Evans Mill Pond By Will Butz May 1988 Revised by James Robertson May 2005 In the early times, the plot of ground that we today call Evans Mill Pond was a densely tree-covered series of rolling hills. Immigrants (merchants and farmers) arriving in the colonies in the 1720's and 30's took advantage of the numerous small land grants issued for land settlement. Such was probably the lot of the Besley family, Huguenots and refugees from religious persecution in France. It was the Besley family that first acquired a relatively large plot of rolling timberland in Fairfax County, due north of what was to become Falls Church (1733), half way to the Potomac. They probably set about making a clearing from the dense stand of Oak, Tulip Poplars and Ash on their newly acquired homestead. The trees were good material for making sturdy, but crude, dwellings. The climate and fertile loam soil were favorable for growing corn, oats and most especially, tobacco (a cash crop and a medium of exchange).
Taking goods to market on a plank road, in this case the Leesburg Pike, a toll road.
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Times were pretty hard for these early Evans Mill Pond (EMP) settlers. The only roads consisted of a pair of ruts called a wagon trail (now called Great Falls Street) heading toward Falls Church where it joined with the more modern Leesburg Pike to Alexandria. The other road was a wagon trail (after about 1805 called the Chain Bridge Road) from Sugarland Rolling Road (at Langley) to Ayr Hill (Vienna). Regardless of the path you picked, you were two thirds to a full day’s ride on horseback to the nearest settlement. By 1846 the Besley family was into their fourth or fifth generation here in their adopted land. As their family had prospered, as had others, it was not uncommon for members of the family to move up the road, the fertile Shenandoah, or into the mid-west. As these pioneers moved out, others moved in and further populated the area. Part of the large Besley farm (the high ground to the West) was acquired by the Presbyterians in 1846 and a church was founded. The site is still used today by the Presbyterians at the intersection of Chain Bridge Road and Great Falls St. Before the outbreak of the war, the town of Lewinsville P.O. was created largely from land owned by the Besley family. Across the street from the church was a general store and post office. North of the church (towards Balls Hill Road) along Lewinsville Road was built a parsonage and later a schoolhouse. In the midst of all this progress, Lewinsville and indeed all of Fairfax County was caught up in the Civil War. By June of 1861, over 40,000 troops were massed at Manassas under the command of General Beauregard. Small reconnaissance and raiding parties were sent out frequently to keep an eye on the Union forces and forage for fresh food, livestock, chickens, etc. These parties would come on horseback up to Chain Bridge Road and roam along the Sugarland Rolling Road from Georgetown to Leesburg. It is very likely that the high ground ridge that runs along the east side of EMP (above where the pond is today) toward Chain Bridge Road on the south, served as a perfect bivouac area. Union and Confederate troop encounters were becoming more common and moving closer to Lewinsville. On the 17th of June 1861 there was a clash in Vienna. On the 7th of July there was a small engagement at Great Falls. In September of 1861, the Union troops were ordered to renew their efforts to take possession of the upper Potomac. This led to several skirmishes with the foraging Confederate troops. One such encounter took place at Lewinsville on September 11, 1861. The outcome was decidedly against the Union troops as they lost six and had eight wounded. From this time on there were troops from both sides making life pretty rough in villages like Lewinsville and surrounding farms.
