[bobco85]

I forgot to mention, thank you to Steve O and Boomer for performing an impressive on-the-fly rear wheel truing for my bike while I spoke at the Arlington Mill stop!

• Stop #7 – Bluemont Junction
  • Hub of the Washington & Old Dominion Railway
  • One line ran between Georgetown & Great Falls, the other ran between Alexandria & Bluemont (west of Purcellville)
  • Bluemont Junction connected the two lines by running along current Bluemont Junction Trail through Ball’s Crossroads (Ballston) and along present-day I-66 across the Aqueduct Bridge into Georgetown
• Stop #8 – Benjamin Banneker Park
  • Benjamin Banneker
    • Free African-American man born in Baltimore
    • Largely self-taught, he was an almanac author, surveyor, naturalist, & farmer
    • His knowledge of astronomy led to many commercially successful almanacs
    • Part of Andrew Ellicott’s team that surveyed the borders of the original District of Columbia
  • SW9 Boundary Stone
    • 1 of 40 stones placed around DC’s borders from 1791-1792
• Stop #9 – Andrew Ellicott Park
  • Major Andrew Ellicott
    • American surveyor, part of group that surveyed the Mason-Dixon Line
    • Continued and completed L’Enfant’s work on the plans for the District of Columbia
    • Mentor and teacher for Meriwether Lewis
    • Surveyed many lands between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River (this is before the Louisiana Purchase was made)
    • In 1791-1792, he was tasked by George Washington to perform a survey of the boundary of a new federal territory
    • This territory would include cities like Alexandria, Georgetown, Carrollsburg (Buzzard Point), Hamburg (Foggy Bottom), and more
    • His team was comprised of himself, his brothers Joseph and Benjamin, Isaac Roberdeau, George Fenwick, Isaac Briggs, and Benjamin Banneker
    • The federal territory became the District of Columbia in 1801
  • West Cornerstone
    • Westernmost part of Arlington
    • Daughters of the American Revolution responsible for the iron cages to help preserve the stones (the remaining ones, at least)
• Stop #10 – Minor’s Hill
  • Tallest point in Arlington at a “whopping” 459 feet (~140 m) above sea level
  • Minor family supported the Confederacy
  • Former Confederate outpost located here until overtaken by Union troops
  • Union troops built an observation tower and deployed hot-air balloons from it for surveillance
• Stop #11 – Mount Olivet United Methodist Church
  • Mount Olivet United Methodist Church
    • Oldest church in continuous use in Arlington
    • 4 different main buildings used, 1st was built 1855-1860
  • Sue Landon Vaughan (Susan Adams before she married)
    • Buried in Mt. Olivet’s cemetery, was a Confederate nurse, spy, and blockade runner
    • One of the founders of Decoration Day, a day used to decorate the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers in Mississippi
    • After World War II, Decoration Day became Memorial Day
    • On April 26, 1865, Susan Adams was walking with friends in Greenwood Cemetery in Jackson, Mississippi, decorating the graves of fallen Confederate soldiers. She went and also decorated the graves of 4 Union dead, saying: “I will garland them with pink roses for the mothers and sisters who sobbed prayers as they marched away.” This is recognized as the first celebration of Decoration Day
• Stop #12 – The Glebe
  • A glebe is a farm provided to the rector of an Episcopalian parish as part of his salary
  • Glebe of Fairfax Parish was established in 1775 and included Christ Church in Alexandria and Falls Church
  • The Glebe burnt down in 1808 and was rebuilt as a hunting lodge in 1820
  • The teak eagle on the roof was added by Caleb Cushing (ambassador to Spain) in the 1870’s as a gift from the people of Spain

[bobco85]

First off, thank you to everyone for coming on this hot, humid, and ultimately wet ride! I was told that the count was around 25 people, and I’m ecstatic that mostly everything went well. We had to call off the last few stops due to the incoming thunderstorm (having people go up onto a mountain ridge during a thunderstorm isn’t a good idea), so I promised to give notes on the missing stops. I’ll put just the notes from my notecards in a bite-size but hopefully readable fashion.

