After landowner Edward B. Burling, Sr. died in 1966, developers sought to raze much of this forest along the Scott's Run creek in order to construct a community of luxury homes. Residents of the area peacefully protested for more than a year to protect the land from development. This early success of the fledgling environmental movement resulted in residents voting to raise their own taxes in order to buy the land for the county. Scott's Run is now public park land, a unique ecosystem preserved from destruction. Markers at the nature reserve celebrate the "Burling Defenders" whose activism ensured the conservation of this land.
Claude Moore Colonial Farm is a part of the National Park Service, operated with the support of the Friends of Claude Moore Colonial Farm at Turkey Run Inc., a privately funded foundation. Visitors are able to tour the site and witness reenactments of life on a small tenant farm in the years leading up to the American Revolution. The Colonial Farm staff dress in 18th-century clothing and conduct many activities of the time, such as field work, crop growing, livestock raising, crafts, and more. Visitors can go on self-guided tours and participate in educational programs, including the Farm Skills Program, Colonial Living Experience, and the Environmental Living Experience.
The CIA Museum is an archive and collection of declassified artifacts, weapons, and other items related to the work and history of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The mission of the museum is to provide visitors with a deeper insight into the CIA and its contributions to national security, while also providing enthusiasts with more background material and educational resources regarding declassified secret missions and initiatives. Through exhibits such as the Cold War Gallery and the galleries on the war on terrorism, the various galleries in the museum contain about 3,500 objects throughout the 14,000-square-foot facility. The museum also features artifacts, stories, and exhibits about the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), foreign intelligence agencies, and more. Located within the CIA building, the museum is not open for public tours but does offer some of its digitized items online.
Originally established by the Lee family in the late seventeenth century, Salona exhibits evidence from hundreds of years of American history. The brick homestead and the surrounding land has ties to several American wars, a president, and several generals. For most of its existence, the property has been used as a farm, and there are multiple barns and other agricultural outbuildings still scattered on the property. The size of the property has decreased as the town of McLean has grown more suburban, but the house and 50 acres of the remaining estate are protected with a conservation easement. The house remains private, but Fairfax County Park Authority may establish a public park on the conserved property in the future.
This Arlington estate was constructed by a German immigrant, George N. Saegmuller, from 1894 to 1903. Saegmuller married a daughter of the landowner and settled into an existing house on the 240-acre estate. After the original house was destroyed by a fire in 1892, plans began for the construction of this mansion. The home was constructed of local stone with a stone water tower modeled after the city wall of Nuremberg, Germany. Saegmuller was an engineer and inventor who worked for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. He also created a scientific optical instruments company that later merged with Bausch and Lomb. The mansion boasted the first private telephone in the county and served as a summer home or center of a dairy farm operated by Saegmuller's three sons until 1940. The property was purchased by the Columbus Club of Clarendon and still serves as the local headquarters of the Knights of Columbus.
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The John Saegmuller House is notable as an example of Prairie-style architecture and has survived since its circa 1925 construction with little modification to the exterior and interior. Still in use as a private residence, the surrounding property has been subdivided and filled with modern houses. The house faces east, towards Little Falls Court, and features a stuccoed exterior with a central gable porch, half-timbering and other wooden details, and a two-story sunroom to the rear of the main block. Mr. Saegmuller was an optical engineer and a member of a locally prominent family. He was born at the family's summer home, the nearby Saegmuller Mansion, in 1875. The home was placed on the Virginia Landmarks and National Registers in 2003.
A log cabin rebuilt in 1936 with original logs, Birchwood was the home of Richard Wallace, the valet of Rear Admiral Presley Marion Rixey. Rixey served as the White House physician during the presidential era of his friend, Theodore Roosevelt. Rixey and President Roosevelt went horseback riding on the property; he and Roosevelt would then stop into the cabin for ice cream. The original cabin was constructed by Caleb Birch around 1800 but burned and was rebuilt in the 1830s. A second cabin was added in the 1840s. The two cabins are separate structures with a common roof in the "dog trot" style.
Fort Ethan Allen was an earthen fort built by the Union Army to defend the approach to Washington. Constructed in 1861, the Arlington fort was part of the Union’s attempt to defend the capital from a potential Confederate attack during the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln personally inspected the fortification which was named in honor of Ethan Allen, a militia leader in the American Revolution who captured Fort Ticonderoga from the British. On December 3rd, 2003, the remaining walls of the fort were added to the Virginia Landmark Register. The following year, the remaining portion of the fort was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Visitors can see the remains of the wall and interpretive signs at Fort Ethan Allen Park.
