Walks with Charley: Sniffing Arlington Ridge History & Mystery

by Marty Suydam

Overview

I have written about Arlington Ridge in terms of personal exploration between my best friend, Charley, and me. When you walk a dog several miles a day in the same general area, you encounter many things that are missed when you are alone, just walking or driving a car. With a dog, you must stop and attend to the duties of the dog. The shared journey is the important thing, not getting somewhere. You must stop and wait for sniffing expeditions. And you (the human) can share your observations and wonder with someone (the dog) who is nonjudgmental. Since we traverse the area a couple times a day, we are also a strobe light on change. We report downed trees to the county. We observe poor workmanship and repairs. And even though we may have passed a location hundreds of times, we see something new, even things as large as houses. Thus, I have tried to create a series of ?Readers Digestible? stories (a made-up term for a story quickly read and easily understood) that relate here and now to yesteryear with the help of Charley. This book is organized by first introducing you, the reader, to Charley, then by working our way around the ridge geographically. If north is at twelve o?clock, that is where I start and work clockwise and back to twelve o?clock. I hope you will enjoy my shared journey and experiences with Charley as much as I have. Charley doesn?t remember any of the story details (unless there are smells involved), but she does remember her way around the nearly twenty miles of roads, alleys, and paths of the ridge.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781546212713
Publisher:	AuthorHouse
Publication date:	11/02/2017
Pages:	116
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.28(d)

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

Charley Girl

Joyce and I had dogs most of our married life. When Shu, our last Shih Tzu went to doggie heaven, we decided not to get another dog. Our life-style had changed enough to be keeping and training a puppy – it didn't fit.

On the other hand, I loved the idea of "unconditional love", not available anywhere else, but from a dog.

When Joyce retired in 2009 we could begin to see a chance for unconditional love – again.

We settled on getting a Wheaton Terrier-Shih Tzu mix, Abbey. We paid a breeder a lot of money for her and had a training package built in. She was cute and sweet, but was un-trainable in terms of house breaking. Maybe we were out of practice. We tried everything, but ultimately had to take her to Animal Welfare League. She was picked up immediately and we were led to believe she was placed with a family who could do the right thing. All in all, it was a sad experience.

After two years, and still in need of unconditional love, Joyce began searching the Internet. Joyce wanted a dog that could be trained as a therapy dog for working with children in reading programs. I wasn't particularly interested, but the idea of unconditional love was still appealing.

In January 2010 Joyce asked me to come with her to Winchester. We would see some puppies, but, "... only to look".

A little white Goldendoodle puppy crawled into her lap and it was love at first sight (figure 2, No 1). I kept saying we weren't committing, but I had her picture on my phone and I kept looking at it.

We were going to Monterey, California in early February and Tucson, Arizona in March, and we decided to commit to take the dog if the breeder was willing to keep her until we returned. We didn't think it was fair to pick her up then put her in a kennel right away. The breeder agreed. She was the favorite of the litter and the breeder had named her "Lamb Chop" after the Sherri Lewis puppet of the same name. While in Monterrey we visited the Steinbeck Museum and that sealed the fate of her name, Charley. Recall Steinbeck's last book was "Travels with Charley".

When we picked her up in April, it was still love at first sight only enhanced by the fact that she was completely housebroken and proved that skill just before we left the breeder (figure 2, No 2).

Now nearly four years later, Charley is mid-sized (46 pounds) and always gets comments, when we walk, "... she is so beautiful ...", "... she always looks just groomed ...", and when petted by children, "... she is so soft and fluffy ..." (figure 2, No 3). All those attributes are hers, naturally. She is beautiful, sweet, gentle, and very fit – she makes sure I get my daily exercise, often 6-8 miles — every day in an "unconditional" way.

CHAPTER 2

On the Street Where You Live – Arlington Ridge

What's in a name of a place? How did that name get decided? Whose life is now memorialized?

The story of the names of places can represent a fascinating tale about the place where we live, yet often, know little about.

We live at 2336 South Nash Street in Arlington, VA (Lot 47). South Nash is located on the area generally described as Arlington Ridge, a topographic "finger" that points to Arlington House, the Lee mansion in Arlington Cemetery, through the area of the Pentagon. In the 1800's Anthony Fraser and James Roach owned the properties. Today, the following streets, clockwise from the north, bound the area: S. Joyce St, S. Glebe Road, and Army Navy Drive. Parts of the area have been known as: Green Valley, Club Manor Estates, Aurora Hills, Virginia Highlands, and Aurora Highlands.

