Arlington Public Library is an official book sanctuary.
Keeping the County Healthy
In 1919, the Arlington County Department of Health was one of the first full-time county departments for health services in...
Read moreHome Cooking
The first observance of Thanksgiving in America actually took place in Virginia. A children’s cooking class sponsored by Arlington’s Department...
Read moreAll Aboard: The Clarendon Train Station
Finding the best way to get from one location to another was as much of a concern to Arlington residents...
Read moreCracking the Code
Arlington Hall, located at Route 50 and George Mason Drive, was a girls finishing school founded in 1927. The school...
Read more“Voting Here”
In 1957, there were 46,206 registered voters in Arlington County, and there were 37 election precincts. 25 years before, when...
Read moreHalloween Party!
Oral History Excerpt with Tally Bowman Speaking of a neighborhood woman who was a member of the Women’s Christian Temperance...
Read moreArlington’s "Down Town"
Clarendon in the 1940s In 1900 when Clarendon was established as a village, it consisted of 25 acres intersected by...
Read moreWe've Been Published!
Zachary Schrag, an assistant professor of history at George Mason University, used materials in the Virginia Room and the Arlington...
Read moreThe Ashton Heights Women’s Club
The Ashton Heights Women’s Club originally started as a sewing circle that met near the Clarendon area in 1923. It...
Read more50 Years of Education, 50 Years of Good Friends
2006 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the first graduating class from Wakefield High School. Originally built to house 2,000 students,...
Read moreBreaking Religious Barriers
Herman J. Obermayer, former owner of the Northern Virginia Sun and first openly Jewish member of the Washington Golf and...
Read more"The Magazine"
The history of your neighborhood, churches, civil war forts and other historic sites in Arlington. Did you know that in...
Read moreSchool Days at Stewart Elementary
Stewart Elementary School, erected in 1938, was located at 2400 N. Underwood Street, and named for Charles E. Stewart, a...
Read moreThe Flying Machine
In 1908, Orville Wright arrived in Arlington to show his “flying machine” to military officers at Fort Myer. The army...
Read moreReady, Set, GO!!!!!
The Optimist Club For many years after its inception in 1946, the Optimist Club of Arlington sponsored a kids coaster...
Read moreFloating Repairs
The photograph above shows members of Arlington’s Department of Public Works repairing the Chain Bridge water main in 1987....
Read moreThe Virginia Room Needs Help!
The Virginia Rooms holds dozens of photographs with unidentified people and places… This photo is just one. Taken probably in...
Read moreArlington Gardens: the 1930s
Oral History with Barbara Ball Savage A young winner at the 1986 Arlington County fair, photographed by County Photographer Debbie...
Read moreThe Weenie Beenie
Bill Staton was a world-renowned pool player and an inaugural member of the One Pocket Hall of Fame. The start-up...
Read moreA Generous Donation
The Virginia Room recently received a wonderful donation of two 1936 Sanborn atlases of Arlington. Thanks to the generosity of...
Read moreRiding Shoot the Chutes at Luna Park
Luna Park was an amusement park that opened in Arlington (then known as Alexandria County) in 1906. It was situated...
Read moreLET’S PLAY BALL!!!
This is a 13-and-under boys baseball team sponsored by Arlington County’s Negro Recreation Section. From 1948 to 1962, the Department...
Read moreDoctor Who Trivia Night
Jan. 30: Calling all clever boys and girls for a night of wibbly wobbly, timey wimey team trivia!