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Lewinsville P.O. from G.M. Hopkins' Atlas, 1878. During the remainder of the year there were several battles at Dranesville, one of which involved a clash between Col. J.E.B. Stuart (CSA) and Gen. E.O.C. Ord (Union). The most serious (and last recorded) of the Civil War battles to be fought at Lewinsville took place on May 23, 1862. At that time the 36th and 44th Ohio met to do battle with the 2nd West Virginia Cavalry. The outcome was 14 killed, 60 wounded (Union) and 40 killed, 66 wounded, and 100 captured (Confederates). After this battle, there probably wasn't much of Lewinsville left in one piece. Much of the Besley farm was very likely destroyed during that conflict. It is difficult to imagine just exactly what Master Sergeant William Besley saw at the Besley homestead as he returned in 1865 after service with the Union forces. In any case, he put the pieces back together and rebuilt the farm, focusing on dairy cattle and a small orchard. By 1878 Lewinsville had only a few scars left from the war. The general store, post office, church, school and homes had been rebuilt. Dr. J. VanDyke had built a place where the park area next to the Government Center now sets. The Ball family had
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become major landholders of most of the property along what was correctly called Balls Hill Road. Down Chain Bridge Road at Langley there was even a hotel. The Besleys finally sold their farm after almost 200 years of work and toil. The property passed first to the Walton family (neighbors from just across Chain Bridge Road), then on to the Evans family in the 1940's. It was the Evans who decided in the late forties to build an earthen dam at the north end of their property across the stream known as Dead Run. The pond created behind the dam was used as both a watering hole for livestock and a fishing hole for the family and neighbors. In the late 1950's, the state constructed Route 123, cutting the Evans property into two pieces. The approximately 14 acres of land and 1 acre pond on the north side of 123 continued to be used as farm land until about 1980 when the Evans family decided to develop it into a townhouse plot. The property was developed into what became a townhouse community of fifty homes known as Evans Mill Pond. Over the past twenty-five years, Evans Mill Pond has matured into a vibrant, attractive and well-kept community in an ideal location, convenient to the Washington and Northern Virginia areas. Today there is very little left of what it was two hundred years ago; after all, that's progress. However, the bulldozer missed four or five Oaks that still stand on the knoll east of the pond along the jogging path to the south. (Note: the oldest of these trees was felled by a lightning strike in summer 2000.) These trees are between 200 and 250 years old, probably among the oldest remaining in Fairfax County. They have seen much of the history recalled in the paragraphs above. Sometime when you walk along the path in the woods, think about how the area looked before 123 sliced the Evans' farm into pieces. If only those trees could talk....
Ice Skaters on the Pond in 1976
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McLean ice skaters on Evans Pond in winter 1976.
Front entrance north side Evans Mill Pond from Balls Hill Road – early 1980’s
View of Commons area by the Gazebo - early 1980’s 58
Entrance to Evans Mill Road from Balls Hill Road - 2005
Gazebo on “The Green” - 2005 Site of Neighborhood Socials
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View of Evans Mill Pond looking south – early 1980’s
Unimproved pathway along the pond looking south Unimproved pathway along the pond looking south – early 1980’s
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View from North Side of the Pond - 2005
View from East Side of the Pond - 2005
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Hallcrest Heights By Cheryl Thomas 2002 2007 Update by Clark Tyler History In the early 1960’s, the estate of Edith Everett Wells held most of the land between Chain Bridge Road and what is now the intersection of Lewinsville Road and the Beltway. When the Dulles Access Road was built and Dolley Madison Blvd. was widened, the Federal Aviation Administration (presently the Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority) acquired the land immediately alongside both roads (to the intersection with Great Falls Street). The developers, Lowstuter, Lowstuter, Feldman and Freed, acquired the land (which included a small pond about where Montcalm Park is) which now comprises Hallcrest Heights. The engineers and planners were the firm of Dewberry, Nealon & Davis. Around 1967, the developers submitted plans for a 158 town home community to Fairfax County to be constructed in five phases between 1969 and 1972. Phase I comprised the homes along Chain Bridge Road, Montcalm Drive and 7371-7391 Hallcrest Drive (38 units); Phase II (also 38 units) was to construct the units between 7400 and 7447 Hallcrest Drive; Phase III was to construct the units around Eldorado Court and those between 7403 and 7430 Eldorado Street (32 units); Phase IV (25 units) were the odd numbered units between 7319 and 7347 Eldorado Street; and the last Phase (V) involved 7301-7317 Eldorado Street, plus the even numbered units between 7330 and 7360 Eldorado Street. The 18-acre site is configured into 25 separate blocks, yielding 50 end units. Units are offset with differing roof lines, brick styles and front designs. Party walls are concrete block. Many units have two fireplaces and walk-out lower levels. Four units have garages. Rear gardens/patios are from 600-750 square feet. There are roughly six different floor plans. The community has 370 parking spaces, yielding nearly 2.5 per home. Unlike most newer town home communities, Hallcrest Heights has 38% of its acreage in landscaped common areas, 22% in streets and parking, and the remaining 40% in home lots. Although there have been efforts to hire professional management over the years, the community is run by an all-volunteer Board of Directors (eight members). The Hallcrest Heights Associates, Inc., was first incorporated on September 27, 1968. The first Board of Directors made up of homeowners was elected at the annual meeting on November 16, 1972. The Association is covered by the provisions of the Virginia Property Owners’ Association Act (1989) under the Code of Virginia, Title 55, Chapter 26, applying to all associations incorporated or organized after January 1, 1959. The Association is a non-stock, not-for-profit corporation, incorporated under provisions of Chapter 9, Title 13.1, Code of Virginia 1950. The Association’s law firm is Rees, Broome & Diaz; its insurance company is Welch, Graham & Ogden; its CPA (audit &
