Walking Through Arlington Ridge

In a recent column in the Falls Church News-Press, Charlie Clark, who writes about Arlington history said: “Last November, AuthorHouse published his south Arlington walking tour book titled “Walks with Charley: Sniffing Arlington Ridge History and Mystery.” Though he delivers tongue-in-cheek comments about his dog, author Suydam did painstaking research on the area, scouring, for example, the Sanborn Fire Insurance maps that go back to the 1930s.

During World War II, housing developments were built nearby and named for Confederate Generals J.E.B. Stuart and Jubal Early, though they later were torn down due to county zoning violations, he writes. Suydam provides a neat cross-reference to old neighborhood street names before they changed in 1935: Ridge Road was Mount Vernon Avenue, Army-Navy Drive was Old Georgetown Road, and 23rd was Fraser Street.

Chapters 20 & 21 about the Fraser family are particularly relevant to Forest Hills residents. These chapters tell the history of this property before there was a Forest Hills. Books can be purchased on line searching “Walks with Charley” through: amazon.com, authorhouse.com, barnesandnoble.com, books.google.com; and copies are available at the Arlington Historical Society (Hume School, Arlington Ridge Road) bookstore. While the book is produced as “e-book” those versions do not contain pictures.

Full Article

Pictures & maps included in the book. Click to enlarge.

Fall Picnic 2016

Winter Social 2018

Building of Forest Hills

Winter Social 2015

“The Ridge is an area that keeps unveiling something new,” Suydam writes. “I’ve been walking the area for nearly 25 years and discover something new every day.”

Winter Social 2017

Winter Social 2016

Living in South Arlington and the

Forest Hills Community

Author,

Marty Suydam

Forest Hills Resident

Luxury | Convenience | Lifestyle