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When Arlington Did the Right Thing

"The time is always right to do the right thing."
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

On August 28, the 48th anniversary of the "I Have a Dream" speech, the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial will be formally dedicated in Washington D.C. Located in West Potomac Park and flanked by the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, the addition of the King Memorial creates a monumental trifecta of leadership and inspiration.

From left, seventh graders Gloria Thompson, Ronald Deskins, Lance Newman and Michael Jones enter the previously all-white Stratford Junior High on Feb. 2, 1959. Courtesy of Michael Jones.

As a child of nine in August of 1963, I had little knowledge of the man whose eloquence and personal courage undergirded a movement. I had no knowledge of the civil rights movement itself. African-Americans were just not a part of my everyday experience. Just as it is often observed that there are two Virginias, in 1963 there were two Arlingtons: the well-to-do, predominantly white North Arlington and the less prosperous, racially mixed South Arlington. It was a distinction that was more than just directional. There were few students of color in my elementary school, Stewart-Tuckahoe, when I attended from 1960-1966--a fact consistent with the 1960 Census, which reported only 7,063 foreign–born persons or 4.3 percent of the County’s total population.

High View Park in North Arlington and Arlington View and Green Valley (Nauck) in South Arlington were all that remained of the County’s African-American communities. High View Park, known in my day as "Hall's Hill," was a neighborhood not far from where I grew up. It epitomized the less prosperous and segregated Arlington: an enclave of substandard housing and dead-ended, unpaved streets that for much of its history had been literally walled from the white neighborhoods it bordered by a series of 7-foot fences.

The year of King’s speech, the Arlington Planning Commission established a committee to study how best to maintain residential neighborhoods, a study that led to the creation of the Neighborhood Conservation Program. On Feb. 13, 1965, the County Board approved a Neighborhood Conservation Plan for High View Park hailing the tireless efforts of the residents who spoke up for their neighborhood’s civic rights. Abraham Lincoln, whose 156th birthday was celebrated the day before, would have been proud.

As significant as this moment was in Arlington's pursuit of racial parity, it was but the latest example of the County’s black and white residents working together for common cause. A few years earlier, some of the High View Park champions--E. Leslie and Dorothy Hamm and Peggy Deskins – had joined Edmund and Elizabeth Campbell and others to face down Sen. Harry Byrd’s "massive resistance" and integrate the County’s schools.

The Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision to end school segregation "with all deliberate speed" rocked Virginia to its core in May 1954. The "political museum piece" that was Virginia, as characterized by political scientist V.O Key in his classic, "Southern Politics in State and Nation" [1949], was stuck on the horns of a dilemma, caught between the moral imperative to do right by Virginia and remain segregated, or to do the right thing. It was an issue that pitted being a Virginian against being an American. Arlington, having evolved from a bedroom community in the shadow of the nation's capital to a thriving, socially progressive community of residents whose political views were markedly different from those of the rest of the state, found itself at the center of the fight.

By 1956, political passions were running high in Richmond as "massive resistance" to the High Court's mandate was gaining momentum, giving rise to a plan to prevent any integrated schools from receiving state funds and authorizing the governor to order any such school to close. Meanwhile the NAACP was filing lawsuits across the state to force integration, including a suit brought on behalf of 15 African American and white parents and 22 students in Arlington.

The case was named for Clarissa S. Thompson, an African American student who wanted to attend Arlington's all white Washington-Lee High School instead of the all black Hoffman-Boston. After hearing oral arguments, Alexandria Federal District Judge Albert V. Bryan, who only four years before in writing the opinion in the original Prince Edward County school integration case* stated that racial segregation caused no hurt or harm to either race, ordered that the schools in Arlington be desegregated. Suits and countersuits ensued--deliberation without speed.

Finally, on Jan. 19, 1959 (birthday of Virginia native son Robert E. Lee), the state’s Supreme Court of Appeals, by a ruling of 5-2, overturned the Virginia legislature's "massive resistance" laws and its threat of schools closures, declaring them in violation of the Virginia Constitution. The issue of school integration had assailed Virginia’s traditional political culture, a culture that was oligarchic, parsimonious, suspicious of "big" government, discouraging of public participation in the affairs of state, obeisant to the way things were. Throughout the long, slow march to integration in Virginia, rhetoric trumped reason; fear mongering triumphed over fairness; delay prevented "deliberate speed." Traditional Southern values were pitted against unwanted northern influence--ideologues against pragmatists.