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taxes) is Ahlberg & Company. The Association has a professional bookkeeper and a parttime maintenance/security person. The Board of Directors is organized into two categories: four corporate officers (President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary), and four members covering the operating functional areas of Architectural Control, Grounds, Maintenance and Membership. A Renters’ Representative (non-voting) sits with the Board from time to time. The Board is elected at the annual meeting each November. The Board has established several committees: Audit, Architectural Control, Grounds and Events/Community Relations. A web site (www.HallcrestHeights.org) is maintained and a newsletter (the Hallcrest Herald) is published seven times a year. Dues Initially, the member dues as defined in the corporation’s by-laws were $9.50 per lot per month (or $114 per year). However, these dues applied to only that portion constructed at the time and the services to be provided were unspecified. The by-laws require the Board to set dues in accordance with a formula based on the Consumer Price Index as listed for July of the budget year. In 2002, homeowner dues were about $77 per month, or $230 per quarter and $920 per year. The services, specified in the annual budget, cover twice a week trash pick up, total grounds maintenance, a substantial reserve fund sequestered for 20-year street repaving, a capital fund for repair and replacement of the 2.5 miles of sidewalks and other major assets, pest control, utilities, snow removal and all general and administrative functions. A sample of dues progression over the years is as follows: 1974 - $75/quarter or $300 per year 1978 – $100/quarter or $400 per year 1980 - $110/quarter or $440 per year 1982 - $137/quarter or $548 per year 1984 - $150/quarter or $600 per year 1990 - $164/quarter or $656 per year 1995 - $197/quarter or $788 per year 1998 - $215/quarter or $860 per year 2000 - $225/quarter or $900 per year 2002 - $230/quarter or $920 per year There has been only one special assessment over the years, and that was a $200 per unit charge in 1991 for the expressed purpose of repaving the streets. Accomplishments 1968 Hallcrest Heights Incorporated was established on September 27, 1968. The developers chose the incorporators and initial directors. 1972 The first Board of Directors made up of homeowners was elected at the annual meeting on November 16, 1972. The corporate by-laws were amended to expand the membership of the Board from four directors to seven.
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1976-1977 The corporation was inadvertently dissolved on June 1, 1976. The problem was corrected by the “Cumming filing” on July 7, 1976. 1978 The engineering firm of Dewberry, Nealon, and Davis was hired to report on causes and remedies concerning streets, sidewalks, drainage, and walks. Sidewalks were replaced behind homes on Eldorado Street as the first phase of a correction program. Brick planters were built in the Montcalm park area. The board appointed an ad hoc committee to track the Dulles Access Road development. 1979 The Board approved two easements requested by the State of Virginia. The Board also obtained agreement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to eliminate the median strip on the Dulles Access Road so that the proposed highway would be located further away from Hallcrest Heights. 1980 Audia Development Corporation submitted plans to the County for development of the property that would become McLean Court. The Hallcrest Heights Board expressed concern about drainage between the two developments. It also approved a motion to support rezoning to R-8 (8 townhouses per acre). The Association conducted an extensive pruning, shaping, and fertilizing program for trees on the common property. 1981 The FAA constructed the Dulles Toll Road extension and a sound barrier between the road and Hallcrest Heights. It also built two bridges over Chain Bridge Road. The Board repaired sidewalks and drainage between Hallcrest Heights and the future townhouses in McLean Court. The Architectural Control Committee began “walk-arounds” and expressed concern over “falling walls” and drainage problems. 1982 At its annual meeting, the Association voted to inaugurate a Neighborhood Watch program. The Board resolved an easement problem behind Montcalm Drive. Lewinsville Elementary School was closed. 1983 In accordance with directions from the County Fire Marshall, the Board established fire lanes. It instituted a Neighborhood Watch Committee and agreed to provide Media General Cable access to Hallcrest Heights. Sale prices of Hallcrest homes ranged from $133,000 to $165,000. The Dulles Toll Road extension to Interstate 66 was opened. McLean Court, built by Wexford Company, offered homes ranging from $185,000 to $255,000. William Berry and Company began to develop townhouses across from Lewinsville Presbyterian Church. 1984 The Board had hedges planted between Hallcrest Heights and McLean Court, and trees along the Chain Bridge Road side of the development. The Board worked with FAA on screening of the Dulles Toll Road. Streets in the development were sealed and restriped. 1985 The Board had the landscaping improved between Hallcrest Heights and McLean Court. It also joined with other homeowner associations to oppose the widening of Great Falls Street to four lanes from Haycock Road to Dolley Madison Boulevard.
