VII. Reshaping the Nation

Reshaping the Nation and the Emergence of Modern America: 1877 to the Early 1900s

  • 7.01 Washington City and surrounding (Metropolitan view, Arlington view, and text closeups)
  • 7.02 Perspective view of northwest Alexandria
  • 7.03 Washington and Old Dominion Railway System Map
  • 7.04 Glencarlyn station
  • 7.05 Bonair Station
  • 7.06 East Falls Church Railroad Depot
  • 7.07 Clarendon Circle about 1900
  • 7.08 Electric Railways of Arlington County 1892-1941
  • 7.09 A row of gambling houses and taverns, Jackson City
  • 7.10 The grandstand of St. Asaph’s race track
  • 7.11 Wright Brothers flight at Fort Myer 1909
  • 7.12 Government Radio Station, Arlington
  • 7.13 Thomas A. Edison – Down the old Potomac Video Link on Source Page
  • 7.14 Confederate Veteran Memorial
  • 7.15 Newly Elected Officers in Arlington

Source 7.01: Clements, James E. James E. Clements’ map of Washington City and surrounding country. [Washington, D.C.: James E. Clements, ?, 1891] Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.

Source 7.02: Gedney & Roberts, and A. M Gorman. Perspective view of northwest Alexandria: showing location with reference to cities of Washington & Alexandria. [Washington, D.C.: A.M. Gorman, 1890] Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.

These two posters (S7.01-2) show that real estate promoters invested in Arlington as trains and trolleys made suburban living more practical for city professionals. These are additional resources that make this point:

Source 7.03: [Washington and Old Dominion Railway System Map]. ca. 1920. In Netherton, Nan, and Ross De Witt Netherton. Arlington County in Virginia: A Pictorial History. Norfolk: Donning Co, 1987. Print.  

Source 7.04: [Glencarlyn Station, built 1890] In Arlington. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Pub, 2000. Print.

Source 7.05: [Bonair Station, built 1912] In Arlington. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Pub, 2000. Print. 

Source 7.06: [East Falls Church Railroad Depot, ca. 1900] In Arlington. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Pub, 2000. Print.

Source 7.07: “Clarendon Circle about 1900 showing the station and in the background the fire station.” The Arlington Historical Magazine 4.4 (1972). Print.

Source 7.08: Tennyson, E. L. “The History of Arlington County’s Electric Railways.” The Arlington Historical Magazine 7.4 (1984): 39-48. Print.

These images and maps (S7.03-8) illustrate the transportation driven development in Arlington following the Civil War.

Source 7.09: [A row of gambling houses and taverns, Jackson City].  [ca. 1904]. In Foster, Jack H. “Crandal Mackey, Crusading Commonwealth’s Attorney.” The Arlington Historical Magazine 7.4 (1984). Print.  

Source 7.10: [The grandstand of St. Asaph’s race track][ca. 1904]. In Foster, Jack H. “Crandal Mackey, Crusading Commonwealth’s Attorney.” The Arlington Historical Magazine 7.4 (1984). Print.

In the early 1900, Crandal Mackey led a campaign to rid Arlington of vice. These two pictures (S7.9-10) are of institutions Mackey shut down. You can read more about Mackey here.

Source 7.11: Harris & Ewing, photographer. Wright Brothers Airplane, Etc. Type A Plane at Fort Myer. 1909. Image. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.

Source 7.12: Bain News Service, Publisher. Govt. Radio Station, Arlington. [between Ca. 1910 and Ca. 1915] Image. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.

Source 7.13: Thomas A. Edison, Inc, and Kleine. Down the old Potomac. United States: Edison Manufacturing Co, 1917. Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress

These documents illustrate Arlington’s connection to developments in technology in early twentieth-century.

  • Image. Retrieved from the Library of Congress
  • Harris & Ewing, photographer. Wright Flights, Fort Myer, VA, July 1909. First Army Flights; Wilbur and Orville Wright, Charlie Taylor; Putting Plane on Launching Rail. July, 1909. Image. Retrieved from the Library of Congress

Source 7.14: Confederate Veteran Memorial. [1914]. Image. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.

This memorial was built in a time when the history of South and Civil War was being mythologized in films like “Birth of a Nation.” The sculpture in this memorial is an excellent example of Lost Cause ideology and a great gateway into conversations about race, memory, service, heritage, and political mythology. 

Source 7.15: Washington Post, photo credit. “Newly Elected Officers in Arlington County.”   In The Chronicle [Arlington] 6 Nov. 1931, 12.10: 1. Print.

In 1930, Arlingtonians voted to have a county manager form of government. In 1931, Arlingtonians voted in their first county board that included Arlington first woman to hold an elected office in Arlington (S7.15).

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