From turn-of-the-century country retreat to the location of lavish parties and events venue, Glenmore has been the center of activity for generations of influential Washingtonians looking for an escape from the stress of urban and political life. Perched on a cliff overlooking the Potomac River, the house was reached in the early days by boat. The home was constructed in 1906 with materials from its surroundings - logs from the forest and stone from the cliffs. Glenmore's first owner, William F. Roberts, was a Washington printer. Rear Admiral Chester Ward, a U.S. Navy JAG, owned the home from 1945 to 1971. Ward covered the shingled log exterior in stucco but added lots of windows to take advantage of the view. Arlington County designated Glenmore a local historic district in 1986 due to its association with a local architect and for representing Arlington as a rural, undeveloped locale for wealthy Washingtonians to retreat at the turn of the 20th century.
Glen Hurst is a historic home located in the Palisades neighborhood of Washington, DC. Built in 1892, it is notable for being one of the five founding houses in the Palisades neighborhood. On June 1st of 2005, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places for its historical contribution to the Palisades neighborhood. Today, Glen Hurst has been converted by DC Living Real Estate, LLC, to serve as its office location.
Battery Kemble park is owned and operated by the U.S. National Park Service. Located in the northwest section of Washington D.C., this National Historic site formerly served as a defensive site for the Union Army. In 1861, Battery Kemble was part of the Civil War Defense of Washington, also known as the Fort Circle. The Fort Circle, a series of forts which encircled Washington D.C., stood as the line of defense against Confederate troops marching on the capital. This park is a popular location for running, nature walks, and sledding.
Franklin Edward Kameny, known as Frank Kameny, was born May 21st 1925 and died October 11th 2011. Known as "America's First Gay Activist," 86 year old Kameny left a legacy for not only the LGBT community, he left a legacy for the world. In the midst of the Civil Rights Movement, people fought for equality in many walks of life, including the fight for equality among Gay America.
The Washington Aqueduct in an aqueduct that provides the public water supply system serving Washington, D.C., and parts of its suburbs. One of the first major aqueduct projects in the United States, the Aqueduct was commissioned by Congress in 1852. The construction began in 1853 under the supervision of Montgomery C. Meigs and the US Army Corps of Engineers which still owns and operates the system. Portions of the Aqueduct went online on January 3, 1859, and full pipeline begain operating in 1864. The system has been in continuous use ever since.
Canal Quarters' Lockhouse 6 is a fully rehabilitated historic dwelling located in the C&O Canal National Historical Park at towpath mile 5.4 near Georgetown and the Capital Crescent Trail. Decorated in mid-twentieth century furnishings, this stone house tells the story of Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas' famous hike to preserve the Canal. The award-winning Canal Quarters program allows you to spend the night at Lockhouse 6 and step back in time to live life as a lockkeeper along the historic C&O Canal.
Glen Echo Park's history begins with the creation of an exclusive Washington D.C. suburb in 1888. The suburban development included areas dedicated to art and culture, but reports of a malaria outbreak tarnished the area's reputation and the development stalled until the early 1900s. Thanks to the local railway, the former development opened as the Glen Echo Amusement Park in 1911. The park was segregated until 1961 due to the efforts of activists who protested segregation the previous summer. In that summer, African Americans joined with progressive whites to call for an end to the exclusion of people of color from the amusement park and crystal pool. The former park is now owned by the National Park Service and the site includes the 1921 Dentzel Carousel which was at the center of one of the 1960 civil rights demonstrations. The National Park Service now owns the property which is home to numerous arts organizations, studios, educational programs, and a children's theater program.
Located along the Potomac River in Glen Echo, Maryland, the Clara Barton House and Historic Site is the best place to learn about Barton's lifetime of activism including her role in the founding of the American Red Cross. Visitors to the home and historic site will find many artifacts and exhibits related to her many causes and the early history of the American Red Cross. The Museum was founded in 1974 and has offered free daily tours from that time to the present.
This International Style house was built by renowned architect Marcel Breuer (1902-1981) in 1958. Landscape architect Dan Kiley (1913-2004) designed the grounds of this triangular lot overlooking Brigadoon Drive. The house is one of five collaborations between Breuer and Kile, and was built for Seymour Krieger, a member of the International Military Tribunal prosecution staff in Nuremberg, Germany and later communications lawyer who worked for the Federal Communications Commission. Very few changes have altered the house from its original appearance, and it remains an accurate specimen of the International Style. The house is part of a planned residential community, Bannockburn, designed with the goal of being focused around a community center.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
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This driving tour starts on the Virginia side of the Potomac with stops at Scott's Run Nature Preserve, Claude Moore Colonial Farm, Fort Ethan Allen, and several historic homes before crossing the Chain Bridge. The tour continues on the D.C. and Maryland side of the river with stops at more historic homes and landmarks such as Battery Kemble Park and Washington Aqueduct.