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1986 The Board conducted a survey of residents concerning reserved parking spaces. As a result, traffic on Eldorado Street was made one-way on each side of the ellipse to increase parking. Media General installed cable television in the community. Cables were extended from pedestals through common property to homeowners’ properties. The Association conducted a “beauty contest” for most attractive homes in the community. 1987 Lights were installed at the Great Falls Street entrance to the community. The Board dealt with the difficult issue of non-payment of assessments. Three houses sold in March for $180,000 or more. 1988 The Board began to be concerned about the aging of the community and the need for major capital improvements. For the first time, it brought lawsuits against residents for violation of the covenants. The Board also developed a map of the community to be used by the Architectural Control Committee. 1989 The Association’s incorporation lapsed inadvertently for the second time and was reincorporated effective July 7, 1989. For the new incorporation, the Board ratified the by-laws that had been in effect since December 20, 1968. Once again, the Board resealed and restriped the roads in the community. It also adopted closure procedures to conform to the Virginia Property Owners’ Association Act of 1989. The asking price of homes rose to $275,000-$300,000 in April. For the first time, the Association sponsored a picnic. 1990 The Board funded new street signs, repaired sidewalks, and improved grounds maintenance. The Board also monitored several development projects in the area: the widening of Route 123, the Amick-Pearson development at the corner of Chain Bridge Road and Great Falls Street, and a new water tower. 1992 With the proceeds from the 1991 special assessment, the Board repaved the streets in the community. It also separated the functions of the Architectural Control Committee from the Grounds Committee to lighten the work of the committee. The Board appointed an internal audit committee after a lapse of four years. This committee recommended a long range planning committee to assess future capital expenditures and develop a financial plan to meet them. 1993 The Long Range Planning Committee recommended the year before was established. It commissioned Dewberry and Davis to conduct a long range planning and engineering study. The study evaluated the existing condition of common site improvements (streets, sidewalks, storm drains, etc), determined their remaining useful life, and estimated the replacement cost. 1994 The Board surveyed residents to determine their concerns and to establish Board priorities. Residents reported the top three issues to be “dogs, trash, and parking.” The Dewberry and Davis report recommended the establishment of a sinking fund for major improvements.
