being honored] worked, at the time, in Arlington, for ARPA -- the Advanced Research Projects Agency. ARPA later became DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Their work has had a profound effect on how we work and how we conduct our private lives.

Library staff demonstrated the Internet for
Senator Robb, Rep. Moran and County
Board Vice Chairwoman Ellen Bozman in 1995

But did you know that Arlington Public Library was also at the forefront of  implementing the internet in Arlington County? In August of 1995, with the help of a LibraryLINK grant, we installed our first internet terminals at Central - becoming the 3rd public library in Virginia to offer free Internet. According to an early Navigating the Internet at Arlington Central Library guide:

Arlington was one of eight libraries chosen to receive grants from MCI in the first year of their LibraryLINK community initiative to bring the information superhighway to "Main Street, USA." Grant money was used to install two public and one reference Internet workstation at Central Library for one year.

And in 1997, Arlington County's 'new and improved' website was launched (with explanation and help from Librarian Elizabeth Fry).

Where is my Civil War Ancestor’s Camp?

Union soldiers in Arlington wrote from geographic locations such as Arlington Heights and Hall's Hill. While the forts in the defenses of Washington are well-documented and photographed, it can be difficult to find information on temporary camps and hospitals. State and local historical organizations help piece together the "puzzle" of a Civil War ancestor's life after consulting on-line photographs and other sources available through the Library of Congress and National Archives and Records Administration.

For example, on December 31, 1861, Iselin Roberts of the 4th NY Cavalry wrote a letter to "My Dear Wife Nelly" from Camp Hunters Chapel. Information from the Arlington Historical Society website http://www.arlingtonhistoricalsociety.org  and Arlington United Methodist Church historian Sara Collins locates this camp at Glebe Road and Columbia Pike, at the site of the Hunter's Chapel Methodist Church. The Union Army established a camp and appropriated church building materials. Hunters Chapel's successor, Arlington United Methodist Church, is two blocks away.

The New York State Museum and Veteran's Research Center website has a regimental history of the 4th NY Cavalry's service, including their journey to Fairfax Court House and onward to the First Battle of Bull Run/Manassas, and the writings of Gustavus Asche-Berg, "This Sorrowful War: A Veterinary Surgeon in the 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign."

Another New York regiment stationed at Hunter's Chapel, the 8th NY Infantry, also known as the German Rifles or Blenker's Division, was made up of German immigrants. The aristocratic military veterans of European wars in Blenker's Division impressed General-in-Chief George McClellan with their drilling practices and neat campsites. A book owned by Arlington Central Library, The Soldier's Pen: Firsthand Impressions of the Civil War by Robert E. Bonner contains soldiers' writings and drawings from the Gilder Lehrman Collection of New York City. A unique drawing of Camp Hunter's Chapel and drawings of other Northern Virginia locations by Private Henry Berckhoff of the 8th NY German Rifles can be found in this book and in a virtual exhibit on the Digital History website of the University of Houston.

What about you?

Do you have a Civil War ancestor who came to Arlington? Do you know of documents or images of the Civil War in the Northern Virginia area? The Virginia Room wants to know.

Transcribed text of letter from Iselin Roberts to wife Nelly

December 31, 1861
Headquarters New York Mounted Rifles
4th Calvary N.Y. Volunteers
Camp Hunter's Chapel, Virginia

My Dear Wife Nelly,

I wrote to you two days ago and I cannot help writing to you again. You will excuse the writing as my head aches so I can hardly see I have such a bad cold still I must have a few words with my Nelly. I received an nother Box yesterday from my Sisters and Brothers for Christmas and we had a jolly time over it I assure you for there was lots of good things in it. My Dear Nelly, I wrote to you on Sunday last the day that I received your letter and I am in hopes that I will hear from you soon again. I wish that you could write to me often as your letters do me so much good, and I like to hear from you so very much.

Dear Nelly, I did not say much in my last as I was in such a hurry but you can give my Best Respects and wish all of them a Happy New Years for me. I mean Mrs. Phillips, Mrs. Jenner, Mrs Simmons, Mrs. Richmond, Mrs. Clark, Mrs. Green, Mrs. Arnold and all inquiring friends, also Mr. Phillips, Mr. Jenner, Mr. Rodman, Dr. Crane, Dr. Baker and all of your friends. I hope there will be no trouble about the Furlough, they say that we will get paid the fifth of January. I hope we will as I want to try and bring the money home to you. I haven’t much to say at present, only I hope that my dear Nelly will have a good New Years.

