Two brothers born into slavery in the 1820s have been honored with new “stumbling stone” historical markers on Columbia Pike.
The bronze emblems, embedded into the sidewalk at the intersection of the Pike and S. Ode Street, honor the lives of Thornton and Daniel Check.
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Crandal Mackey was born in a Confederate field ambulance at the conclusion of the Civil War, and lived long enough to catch the first glimpses of the space race.
Crowds descended on the Arlington Historical Museum on Saturday as the facility reopened after months of renovations.
Hundreds of people filtered through the six-hour open house, appreciating the new facelift to the museum’s physical presence and exhibitions. The building at 1805 S. Arlington Ridge Road had been closed since the summer of 2024 to allow for the restoration of 47 original windows.
The Arlington Historical Society Museum is preparing to reopen after months of renovation and restoration work.
The museum at 1805 S. Arlington Ridge Road, which closed last summer for repairs, is hosting a grand reopening event on Saturday, May 3 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The lives of Margaret Hyson and her children George and Charlotte — three people enslaved in the Yorktown neighborhood in the 1800s — had previously been unknown to all but their descendants.
But now, this family will have their stories told to a broader community.
The spring real-estate market is about to bloom, and some of the most sought-after homes in Arlington are located along Little Falls Road and in the neighborhoods that flank them.
Whether Rock Spring, Yorktown, Williamsburg or East Falls Church, the neighborhoods Little Falls Road traverses are interesting and eclectic. Along the way, you will pass a number of religious buildings and schools (public and private).
“Stumbling stones” honoring the lives of people enslaved in pre-Civil War Arlington will soon be coming to more local neighborhoods.
An additional 15 of the brass memorial markers are slated to be placed in seven neighborhoods in coming months, part of a joint initiative of the Arlington Historical Society, Black Heritage Museum of Arlington and the county government.
Arlington’s Ethiopian community works hard to successfully integrate into the broader community while retaining and celebrating its traditions.
That was the view of panelists as a Black History Month program convened Thursday (Feb. 13) by the Arlington Historical Society.
Next month will mark the 50th anniversary of the permanent preservation of Arlington’s oldest existing residential structure.
The Ball-Sellers House, which began life in the mid-1700s as a two-room log cabin, was donated in February 1975 by its last private owner to the Arlington Historical Society. The society then refurbished the Glencarlyn home and opened portions of it to the public as its contribution to the nation’s bicentennial celebration of 1976.
Some Arlington sidewalks will soon contain “stumbling stones” identifying locations where people were once enslaved.
Forthcoming markers in and around county rights of way, unanimously approved by the Arlington County Board on Saturday, are part of “Memorializing the Enslaved in Arlington” — an Arlington Historical Society project seeking to uncover and chronicle the history of Arlington’s enslaved population.
Bronze plaques dubbed “stumbling stones” will honor the lives of three people once enslaved in what is likely Arlington’s oldest house, the Ball-Sellers House.
The three commemorative markers are the first of their kind and will be the subject of a dedication event later this month. The event will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28, at the Ball-Sellers House (5620 3rd Street S.), which is now a free museum.
The oldest home in Arlington is in jeopardy of being destroyed, the Arlington Historical Society says, and insects are to blame.
The Ball-Sellers House was originally built in the 18th century, sometime within the mid-1700s, according to the historical society.
