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.
Frank L. Ball, Sr. and the Birth of the Arlington Historical Society
By the mid-1950s, Arlington County was experiencing dramatic change. Postwar development was rapidly transforming farmland, villages, and estates into suburban neighborhoods. Historic buildings were disappearing, and many longtime residents feared that the county’s history would be lost unless someone took action.
Among those most concerned was former Virginia State Senator Frank L. Ball, Sr. A lifelong Arlington civic leader, former Commonwealth’s Attorney, state senator (1924–1932), and principal architect of Arlington’s county manager form of government, Ball also possessed a deep appreciation for local history. Since purchasing The Glebe in 1926, he and his wife had made the historic house a gathering place for civic and historical discussions.
The idea for a county historical society first emerged through conversations among several Arlington County officials and employees who recognized the need for an organization dedicated to preserving the county’s heritage. Ball invited this informal group, along with other interested citizens, to meet at The Glebe to determine whether such an organization should be created. That meeting proved decisive. Participants agreed that Arlington needed a historical society devoted to discovering, preserving, and sharing the county’s history.
An organizational meeting followed on September 14, 1956, at the home of Laszlo Ecker-Racz and Cornelia B. Rose, Jr. During that meeting the founders adopted a constitution and elected officers. C. Harrison Mann, Jr., then a member of the House of Delegates, became the Society’s first president. Frank L. Ball, Sr. was elected a vice president, while Robert Nelson Anderson, Jr., Cornelia B. Rose, Jr., and Ashton C. Jones, Sr. completed the original slate of officers.
The Society’s constitution established an ambitious mission that remains recognizable today: to discover, collect, preserve, restore, and disseminate knowledge relating to the history, antiquities, art, and literature of Arlington County and Virginia. Early meetings were held throughout the county, beginning with a county-wide gathering at Arlington House only two months later. Members immediately began collecting artifacts, recording local history, and publishing what became the annual Arlington Historical Magazine.
Frank Ball’s contribution extended beyond hosting the Society’s formative meeting. His reputation as one of Arlington’s leading public servants lent credibility to the fledgling organization and helped attract many of its earliest members. The Glebe itself became part of the Society’s story, remembered as the place where Arlington residents first united around the shared purpose of preserving their community’s past. Later recollections by Ball’s family confirmed that the discussions held in the house marked the beginning of the Arlington Historical Society.
Today, more than seventy years later, the Arlington Historical Society continues to fulfill the vision first championed by Frank L. Ball, Sr. and his fellow founders: ensuring that Arlington’s rich and diverse history is preserved, interpreted, and shared with future generations.
Sources
- Ruth Preston Rose, “Fifty Years of the Arlington Historical Society,” Arlington Historical Magazine 13, no. 2 (2006): 3–15. This definitive history states that the decision to form the Society was made at an informal meeting at The Glebe, the home of State Senator Frank L. Ball, Sr., and describes the September 14, 1956 organizational meeting at the home of Laszlo Ecker-Racz and Cornelia B. Rose, Jr.
- Cornelia B. Rose, Jr., “A Biography of the Arlington Historical Society,” Arlington Historical Magazine 5, no. 2 (1976): 25–34. This early institutional history explains that the original idea grew from discussions among Arlington County officials and employees, who were invited by former Senator Frank L. Ball to meet at The Glebe to discuss creating a historical society. It also reproduces the Society’s original constitutional objectives.
- Arlington Historical Society, “About the Arlington Historical Society.” This page summarizes the Society’s founding in 1956, mission, and continuing preservation work.
- Virginia Department of Historic Resources, “The Glebe (DHR No. 000-0003).” This official historic register nomination documents that Frank L. Ball acquired The Glebe in 1926 and confirms its significance as his residence.
- Charlie Clark, “Our Man in Arlington,” Falls Church News-Press, September 13, 2016. Includes recollections from Barbara Ball noting that The Glebe hosted the first meeting that led to the Arlington Historical Society.