Most of the paved roadways in the immediate surroundings of South Nash Street are less than 100 years old. Though some roads date back to the Revolution, most have new names. South Nash is also a switchback extension of Arlington Ridge Road leading downhill from the Pentagon overlook to Army-Navy Drive (figure 3, No 1).

So, what is the evolution on of the name Arlington Ridge?

The area was once part of the 1,000-acre estate of Anthony Fraser. The area was known as Green Valley, likely named for James Green, who lived on the land near the present location of the clubhouse at Army Navy Country Club. Fraser acquired the land from a family by the name of Alexander. It straddled lower Long Branch stream, a tributary of Four Mile Run. The Fraser estate included what is now the Oakridge Elementary School, Gunston Middle School, Shirley Park and Arna Valley as well as land from Pentagon City and the River Houses to the banks of Four Mile Run.

In 1821 Anthony Fraser (sometimes spelled Frazier) built a home and named it Green Valley Manor (figure 3, No 2). It was sited in the floor of a valley about a hundred yards from Long Branch, near the intersection of the current South Queen Street (in the Forest Hills townhouse development) and South 23th Street (formerly Fraser Road). The structure was destroyed by fire in 1924 and never rebuilt. Anthony Fraser's daughter married J.E. Sickles and inherited the property.

By 1840, the nearest neighbors to the Frasers were James Roach and his family. Their home was on Hoe Hill, which they renamed Prospect Hill, at the northern end of the current Arlington Ridge Road, overlooking the Pentagon.

From 1840 to 1966 Arlington Ridge Road was a single street across Arlington. The northern road began at North 19th Street and proceeded south along what is now Wilson Boulevard to Lee Boulevard (now known as Arlington Boulevard). As it proceeded south it incorporated a portion of what was informally known as Oil Plant Road (also known as "Oil Road"). In the 1960's, after the closure of the central portion when interchanges and connections for the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge were constructed, North Arlington Ridge Road was eliminated leaving the remaining South Arlington Ridge Road. By this time, it was a four-lane road with a trolley line. Residents petitioned the County in the 1960's to reduce it from four to two lanes, and, after a trial period, it was agreed to do so.

In 1890's, subdivisions with streets for the area were laid out. The first subdivision, Addison Heights, had its origin in the Addison house that appeared on maps dated 1864 and 1878, on Arlington Ridge. The house was located on the southeast corner of Arlington Ridge Road and what is today's South 20th Street. This area included 16th Street South (originally Clements Avenue) at the north end, South Fern Street (originally Cheston Avenue) at the east end, 23rd Street South (originally Fraser Avenue) at the south end, and South Arlington Ridge Road (originally Mount Vernon Avenue) at the west end. 3

The area was primarily agricultural until the 1920's. A 1926 map of the area shows six houses between the Hume School and 20th Street. One more house existed between the school and Prospect Hill, one on the west side of the road, and a few more at the base of the Ridge on what was then Old Georgetown Road (now is part of Army-Navy Drive).

Aurora Highlands was formed by the integration of three subdivisions platted between 1896 and 1930 and included construction of single-family residences. The name Aurora Highlands comes from an amalgamation of the original three subdivisions: Addison Heights, Aurora Hills, and Virginia Highlands.

While all this development was occurring, the county changed names. In 1920, Alexandria County was renamed Arlington County and the City of Alexandria.

The US Postal Service, refused to establish a Post Office in Arlington until it developed an acceptable street naming and numbering scheme. In 1932 the old magisterial districts, established in 1870, were abolished, and an integrated County government was created – and names changed, including, historically significant names! The Arlington County Virginia Diectrory of Street Names, revised June 1, 1935 catalogs the name changes, although there are numerous errors in it, particularly for "old names".

Arlington has many places named after world-famous people, Presidents, Generals, and others of note.

It also has numbered streets that replaced names of significance and thereby a loss of historical reference.

