Archive for category: 70th Anniversary

Presidential Panel

On September 10, 2026, five former Arlington Historical Society presidents, Cathy Hix, David Pearson, Johnathan Thomas, Ali Ganjian, and Karl VanNewkirk, met at Marymount University's Reinsch Library to discuss the society's 70th Anniversary. 

Robert Nelson Anderson, Jr.

When Arlington residents organized the Arlington Historical Society in September 1956, Anderson was elected one of its first officers. He chaired the committee responsible for drafting the Society's constitution, effectively creating the governing document that still underpins the organization today. His legal expertise helped establish the Society as a durable nonprofit dedicated to preserving Arlington's history.

1956 Arlington House Candlelight Tour

Just two months after the society’s formal incorporation on September 14, 1956, the event became a foundational milestone for local preservation efforts during a period of rapid suburban development.

Renewing Our Purpose

As the Arlington Historical Society celebrates its seventieth anniversary, it is fitting to reflect not only on what has been preserved since 1956, but also on how the very meaning of preservation has evolved. The Society's mission has endured because it has never been limited to safeguarding historic places. It has always been about preserving the story of Arlington itself—and that story continues to unfold every day.

Templeman

She traveled throughout Arlington photographing historic homes, churches, cemeteries, roads, bridges, and landscapes. Many of the structures she photographed have since disappeared, making her images invaluable historical records today. Her photographs now serve not only as illustrations but also as primary historical evidence for researchers studying Arlington's development.

Life in 1956

The year 1956 was one of optimism, prosperity, and profound change. Americans celebrated a booming economy, expanding suburbs, and new technologies that promised a better future. Yet beneath the confidence of the postwar era were growing tensions over civil rights, the Cold War, and the rapid transformation of communities across the nation. Few places reflected these changes more clearly than Arlington, Virginia.

C.B.Rose

Rose's greatest scholarly achievement came in 1976 with the publication of Arlington County, Virginia: A History, the first comprehensive history of the county published by the Arlington Historical Society. Drawing upon decades of archival research, county records, newspapers, maps, and original documents, the volume traced Arlington's development from Native American settlement through the twentieth century.

Hume School History

Today, the Queen Anne-style Hume School, built in 1891, is recognized as Arlington's oldest surviving public school building. Its preservation was neither inevitable nor easy. Instead, it resulted from community advocacy, legal ingenuity, and years of volunteer dedication.

Frank L. Ball, Sr.

State Senator Frank L. Ball, Sr. played the pivotal role in bringing together the citizens who founded the Arlington Historical Society. While he was not the Society's first president, he was its principal organizer and host, using both his influence and his historic home, The Glebe, to launch what became one of Arlington County's most enduring civic organizations.

Jones

Jones joined Senator Frank L. Ball, Sr., C. Harrison Mann, Jr., Robert Nelson Anderson, Jr., Cornelia B. Rose, Jr., and other civic leaders in establishing the Arlington Historical Society. At the Society's organizational meeting on September 14, 1956, held at the home of Laszlo Ecker-Racz and Cornelia B. Rose, Jr., Jones was elected one of its first officers.

Support

The Arlington Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to collecting, preserving, interpreting, and sharing the history of Arlington County. It relies solely on membership dues and donations to support the Arlington Historical Museum and Ball-Sellers House.

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5620 3rd St S, Arlington, VA 22204
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Arlington Historical Society
P.O. Box 100402
Arlington, Virginia 22210-3402

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