Eleanor Lee Templeman: The Woman Who Preserved Arlington’s Past
Few individuals have had a greater influence on the study and preservation of Arlington County’s history than Eleanor Lee Templeman (1907–1990). At a time when Arlington was rapidly transforming from a semi-rural community into a modern suburban county, Templeman recognized that its historic landscapes, buildings, and stories were disappearing. Through her research, writing, photography, and preservation advocacy, she ensured that generations of Arlingtonians would have a record of the county’s rich heritage.
Today, nearly every serious student of Arlington history owes a debt to Templeman’s pioneering work.
A Life Dedicated to History
Although born in Washington, D.C., in 1907, Eleanor Lee Templeman spent much of her childhood in California before returning east to study at the Critcher School of Painting and Applied Arts, graduating in 1929. She worked professionally as an artist and illustrator for the American Automobile Association and the U.S. Geological Survey, skills that later enhanced her historical publications through careful documentation and photography.
Templeman settled in Arlington in 1935 and quickly became fascinated by the county’s unique past—a place where colonial Virginia, the Civil War, and the growth of the federal government intersected.
Documenting a Vanishing Arlington
The 1950s were a period of extraordinary change. Farms disappeared beneath subdivisions, historic homes were demolished, and country roads became major highways. Templeman understood that if someone did not document these places immediately, much of Arlington’s early history would be lost forever.
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.
Arlington Heritage
Templeman’s best-known work remains Arlington Heritage: Vignettes of a Virginia County, published in 1959.
The book grew from a newspaper series titled “Arlington Heritage,” which began appearing in the Northern Virginia Sun in 1957. Rather than writing a conventional chronological history, Templeman assembled hundreds of short essays on Arlington’s people, homes, churches, roads, families, and historic sites. Richly illustrated with her own photography, the book became one of the first comprehensive works devoted entirely to Arlington County’s local history.
More than sixty-five years after its publication, Arlington Heritage remains one of the foundational references for anyone researching Arlington’s past.
Expanding the Story of Northern Virginia
Templeman’s interests extended well beyond Arlington. In 1966 she joined fellow historian Nan Netherton in producing Northern Virginia Heritage, an ambitious survey of historic sites throughout Northern Virginia.
The book combined meticulous scholarship with extensive photography and helped broaden public appreciation for the region’s architectural and cultural heritage. It remains an important reference for students of Northern Virginia history.
Leader in Historic Preservation
Templeman believed history should not merely be studied—it should be protected.
Throughout her career she became actively involved in efforts to preserve numerous historic resources, including:
- Fort Marcy
- Fort Ethan Allen
- Sully Plantation
- Abingdon Plantation
- Numerous historic homes and cemeteries throughout Northern Virginia
Her preservation work combined careful historical research with public advocacy, helping build support for saving landmarks that might otherwise have disappeared.
A Pillar of the Arlington Historical Society
Templeman was deeply involved with the Arlington Historical Society for decades and became one of its most prolific contributors.
Beginning with the Society’s very first Arlington Historical Magazine in 1957, she authored articles on subjects ranging from Arlington’s colonial heritage and churches to Ballston, genealogy, natural springs, and local traditions. In 1976 she wrote “A Biography of the Arlington Historical Society,” an engaging history of the organization’s first twenty years that remains an essential source for understanding the Society’s early development.
Her articles helped establish the scholarly standards that continue to characterize the Arlington Historical Magazine.
Civic Leadership
Templeman’s influence extended into numerous civic organizations. She served on the Arlington Cultural Heritage Commission and the Arlington Historical Commission while also acting as historian for the Society of the Lees of Virginia.
Her expertise earned widespread recognition. Among her honors were:
- Organized Women Voters of Arlington’s Woman of the Year (1966)
- Recognition from Marymount University (1975)
- An award from the American Association for State and Local History (1983) for her contributions to local historical research.
An Enduring Legacy
Perhaps Templeman’s greatest contribution was recognizing that ordinary places matter.
She understood that local roads, family cemeteries, churches, schools, and neighborhoods collectively tell the story of a community. By documenting these resources before many disappeared, she preserved a visual and written record that continues to support historians, preservationists, architects, genealogists, and educators.
Today, her research papers and photographs are preserved at the Arlington Public Library’s Center for Local History, where they remain among the institution’s most frequently consulted collections. Her files continue to assist researchers investigating Arlington’s architecture, genealogy, neighborhoods, and historic landscapes.
Remembering Eleanor Lee Templeman
As the Arlington Historical Society celebrates its 70th anniversary, it is fitting to remember one of the individuals who helped define its intellectual character. Eleanor Lee Templeman demonstrated that local history deserves the same rigor, curiosity, and care as national history. She showed that preserving the past begins with careful observation, diligent research, and a willingness to record today’s landscape before it becomes yesterday’s memory.
Nearly four decades after her passing, her books remain standard references, her photographs continue to document a vanished Arlington, and her influence can still be found in nearly every serious effort to understand the county’s remarkable history.
Selected Sources
- Arlington Heritage: Vignettes of a Virginia County (1959), Eleanor Lee Templeman.
- Northern Virginia Heritage (1966), Eleanor Lee Templeman and Nan Netherton.
- Arlington Public Library, Center for Local History, Personal Papers of Eleanor Lee Templeman (RG 23).
- Arlington Public Library, Eleanor Lee Templeman Photograph Collection (PG 900).
- Arlington Public Library, “Arlington Heritage: Eleanor Lee Templeman.”
- Arlington Historical Magazine, various issues, especially Vol. 5, No. 4 (1976), “A Biography of the Arlington Historical Society.”
