This regularly scheduled sponsored column is written by Carolanne Korolowicz, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. If you would like to work with Carolanne in Northern Virginia and the greater D.C. Metro area, you can reach her directly at [email protected].

I’ve always heard my grandmother saying she was from Barcroft more often than saying she was an Arlingtonian. Though a niche distinction, for those from there– it’s an important one.  When she tells stories of her upbringing, it is always painted like a Norman Rockwell scene. She speaks of farmettes, relatives living next door, days on the playground and a community truly caring for one another.  As I started my Barcroft research, outside of just generations of familial stories,  it was hard to take in all of the information to write a concise article due to every happening, resident and home being documented with great importance. Whether a neighbor started a business or went to go visit their cousins in the country, the community took a genuine interest.

The early settlers of Barcroft considered themselves pioneers headed west. Post-Civil War, real estate developers saw investment opportunities in Northern Virginia. With (relatively) easier access to Washington due to advancements in transportation, these subdivisions were heavily advertised to city folk looking to escape to the “country air”. There was an early, and overall unsuccessful, attempt to subdivide the land that makes up modern-day Barcroft by Frank Corbett. In 1886, he hired surveyors to lay out a 40-acre subdivision amongst his 162-acre farm, believing the existing train station nearby would be a popular selling point. However, his lots failed to sell. The issue was that he made the tracts too large, pricing out the demographic looking for these properties—middle-class, federal workers. After his death in 1897, a new developer swooped in on the purchase of his remaining lots, starting Barcroft’s second wave.

In 1903, Abbie Galt Fox purchased the balance of Corbett’s property. She partnered with her son-in-law, Stephen Prescott Wright, to help subdivide, manage and finance the “new” Barcroft. As the lots began to sell, Barcroft expanded both north and to the east. Apartment complexes began to emerge alongside Columbia Pike. The rural village over the next couple of decades would start to become the neighborhood we recognize today.

What is unique in Barcroft’s timeline is that a strong sense of community emerged as quickly as the new developments. In June 1903, a young resident, Eddie Haring, took it upon himself to print the first official Barcroft News. The newsletter was compiled of personal news (similar to someone making a Facebook status today), neighborhood updates, opinion pieces and letters to the editor. One in particular really shows the hope and pride residents had in their new hamlet: (more…)