Arlington Historical Society

15 Minute History: "Where did the name come from?" Let's Talk About Clarendon
2025-11-23 14:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York) | Arlington Historical Museum, 1805 South Arlington Ridge Road, Arlington, 22207, United States
Sean Denniston, AHS Vice President, will talk about the history of Clarendon, one of Arlington’s most interesting neighborhoods. He’ll talk about its start as a development of six streets, its dash for independence, growth as a commercial center, and today’s mixed use, walkable, and transit friendly neighborhood. And what’s with the name??

Museum Store Sunday: Shop with Purpose this Holiday Season
2025-11-30 13:00 - 16:00 | VA
Consider shopping small this season and visit the Arlington Historical Museum shop on Museum Store Sunday. Every purchase supports our mission to strengthen our community by building a better understanding of local history. We have unique gift ideas made by local artisans, as well as gift memberships to the Arlington Historical Society and books about Arlington history.
Local Ceramic Artist Jessica Kaplan’s work will be available for purchase. Hope to see you at the museum!

Women of the Ball-Sellers House
2025-12-28 15:00 - 16:30 | Pohick Regional Library, 6450 Sydenstricker Rd, Burke, VA 22015, Burke, VA, 22015, United States
The Ball-Sellers House (in Arlington) was originally in Fairfax County when Lord Fairfax established the county for King George II in 1742. The Arlington Historical Society will share stories of the exceptional women who owned this farmhouse throughout its 280-year history. We’ll learn about Elizabeth Payne Ball, the wife of the builder who took a man to court to sue for her inheritance; Irene Young, a suffragist and divorcee’ when society viewed divorce as ALWAYS being the woman’s fault; and Julia Powell, one of the first women who enlisted in the US Navy in WWI. We can’t help but also talk about Marian Sellers, her life and her legacy at the house. Join us for a unique look at special women in our shared county history on the eve of the 250th Commemoration of the Declaration of Independence. This is a free event and open to the public. Our speaker is Annette Benbow, the director of the Ball-Sellers House Museum since 2012.

1946 Arlington: The First Crack in the Byrd Machine
2026-01-08 19:00 - 20:30 | Reinsch Library Auditorium, Marymount University, 2807 North Glebe Road, Arlington
In 1946, after four years of a world war, the citizens of Arlington focused on local challenges, highlighted in the fall by an aggressive County Board campaign from a political newcomer who challenged the local Byrd Machine in Arlington. The story includes a controversy over our governance structure, extreme unhappiness with the school system, and an election that eventually led to the creation of a new non-partisan political machine that would control Arlington politics for decades.
This is a timely topic as the county board discusses changes in its governance structure. Find out for yourself, its historical foundations.
Bill Fogarty is a retired attorney who has lived and worked in Arlington for more than 40 years. He has taken up a new avocation of writing and teaching about Arlington history, contributing to the Arlington Historical Society both as a presenter and writer. Bill also writes the weekly “Our Man in Arlington” column for the Falls Church News Press.
We are back this month at the Marymount University Library Auditorium.
DRIVING DIRECTIONS and FREE PARKING: Attendees planning to attend the event in-person should enter the Marymount University campus at the library gate on N. 26th Street. From Glebe Road going north, take a right onto 26th Street. Pass the intersection with Yorktown Road and then enter the campus through the next gate on your left. The library is to your left as you enter the campus. Free garage parking is just past the library at the bottom of the small incline. (Handicapped parking is immediately to your right as you enter through the gate onto campus.)

If the university has lowered the garage gates, push the button and let them know you’re here for an Arlington Historical Society event in the library. To leave, push the button and they’ll raise the gate.

ZOOM AVAILABLE: If you can’t be there in person, you can zoom in, but you must register by the end of Wednesday, January 7, 2026 to get the zoom information. Click here to register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe4GrBjd3h9nX94KQJI8PGVvJIMWQo9CD7RrKUn_-MeiH_lsQ/viewform You’ll get an email on the morning of the event (Jan 8, 2026) with Zoom details.
This event is one of the monthly series of free public programs sponsored by the Arlington Historical Society. This event is hosted courtesy of the Marymount University politics program’s American Heritage Initiative. For more information, please email: info@arlingtonhistoricalsociety.org.
