The Arlington Historical Society and the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington invite you to the unveiling of “Stumbling Stones.” These bronze markers commemorate the lives of the enslaved people who helped build our county and our country and are placed in the sidewalk at the last known site of their enslavement. Memorializing the Enslaved in Arlington’s research has revealed over 2000 enslaved people and identified 1050 by name.
Please join us for a Dedication Ceremony honoring 34 individuals. We will be honoring them at the Fairlington Community Center.
Their Story
Around 1756, John Carlyle, a wealthy merchant from Alexandria, established a plantation called Torthorwald, covering the land that is now Fairlington and Shirlington.
By 1770, a residence for the property was built near what is now the Fairlington Office Park. This was Carlyle’s summer residence. At the time of his death in 1780, Carlyle had enslaved 43 people at Torthorwald. Carlyle descendants, Carlyle F. Whiting and Charles Little, inherited Torthorwald and the enslaved people. THey changed the plantation’s name to Morven which remained in the Carlyle family until around 1870.
The Memorializing the Enslaved in Arlington project, the Fairlington Historical Society, and Fairlington Citizen’s Association will honor 34 individuals enslaved by Carlyle and his descendants. These individuals were forced to work on the plantation that, by 1787, had a “meathouse, barn, stables, cow-house, dairy… weaver’s and smith’s shops… an orchard… 250 acres of arable land… 80 acres of meadow,” and a mill. They would have labored in one or more of these areas – horse husbandry and breeding, mucking out stables, milking cows, shearing sheep, building or repairing buildings, or working in the fields. Alternatively, they may have served in the residence, which was “calculated for a genteel family,” with four rooms that had fireplaces. Domestic labor meant spending relentless hours serving the personal needs of the Carlyles as well as cleaning, cooking, laundering, ironing, lighting fireplaces, polishing, and serving food.
Learn more about the Memorializing the Enslaved in Arlington project here.
