convalescent camp, Ghosts of DC and Nauck community sign
On this day in Arlington history, Nov 5, 1874: John D. Nauck, Jr. a former Confederate soldier and immigrant from Germany bought 46 acres of land from Rudolph & Emma Jane Buckley. Nauck subdivided the land & sold lots to African-American families. But even before Nauck bought property in what would become Arlington, Levi & Sarah Ann Jones were the first African-Americans to own property in Green Valley in 1844. Jones farmed the property but during the Civil War Union troops took over the area building forts, a convalescent hospital & military encampments. Jones rebuilt after the war & other Black settlers–including Thornton & Selina Gray–bought property there in 1867
By war’s end there was a large number of hard working new citizens in the county & they had enough money to buy land. An article in the January 18, 1866 Alexandria Gazette noted: “The Second United States colored regiment were paid yesterday, and will be mustered out to-day. There was due the men six months pay which will amount to nearly $250,000. Many of the men bought land in Green Valley and other property made available cheaply from former US Army forts and camps.
The land Nauck bought had originally been part of Abingdon, the estate owned by John Parke Custis who was the adopted grandson of George Washington. The community had long been associated with Green Valley Manor, owned by Anthony Reintzel Frazer and Presha Lee because of the lush and verdant lands. Green Valley Manor stood at the intersection of 23rd Street South and Arlington Ridge Road.
Nevertheless, a survey completed in 1876 in time for the centennial, labeled the community the Town of Nauckville. The community continued to be known as Nauckville until the beginning of the 20th century. Nauck became a stop on the way to freedom for formerly enslaved people freed by the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation or US Army troops during the Civil War. The community grew as the Jones family sold property to other black families.
In 2019, the historically African-American community changed its name from Nauck to Green Valley.