The press, too played a powerful role on both sides of the integration issue. For every Richmond News Leader editorial that intrepidly egged on the resisters, editorials in both the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot and The Washington Post and Times Herald, penned by Lenoir Chambers and Robert Muse, respectively, eschewed moral turpitude and urged action and acceptance.

Virginia fought the law, but the law won. On Feb. 2, 1959, Ronald Deskins, Michael Jones, Lance Newman and Gloria Thompson (sister of Clarissa) entered Stratford Junior High School, splitting a phalanx of approximately 100 helmeted Arlington police officers who were Little Rock-ready with gas grenades, masks and batons. Their walk to school irrevocably changed Virginia although at the time, they were unaware of its historical significance.

Years later, reminiscing at a panel discussion with 500 students at Stratford Junior High (now H-B Woodlawn), the four understated their roles on that important day citing their parents and other community leaders – blacks and whites -- as the true heroes of Arlington’s integration story. The integration of Stratford was but the first of many small steps toward integration. It would still be years before black and white children could sit alongside one another at drug store counters and drink Cokes, attend dances together, or compete on the same sports teams.

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* Prince Edward County Public Schools chose to close rather than integrate and remained closed from 1959-1964. It was the only county system in the country to do so.

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The material for this story came from the archives of the Arlington Public Library's Center for Local History. The attached bibliography will help interested readers learn more about these important events in Arlington’s history.

VA Room Oral Histories about Desegregation

  • Series 3, no. 26 Edmund Campbell
  • Series 3, no. 48 Dorothy Hamm
  • Series 3, no. 110 Ray Reid
  • Series 3, no. 112 John Robinson
  • Series 3, no. 061 Theda Henle

DVD:

Segregation/Integration Collections in the Arlington Community Archives

  • RG 7: Arlington County Public Schools
  • RG 7B: Hoffman-Boston High School Records
  • RG 9: Records of Citizen’s Committee for School Improvement
  • RG 18: Personal Papers of Barbara Marx
  • RG 19: Personal Papers of Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell
  • RG 69: Arlington County Public Schools: Desegregation Materials (copies culled from RG 7)

Vertical Files:

  • 5 Folders containing clippings, articles, memos, reports, etc. relating to desegregation

Books:

 

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?

 

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!

The Consumer Brewery

Before the Era of Brew Pubs, There Were Local Breweries


By providing their communities with a convenient source of beer, local breweries gave tavern owners and other customers another option besides relying exclusively on larger commercial breweries.

The Consumer Brewing Company was Arlington's local brewery of note.

Built in 1896 in Rosslyn under the direction of noted local architect Albert Goenner (who was also responsible for the building of the original Arlington County Courthouse), the building was located above the site of the old Aqueduct Bridge. Rosslyn at this time was a notorious area, home of many taverns, gambling establishments, brothels, and the like. The building itself was a distinctive red brick structure with turrets on the ends, a clock tower in the center, and a large smokestack at the back. Around 1904, the business was reorganized and William McGuire became president of the brewery, changing the name to the Arlington Brewery, which continued operations until 1920 when Prohibition went into effect.  The building subsequently served as a lithographic print shop and warehouse until its demolition in 1958, when the property was used for the construction of a Marriott motel.

The photograph above is a view of Rosslyn and the Aqueduct Bridge from Georgetown. The brewery and smokestack is in the upper right section of the image.

Much of the material for this particular blog post was taken from an excellent article written by Virginia Room volunteer Willard J. Webb for the October 2000 edition of the Arlington Historical Magazine. Willard passed away on Nov. 23, 2010, and is still greatly missed.

What About You?

What are your Consumer Brewing Company memories? We want to hear from you!

 

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

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

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Infamous Arlingtonian Mary Ann Hall

Rixey Mansion, now part of Marymount University, stands on the site of Mary Ann Hall’s country house.

 

Mary Ann Hall, sister of Bazil Hall, the farmer and slave owner for which Hall’s Hill (now Highview Park) was named, also owned property in Arlington which she used as a summer home and country house. The main building of Marymount University, Rixey Mansion, now occupies the site of Mary Ann’s farmhouse.

Mary Ann was a high-class madam in Washington where she ran a brothel (located at the foot of Capitol Hill) for over 40 years. She bought the lot and had the brothel built to her specifications, a substantial house with four stories containing 25 rooms and a basement.