The table below summarizes Arlington Ridge area name changes:

[TABLE OMITTED]

The 1932, the county changed the current street naming scheme dividing it into two sections, North and South Arlington, generally separated by Arlington Boulevard. Numbered streets generally run east west, parallel to Arlington Boulevard, and named streets generally run north south, with North and South designations preceding named street names and after numbered street names. Street names, increase in syllables as a function of distance from the Potomac River, called "iterations". The first-tier names, all within Arlington Ridge area, are one syllable. These streets are generally in alphabetical order from east to west, skipping the letters X, Y, and Z. When the end of the alphabet was reached, it is repeated with additional syllables– thus Eads, Fern, Grant, Hayes, Inge, Ives, Joyce, June, Kent, Knoll, Lynn, Nash, Ode, Pierce, Rolfe, and Queen are east of each other. Most of the boulevards, drives, and roads with historically recognized names, were not renamed (e.g., Oakcrest Road, Fort Scott Drive, Arlington Ridge Road). Generally, these are the only through streets. Numbered and named streets tend to be broken up at times and are intended for local neighborhood traffic 6 7 The figure (area west of Arlington Ridge Road and south of 23rd Street -- figure 3, No 3) was extracted from Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for 1935. The shaded portion had been built by 1935 and the non-shaded portions were planned at that time. The map also shows Fraser Road (now 23rd Street) leading to the Fraser cemetery on Army Navy Country Club property.

Where this journey started was the search for the origin of "Nash", but it expanded to whole of Arlington Ridge. The evolution of most names is traced, but the real name origin "Nash" remains elusive. The best that can be speculated is: 1) it was borrowed from North Arlington, and, 2) there is no person of fame that relates to it – a mystery!

CHAPTER 3

The Last Encampment

When Charley and I walk each day around Arlington Ridge, I often try to visualize what "The Ridge" looked like during and after the Civil War. If asked today what it looked like then, most people would likely say it was a forest-covered hill with a few stately mansions such as Prospect Hill and Green Valley Manor. The huge oaks and the upscale homes on Arlington Ridge Road that distinguish the area today must have been there for several hundred years – not so. The mansions no longer exist and parts of the terrain has been substantially reshaped eliminating ravines and other distinctive features (figure 4, No 1).

The Ridge can be generally defined as the L-shaped, high terrain between what was Fort Albany on the north and Fort Scott on the southeast leg of the L. At the outset of the war fort locations, located on confiscated, private lands owned by Roach, Fraser, Addison, and Hosmer, were selected at high points where they overlooked major routes of access into the City of Washington. Two forts on The Ridge were Fort Scott (now Fort Scott Park) and Fort Albany (now part of Prospect Hill), that were supplemented by miles of rifle pits and connecting roads in between.

To the west across Four Mile Run Creek was Fort Richardson on the high ground that enabled views of the valley and the Ridge (figure 4, No 2). The area also included tent camps and hospitals and a scatttering of frame dwellings. Nearly all the land was scalped of trees and low vegetation to build forts, supply firewood, and clear fields of fire and remained so to the war's end.

A picture (figure 4, No 3) of Fort Richardson with its tent camp shows the view to the southeast with a hill area in the left distance — the Ridge.

While no two forts were alike their designs were relatively standard. A plan view of Fort Scott with today's streets and homes is a good simple portrayal of this design (figure 5, No 1). Interior bunkers were of timber with more than 10 feet of compacted earth to protect the magazines (ammunition and gunpowder) and the soldiers who manned the cannon which were the principle weapons. Buildings were of wood with metal roofs. Soldiers were housed in tent camps outside the earthworks. Every fort had a well and a flag pole. The surrounding earthwork fortification would be of 12-18 foot and was fronted by a dry moat and sharpened poles embedded in the soil pointed in the direction of expected enemy advance. The area of Fort Albany on Prospect Hill (note the Roach mansion to the right of picture) looks very different today – the excavation for the Interstate Highway cuts through the left third of the picture (figure 5, No 2).

Pencil sketches of The Ridge by Civil War soldiers show it as a barren, rounded hill. The large oaks of today that cover The Ridge didn't exist at the end of the War.

At the conclusion of the Civil War, on May 23-24, 1865, a two-day "Grand Review of the Armies" was held in Washington, D.C. The Army of the Potomac procession, May 23, was seven miles long. The Army of the Tennessee, Army of Georgia parade, May 24, was comprised of 65,000 soldiers. It is estimated the numbers of soldiers in the parade numbered around 150,000. Mustering-out (armies disbanded and soldiers sent home) commenced once the parade ended, but the deactivation went on for months. For many Union soldiers, the last official campsite of the Civil War was on The Ridge.