Bibliography

  • Arlington Historical Society website http://www.arlingtonhistoricalsociety.org
  • Bonner, Robert E., The Soldier's Pen, Firsthand Impressions of the Civil War, New York: Hill and Wang, 2006.
  • Cooling, Benjamin Franklin III, Owen, Walton H. II, Mr. Lincoln's Forts: A Guide to the Civil War Defenses of Washington, Lanham MD: Scarecrow Press, 2010.
  • Digital History, University of Houston website: https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/ Virtual Exhibitions: Watercolor Sketchbook by Henry Berckhoff 8th NY German Rifles, Gilder Lehrman Collection GL1606 p.6 Morning Scene at Camp Hunter's Chapel, October 1861.
  • Gernand, Bradley E., A Virginia Village goes to War: Falls Church during the Civil War, Virginia Beach, VA: Donning Co. Publishers, 2002.
  • Gilder Lehrman Collection website: http://www.gilderlehrman.org
  • New York State Museum and Research Center https://nysm.nysed.gov/research-collections
  • Virginia Room Newsclipping Files – Civil War - Various categories Includes notes by Arlington United Methodist Church Historian Sara Collins, U.S. Sanitary Commission list of camps, lists of many Union regiments in Arlington.

From Our Back Pages: All Work and No Play

Earnest E. Johnson with his wife Mignon (left)
and an unknown friend in 1982

In 1949, Arlington established a formal Department of Recreation for the rapidly growing and developing county.

However, the classes, clubs and activities sponsored by the department mirrored the school system and were segregated.

In 1950, a formal “Negro Recreation Section” was created “with a special emphasis on sports.” Its director was Ernest E. Johnson, who was a central figure for African-Americans in Arlington who wished to participate in the Department’s programs.

Read more about Ernest E. Johnson and the eventual desegregation of the County’s Recreation Department on Our Back Pages.

Our Back Pages: Walker Chapel

Walker Chapel
Home to one of the earliest church congregations in Arlington County, the unique history of Walker Chapel is that of both change and tradition.

Located at the present address of 4102 North Glebe Road, the original Walker Chapel was built in 1871, six years after the end of the Civil War, and only a year after the end of Arlington County’s occupation by the Union Army.

Walker Chapel

 

Home to one of the earliest church congregations in Arlington County, the unique history of Walker Chapel is that of both change and tradition.

Located at the present address of 4102 North Glebe Road, the original Walker Chapel was built in 1871, six years after the end of the Civil War, and only a year after the end of Arlington County’s occupation by the Union Army. Initially a junior church of the Mount Olivet Circuit, the chapel was situated on land donated by Robert and James Walker, whose father David Walker was buried in the adjacent Walker (Family) Grave Yard. The original building was a single room frame structure with a small belfry and basement, seated near the upper part of the graveyard. A new church was built at the opposite end of the cemetery in 1903, with further additions taking place in 1952 and 1954, including the construction of an education and administrative building. The original chapel continued to be used for Sunday School classes prior to its demolition in 1930. The photograph above was taken in August, 1996, before the extensive renovations of 1999; the result is the stately white brick church that stands today.

What about you? Have you been to Walker Chapel? We’d love to hear from you.

All Work and No Play

In 1949, Arlington established a formal Department of Recreation for the rapidly growing and developing county. However, the classes, clubs, and activities sponsored by the department mirrored the school system and were segregated. In 1950, a formal "Negro Recreation Section" was created "with a special emphasis on sports." Its director was Ernest E. Johnson, who was a central figure for African-Americans in Arlington who wished to participate in the Department's programs.

Johnson expanded the Negro Recreation Section to include classes for children in not only a variety of sports, but dance, theater, and music (including accordion classes), and community events like teen beauty pageants and parades. He was forward-thinking, documenting many of these activities in the early to mid-1950s with professional photographs; a collection of 78 of these images are held in the Community Archives. Johnson oversaw the development of Jennie Dean field and a new recreation center at Hoffman-Boston on S. Queen St. This center later became known as the Carver Center. Johnson's activities stretched beyond the Department of Recreation. He was the leader of Arlington's first African-American Cub Scout Pack (#589), chartered in April of 1952.

For the 1962-1963 fiscal year, the Negro Recreation Section was quietly changed to the Carver Section, with Johnson still as its supervisor. In 1964, the Negro Recreation Section disappeared in a department reorganization; Johnson became Supervisor of the Centers Section, overseeing "teen clubs, free classes, and meetings of non-Department sponsored clubs in the centers." With no fanfare at all, the county's Department of Recreation had become desegregated and Johnson was integrated into the department's existing administration.

Ernest Johnson continued to serve Arlington County, and on May 8, 1982, Arlington celebrated Ernest E. Johnson Day with a parade that ran from the Walter Reed Recreation Center to the Carver Recreation Center, a softball game that afternoon, a senior tea and a testimonial dinner that evening. A photograph from the event, showing Johnson (center) and his wife Mignon (left) is shown above. Johnson died in December 1992, after a life to service to the people of Arlington; his work let Arlington play.

What About You?

What are your memories of Arlington's Department of Recreation: classes, clubs, parks, and fields? We want to hear from you!



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