When the construction for the National Museum of the American Indian began, professional archeologists were called in to interpret the site where her house stood. The results of the excavation showed that the quality of materials at the site was better than that of the surrounding neighborhood. Tableware was expensive and seeds and bones found showed a nutritional diet that included substantial amounts of beef, poultry and fish as well as turtle, and fruits such as coconuts and berries. Also found were dozens of corks and bottles which seemed to indicate Mary Ann’s fondness for champagne.

A successful business woman, in 1853 she was able to purchase a farm in Alexandria County (now Arlington) to which she gradually added through 1869. As she grew older she spent more time at the farm and turned over business matters to her younger sister Elizabeth.

District of Columbia court records show that when she died, Mary Ann Hall was worth $87,000 (about $2,000,000 today) with no debts. A list of her belongings included Belgian carpets, oil paintings, plush red furniture and an ice box as well as a large number of sheets, mattresses, blankets, feather pillows and comforters.

Mary Ann never married, had children or kept a diary. She left no collection of personal letters or business ledgers, so there is little known about her as an individual. However, her obituary in the Evening Star described her as a person of unquestioned integrity and a heart open to “appeals of distress and a charity that was boundless.”

After her death in 1886, she was buried in Congressional Cemetery. The inscription on her grave monument reads:

Truth was her motto
Her creed charity for all
Dawn is coming.

A Family’s Final Resting Place

Shreve family gravestoneOf the two Shreve family cemeteries in Arlington, the Southern-Shreve cemetery could possibly lay claim to having a more unique history. Located on the north side of Fairfax Drive, between North Frederick and North Harrison streets, the cemetery sat near the property of Richard and Frances (Redin) Southern. Richard Southern was a landscape architect and horticulturist, who became known for pioneering the use of the tomato as a food. It may seem hard to believe in these modern times, but prior to Southern’s efforts, the tomato was widely regarded as being poisonous and was only used for decorative purposes.

The land was given as a dowry by Frances Redin’s brother, a prominent Georgetown attorney, and was the burial place of John Redin, father of Frances and her brother. This generous act may have been precipitated by the fact that the Southerns cared for John Redin during his final years. He was buried in the garden of the Southern’s home in 1832, his gravestone being the first in what was to become the family cemetery.

Being neighbors of the Shreves, Birches, and Balls, the families intermarried and the house and property remained in the Shreve family until 1904.

There are approximately 20 marked stones in the cemetery, which is still in fairly good condition today, with the most notable being that of Richard and Francis Shreve, who were both killed by lightning on June 25th, 1874. The inscription reads: “Struck by a thunderbolt from Heaven, they both lay down and died, they left three lambs whom God had given them, may he for them provide.”

What About You?

Do you have any stories involving local family history? Let us know!

An Historic School

From School to Historical Society

Hume School Arlington 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!

 

Mystery Door

Do you recognize this scene?

Mystery door

This photograph was taken by Eleanor Lee Templeman, author of "Northern Virginia Heritage" and "Arlington Heritage," which tell the story of our area's development through the 1950s.

This photo was not used in either book, but was part of her donation of photographs to the Community Archives. It may be the door to a springhouse or cold food storage area.

What About You?

Do you recognize this door, or this area? The Virginia Room could use your help. Let us know what you remember!

 

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

Use this form to send a message to the Charlie Clark 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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Saving the Small Stuff

Although you may think a ticket stub, sign, receipt or postcard is something that you use and then throw away, these materials many times have a much larger value.

These bits and pieces are called ephemera, and are vital in helping construct Arlington’s history. Ephemera, as defined by the Society of American Archivists, is “materials, usually printed documents, created for a specific, limited purpose, and generally designed to be discarded after use.” Ephemera is collected because of its association with a person, event or subject, such a bill signed by a famous person, a ticket stub to a nationally-known event, or, as above, showing the logo and method of advertisement for the Arlington Chamber of Commerce.

This sign above would be shown in an office or shop window, letting customers know that the business was affiliated with the Chamber of Commerce for 1949. That means they were part of a larger business community, networking with other businesses and working together on community projects.

Because of the date, the sign was meant to be thrown away at the end of the year. However, its existence in the Arlington Community Archives shows the Arlington Chamber of Commerce at the time was robust and active (the sign is made of heavy board with rich colors), and had a plan to showcase and advertise membership. Although the sign was meant to be thrown away, it remains in our collection as a valuable piece of ephemera.

The Arlington Community Archives has an entire collection of ephemera, Record Group 28, Pamphlets and Ephemera, and continues to take donations of this material. To find out more, see also “Ephemera: A Book on its Collection, Conservation and Use,” by Chris E. Makepeace, in the library collection.

 



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