• Stop #1 – Shirlington
  • Arlington
    • Arlington County named after Arlington House (old Custis-Lee estate in present-day Arlington National Cemetery)
    • Arlington House named after Arlington Plantation (Custis family homestead in VA Eastern Shore; you can see Custis family grave)
    • Arlington Plantation named for Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington in 17th Century CE England – never set foot in VA
  • Shirlington
    • Henry Garnett Shirley
      • Commissioner of VA Department of Highways
      • Promoted 1st limited-access highway between VA Route 1 and 14th St Bridge (now I-395)
      • Died before I-395 was built, but it was named after him
    • Shirlington developed after Shirley Highway was built, named after the highway
  • Campbell Avenue – named after the Campbells
    • Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell
      • Arlingtonian, 1st woman in VA to be elected to a school board
      • Mid-1950’s became head of Greater Washington Educational Television Association
      • WETA came from this and is currently the 3rd largest public television station in the US
    • Edmund D Campbell
      • Lawyer who promoted civil rights
      • Lead attorney in 1958 case (James v. Almond) which overturned VA’s “Massive Resistance” laws which had been used to closed all public schools that were going to integrate after the 1954 (Brown v. Board of Education) ruling
• Stop #2 – Arlington Mill
  • Arlington Mill
    • Grist Mill built in 1836 by George Washington Parke Custis
    • Destroyed during the Civil War
  • Dr. John Woolverton Barcroft
    • Physician and inventor, rebuilt Arlington Mill
    • Arlington Mill had the largest mill wheel on the East Coast
    • Mill was destroyed in a fire in 1920
    • Present-day Jim’s Automotive at the end of 10th St S was built on its foundations
    • Barcroft neighborhood named after him
    • Lake Barcroft named after him because he owned a house on the lake
    • Also owned a mill just downstream of Lake Barcroft on Holmes Run
    • Remnants of his mill on Holmes Run were washed out when Hurricane Agnes caused the Lake Barcroft dam to overflow by 3 feet
  • Old Columbia Turnpike
    • Columbia (Turn)Pike used to do a slight zig-zag and run down 10th St S to cross Four Mile Run using a bridge
    • The concrete foundations of the old bridge can be seen from the current Columbia Pike bridge (look downstream)
• Stop #3 – George Washington Survey Marker
  • White oak tree at the confluence of Four Mile Run and Long Branch was used as a surveying marker
  • Deeds reference this as George Washington’s forest property starting 300 yards south along Four Mile Run
  • Portion of the tree preserved in Glencarlyn Library
  • Daughters of the American Revolution responsible for current stone column to mark site
• Stop #4 – Glencarlyn
  • Carlin Hall
    • Community Center built in 1892 originally named Custis Hall
    • Used for community meetings, social center, church, public library, one room school, and now a recreation center
  • John Ball & Moses Ball
    • Cousins of George Washington, were granted land in 1742 by Lord Fairfax
  • William Carlin
    • George Washington’s tailor, bought the Balls’ old estate when they died
  • Ball-Carlin Cemetery
    • Members of Ball and Carlin families buried here from 1766-1908
  • Glencarlyn Library – has the preserved white oak log used by George Washington as a survey marker
  • John Ball House
    • Built in 1742, oldest building in Arlington
• Stop #5 – Carlin Springs
  • 1872 resort near confluence of Lubber Run and Four Mile Run
  • Location of springs, a dining room, pavilion, spring lawn, train station nearby can be found on an old map of the area
  • People would travel from DC via trains on the Alexandria, Loudoun, and Hampshire (Hampshire County, VA is present-day Mineral County, West Virginia) Railroad which later became the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad
• Stop #6 – Mary Carlin House
  • Original log house built in 1800 by William Carlin
  • Lots of bird houses including one that is a model of the house

[bobco85]

@bentbike33 163088 wrote:

Guess this means the Wayne F. Anderson Bikeway will fall back into obscurity.

Sad.

Never! Actually, since the Wayne F. Anderson Bikeway runs in Arlington from the intersection of S Glebe Rd/W Glebe Rd along the Four Mile Run Trail to Mount Vernon Ave before heading into Alexandria through Four Mile Run Park, it will still be in use albeit at a lower volume. Some very helpful person (truthfully, not me) added Strava segments for it showing the full bikeway here: https://www.strava.com/segments/15151088

[bobco85]

Note cards are ready (fastened them together using a key ring) in case I need them; see y’all in the morning!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bobco85]

@Steve O 163028 wrote:

It seems the web czars have changed the platform for these here forums. Something has changed for me, at least.
Too soon for me to make any particular comments pro/con. Except that I don’t see any way to “Elite” a post.

I had the same thing happen to me. The forum was displaying in a different format with Vbulletin showing in the top left corner. I was able to get back to the normal view after a minute or two by going down to the bottom of the page and hitting “Full Site.” See if that works.

[bobco85]

Glad you’ll be able to come on the ride! In order to tackle the issue of the expected hot weather, I have made efforts to scout out places at each stop that will be in the shade, added a second rest stop so people can resupply, and have looked up locations of available water fountains. I think it will really come down to properly managing my time at each stop to make sure the group isn’t baking in the sun.