The numbers of men, horses, and equipment bivouacked on Arlington Ridge is hard to imagine. Parade formations covered an area of 7 miles by a width of a wide boulevard – about 200 acres – for two days. An encampment of tents to house the soldiers would likely require twice that space, not to mention all the logistic support – water, food, animal feed.

I'm convinced my second great grandfather, William A. Harper, after experiencing all four years of the war, ended his military career and his life on the Ridge. His grave is located in Arlington National Cemetery within a mile of the north end of the Ridge. The trail of his Civil War journey is highlighted in the following table that identifies existing letters from him and his unit locations of the 2d New York Heavy Artillery. He died in Douglas Hospital in Washington, DC of dystentery 5 monthas after the war was over.

Men of Company K, at Fort C.F. Smith, north of The Ridge near the Potamac River, are frozen in time in a picture taken August 1865, after the war ended (figure 5, No. 3). William A. Harper may be in that picture.

The last unit to occupy Fort Albany was the 2d New York Heavy Artillery.

As Charley and I walked the Ridge this winter morning, particularly over the area of Fort Albany, I sense we are walking on Corporal Harper's last encampment.

CHAPTER 4

Founding Families of Arlington Ridge: Prospect Hill

Sometimes I feel as though Charley and I, on our twice a day walks, cover every street, every day on Arlington Ridge. But that's not reasonable, since there is about 20 miles of streets and alleys on the Ridge and we only do 6 to 8 miles per day.

A couple times each week, however, Charley and I walk to Prospect Hill, an overlook of the Pentagon on a finger of land formerly known as Hoe Hill (or "Nob Hill") at the highest most northern site on the ridge.

The land was part of the original 1669 patent of Captain Robert Howson, then purchased by John Alexander and passed to son Phillip, then conveyed to William Henry Washington in 1811, then taken over by the Bank of the United States in 1835, and purchased by James Roach in 1837. Construction of the Prospect Hill manor, by James Roach, was started in 1840 and completed the next year. It was still part of the Capitol City District until retrocession to Virginia in 1846.

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Walks with Charley"
by .
Copyright © 2017 Marty Suydam.
Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Preface, ix,
Figure 1 Arlington Ridge, xii,
Charley Girl, 1,
Figure 2 Charley, 3,
On the Street Where You Live Arlington Ridge, 5,
Figure 3 Arlington Ridge Street Names, 11,
The Last Encampment, 13,
Figure 4 Last Encampment, 17,
Figure 5 Last Encampment, 18,
Founding Families of Arlington Ridge: Prospect Hill, 19,
Figure 6 Prospect Hill, 21,
Founding Families of Arlington Ridge:, 23,
Figure 7 Prospect Hill/Sunnyside, 25,
High-Rise on Top of History, 27,
Figure 8 Prospect Hill/Sunnyside, 31,
Figure 9 Prospect Hill/Sunnyside, 32,
Long-Gone WWII Ridge Housing, 33,
Figure 10 WWII Housing, 35,
Brick Yards to Crystal Chandelier: Crystal City, 37,
Figure 11 Crystal City, 39,
Arlington Ridge Mysteries: Summer Cottages and Trolleys, 41,
Figure 12 Mysteries: Summer Cottages & Trolleys, 43,
Hill House Ty Bryn, 45,
Figure 13 Hill House, 48,
Schools of the Ridge: Oakridge Elementary, 49,
Figure 14 Oakridge, 51,
Schools of the Ridge: Dolley Madison School, 53,
Figure 15 Dolley Madison, 55,
Schools of the Ridge: Gunston Middle School, 57,
Figure 16 Gunston, 60,
Arna Valley, 61,
Figure 17 Arna Valley, 64,
Houses of Arlington Ridge: Tudors, 65,
Figure 18 Tudors, 69,
Founding Families of Arlington Ridge: Fraser, 71,
Figure 19 Frasers, 74,
Figure 20 Frasers, 75,
Arlington Ridge Founding Families:, 77,
Figure 21 Frasers, 80,
Founding Familes of Arlington Ridge: Neighbors of the Frasers, 81,
Figure 22 Neighbors, 84,
From Trolley Park to Sewage Treatment: Luna Park, 85,
Figure 23 Luna Park, 88,
Houses of Arlington Ridge: Disappearing Bungalows, 89,
Figure 24 Bungalows, 91,
Sunnyside Up, 93,
Figure 25 Sunnyside Up, 97,
Index, 99,
End Notes, 101,