Cultural Heritage Archives - Arlington Historical Society

Always Collecting

November 11, 2025

Each year, we add new artifacts, photographs, and documents that help tell the many stories of life in Arlington.

Today Chinese restaurants are very common in Arlington county. But what is considered the “first” Chinese restaurant in Arlington county? Early 1950s newspapers and ads reference a Family Tea House in Cherrydale, established by Jim Wing and his family. Newspapers called the Family Tea House a “landmark” and the first Chinese restaurant in the county.

Lafayette

August 3, 2024

During the American Revolution, the Marquis de Lafayette volunteered from France to help America win its independence from England. He served as an aide to George Washington and was later promoted to general. In 1824, he began a 13-month tour of the 24 United States. At Arlington House, George Washington Parke Custis hosted the Marquis, then the last remaining Revolutionary War general and an advocate for human rights for the enslaved, for religious freedom, and for equality for women.

Always Collecting

Family Tea House

Lafayette

William “Brick” Wood

Marcey Family

Abingdon

Arlington Restaurants

Arlington Beach

Birch Family

Remembering a Gang War in Arlington

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