Hidden History of Arlington County

by Charlie Clark

Overview

For over two centuries, Arlington County has been a steadfast center for government institutions and a vibrant part of the Washington, D.C., community.

Many notable figures made their home in the area, like Supreme Court chief justice Warren Burger, General George Blood 'n' Guts Patton and a beauty queen who almost married crooner Dean Martin. The drama of Virginia's first school integration unfolded in Arlington beginning in the late 1950s. In the 1960s, two motorcycle gangs clashed in public at a suburban shopping center. Local author, historian and Our Man in Arlington Charlie Clark uncovers the vivid, and hidden, history of a capital community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781625859235
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	07/31/2017
Series:	Hidden History
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Charlie Clark is a longtime journalist in the Washington, D.C. area who writes the weekly Our Man in Arlington column for the Falls Church News-Press. By day, he is a senior correspondent for Government Executive Media Group, part of Atlantic Media. He previously worked as an editor or writer for the Washington Post, Congressional Quarterly, National Journal, Time-Life Books, Tax Analysts and the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. He lives in Arlington with his wife, Ellen.

Table of Contents

Introduction Mary Hughes Hynes 11

Foreword Judy Knudsen 15

Acknowledgements 17

Author's Confession 19

1 Early Arlington: English roots of our county name; George Washington's tree marker; expanding the story of slavery at Arlington House 23

2 Digging Deeper: Glues of slavery at a Civil War-era home; transporting a nineteenth-century home; a famous play was written in this bedroom 33

3 Noble Institutions A county song few recall; Democrats exiled across the county line; a football rivalry that drew ten thousand fans 67

4 Lofty Milestones First in Virginia to desegregate school; wicked Wilson Pickett sings at school gym; a globally watched local response to 9/11 87

5 Sparkling Personalities "Old Blood 'n' Guts" Patton at Fort Myer; two county heroes we lost in World War II; the Nauck community pharmacist; visits from a fried chicken icon; local boy makes good in The Sound of Music 117

6 Our Grimmer Side: Our forgotten local madam; American Nazis' multiple headquarters; a high school narc unmasked 153

7 Vivid Memories: Three local ghost stories; challenging a non-conforming house; an Arlington neighborhood some think is Falls Church 167

About the Author 176