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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.


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A 28-year-old reportedly trying to pass classified documents to a foreign government last week is the latest episode in a long history of espionage-related cases in Arlington.

Nathan Vilas Laatsch, an IT specialist for the Defense Intelligence Agency, was arrested on Thursday after allegedly arranging to hand sensitive records to an undercover FBI agent in an Arlington park.


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The exterior of a chapel in a North Arlington local historic district will receive a deep cleaning and restoration work over the summer.

The county’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) voted 13-0 last week to allow Walker Chapel United Methodist Church to use PVC materials to replace rotted wood in some areas. In other places, wood will still be required.


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Arlington leaders on Tuesday (May 13) honored the legacy of a once-vibrant community wiped off the map to make way for construction around the Pentagon.

Board members also expressed regret at how those residents were treated by county leaders eight decades ago.


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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.


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The Falls Church City Council marked the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon last week with a celebration of the city’s Vietnamese-American community.

“Thank you for being part of Falls Church,” Mayor Letty Hardi said at Monday’s Council meeting, attended by several dozen community representatives.


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Fire Station #8’s dedication ceremony on Saturday included equal nods to the past, present and future.

“It symbolizes struggle, determination, progress,” Arlington Fire Chief David Povlitz said at the formal opening of the four-bay, three-level, 20,000-square-foot facility that is expected to serve until at least the mid-2070s.


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New interpretive panels have been installed honoring the Rouse estate, a historic home torn down in 2021 to the dismay of many preservationists.

The new signs, a collaborative effort between the Dominion Hills Civic Association, Toll Brothers and county government, highlight the Dominion Hills community and the building also known as the Febrey-Lothrop House. Funding came through the county’s Historic Preservation Fund.


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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.


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The Little City is starting to think big for the nation’s 250th birthday in 2026.

Much remains up in the air, including the question of how much funding the City of Falls Church will set aside. At a March Falls Church250 committee meeting, however, officials floated ideas ranging from history talks to planting a remembrance tree.


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The term “blogger” didn’t come into the lexicon until the 1990s. But 60 years before, Arlington almost had the equivalent of one.

From 1935 to 1951, Howard Bradley “Brad” Bloomer Jr. was well known as a major player in Arlington civic life — and perhaps the only one to leave behind a large repository of facts and opinions about a crucial period in the county’s development.


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