As far as a head count goes, I am expecting anywhere from 5-15 people, but that is a rough estimate.

[bobco85]

Due to ongoing construction at King St/Beauregard St in Alexandria, NE-bound Beauregard St in Alexandria has the 2 (straight/right turn) lanes on the right closed as one approaches the intersection. The sidewalk on that side is also closed, so no hopping onto it to get past. Traffic is unsurprisingly congested, but drivers seem to be giving enough room on the right for a bike to fit through without trouble.

[bobco85]

This morning, I went to get my bike to head for HDCC, and I saw this

The spider built a web hanging between both of my bikes overnight. We had a few words, and suffice to say, that spider was forcibly evicted for not paying rent.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bobco85]

Even though I did not help out whatsoever with the vodka golden watermelon, I had an awesome time on the ride, the party, and the after-party ride. Thank you for hosting all of us.

P.S. – I can now officially say that I fought the Honey Badger in her lair and lived to tell the tale (even if I lost)!

[bobco85]

@huskerdont 162972 wrote:

Although really I do agree that this started about when all the fence jumpers started making headlines.

The Secret Service wants to help them out by giving them more room to get a running start.

[bobco85]

Well, it turns out that family is indeed going to be in town this weekend, so I unfortunately cannot join the ride. Stay hydrated, everyone, it’s gonna be a hot one!

@TwoWheelsDC 162929 wrote:

We also have enough leftover vodka-infused golden watermelon to inebriate a small country, so…

FTFY

[bobco85]

This is a shorter one since it focuses on a minor aspect, but I found it interesting nonetheless.

Across the Potomac River from Alexandria sits a hill known as Oxon Hill that can be accessed via the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Trail next to National Harbor, but something isn’t quite right with the name. You see, the plural of the word “ox” is “oxen,” not “oxon,” so what’s up?
[ATTACH=CONFIG]15177[/ATTACH]

Turns out, Oxon has nothing to do with the animal (ox/oxen), and it comes from a plantation that Thomas Addison owned long ago.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]15176[/ATTACH]

Thomas Addison built a 2 story house in 1710 on the foundation of his father’s house. It was originally called Addison Plantation before later being called Oxon Hill Manor. A sidenote that is also interesting: there are many current Maryland resident descendants of slaves that were kept at Addison Plantation who still have the last name Addison.

The word “Oxon” is an abbreviation of the word Oxoniesis which is Latin for “of Oxford.” Members of the Addison family attended Oxford University in England.

One last thing, there are actually 2 Oxon Hill Manors! The original one owned by the Addisons was destroyed in a fire in 1895 and was located near where current day Monument Ave crosses over an on-ramp to the Beltway on the north side of the MGM casino. Sadly, the developers did not care to preserve any part of the original house, and only a part of the cemetery remains. The current Oxon Hill Manor was built in 1928 and has nothing to do with the Addison family.

It’s certainly something interesting to think about the next time you find yourself climbing Oxon Hill!

[bobco85]

Quick update: I am adding another planned rest stop to the ride since the weather is expected to be hot. The 2nd rest stop will be in Rosslyn at the Rite Aid next to the Rosslyn Metro near the 17 mile mark of the ride. I will also be conscientious to make sure we stop in the shade whenever possible.

This means we will have breaks around the 9.5-mile (Minor’s Hill) and 17-mile (Rosslyn Metro) marks which will split the 26-mile ride into thirds. Keep cool, everyone!

[bobco85]

Seems that it’s not just bicycle infrastructure that’s being cut off by the current administration’s security. Our very Potomac River is facing the same security theater nonsense: http://dcist.com/2017/07/trumps_constant_golfing_may_ruin_th.php

[bobco85]

Both of those bollards are in probably the most dangerous and hittable spots, but the one at the bottom of the slope is particularly nasty. On top of that, the bollards are also completely unnecessary because the other access points from Bladensburg Rd and side streets are already blocked off with gates.

If you can, get a picture of the bruises and send it in a message to (insert government entity in MD that this should go to). Folks on the forum can also spread the word via social media to garner more attention to removing them.

@Judd 162888 wrote:

Went past these on Saturday with a large group and had a conversation about them being quite possibly the worst bollards of all time. I saw bikedavid wipe out on the extra slanty one during a doughnut ride. I have the power to fix them if someone will lend me an F-350 and a chain. I’ll supply the asphalt soft patch.

I wouldn’t try it since that thing seems to be solid concrete. I think you’d wind up with an F-350 missing a few parts!

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