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1995 The Association approved a resolution to allow the Board to impose monetary charges on delinquent owners pursuant to Virginia Code, Title 55, Section 55-513. The Board also established a separate line item in the budget for a street improvement escrow account. It conducted another resident survey to identify concerns and potential volunteers. The Board was expanded from seven to eight members at the annual meeting on November 16, 1995. 1996 The Board had additional streetlights installed. The Board also reviewed Architectural Guidelines and published clarifying rules, which were then sent out to all residents, owners and agents. 1997 Streets were repaved. On Montcalm Drive, the Board conducted a pilot project of putting house numbers on the curb to assign parking spaces. That year, it recognized 16 homes for superior landscaping. 1998 The Board was informally expanded at the annual meeting on November 20, 1997 to inaugurate a team concept and to include Associate Board Members. A motion to formalize this concept in the by-laws was not approved and the Board membership reverted to eight members the following year. The Board sponsored a “Sense of Pride� survey for ideas to improve the community and foster greater interaction among residents. It also re-established an audit committee to monitor transactions and strengthen accountability. 1999 The Board established a cumulative reserve to fund re-pavement of Hallcrest streets in twenty years (2017) without having to make a special assessment. This reserve also provided for sealing and filling any cracks every five years. The Board commissioned the Grounds Revitalization Master Plan by Guardian Tree Experts. It revised the guidelines and operating rules. It established a Hallcrest Heights website. It conducted a survey of residents to determine what they liked about the neighborhood and what improvements they had made to their properties. The Board used the survey information to create a summary document for real estate companies and prospective buyers on the advantages of living in Hallcrest. The Board was informally expanded to include a Renters’ Representative. It hired a horticultural expert to provide free landscaping advice for residents. It hired a CPA firm to conduct a full audit and prepare the taxes. It held a remodeling seminar in May to help owners with plans and options for various home improvements. The annual meeting featured a debate between the two candidates for Dranesville District Supervisor on the Fairfax County Board. The Real Estate section of the Washington Post ran a large article on Hallcrest Heights which was then used extensively by sales agents. 2000 The board began implementation of the Grounds Revitalization Master Plan. It sealed streets and installed two speed humps to slow traffic. It hired a general maintenance man on a part-time basis. Residents were allowed to hire him for general work (snow removal, yard clean-up, etc.) on their properties. The average sales price of homes reached $300,000. The Board negotiated a license agreement with the Airports Authority to give
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the community permission to maintain and replant the berm between Hallcrest and Route 123. The Board began the process of lobbying for a bigger sound wall to separate the community from the Dulles Toll Road. It began the development of an extensive clearinghouse of names of contractors and repairmen who had done work in the community. At the annual meeting, the Board presented its first set of Appreciation Awards to those who have “added value” to the community. The Appreciation Award recipients were: Rosemary Ryan, legislative aide to Supervisor Stu Mendelsohn; Larry Tapper, Supervisor of Fairfax County Storm Water Management; Robert Craft, Assistant District Manager of Davey Tree Company; Michael Jones, U.S. Postal Service; and Jim Glerum, distinguished Hallcrest resident. 2001 The Board revised the Architectural Guidelines and issued policy statements on dues payment, parking and vehicle restrictions, and trash collection. It developed a directory of residents’ names, addresses, and telephone numbers. It improved the landscaping of the perimeters along the Dulles Corridor and Route 123. It renewed the web site. It instituted four annual events – community cookouts, “dumpster day,” a community yard sale and a home remodeling open house tour. The annual meeting featured a talk and question-andanswer session with Jim Scott, Delegate to the General Assembly. The Appreciation Award recipients were: Renn Nichols, Supervising Engineer for the City of Falls Church Public Works; Clyde Clark, Chief of the McLean Volunteer Fire Department; John Bowen, nonresident owner of two superlative rental units; Marcy Kelly, former President and bookkeeper extraordinary; and David Dibner, distinguished Hallcrest resident. 2002 Numerals were placed on the back gates of residences to provide quick identification in the case of emergency. The Board sought construction of an effective sound barrier along the Dulles perimeter of Hallcrest to abate noise from the proposed Metrorail extension from the West Falls Church station toward the Dulles Airport. An engineering report concerning sound abatement was commissioned by the Board and presented at public hearings on the new rail system. The Board created a special committee of three resident architects to design and plan for the renewal of Montcalm Park. Appreciation Award recipients were: Curt Forsgren, multi-talented handyman for many homes; Mike Paris, maintenance man, security guard, and volunteer fireman; the Elsea family, owners and operators of McLean Trash Service; Jose Araujo, VDOT project manager for “Lake Hallcrest”; and Jack McMahon, distinguished Hallcrest resident. 2007 Update The Association has now set up a reserve fund of $15,000 per year, funded from annual dues, so there will never have to be another special assessment. Issues include the stability of dues and the securing of a new noise wall to insulate Hallcrest Heights from the traffic and rumble of Metro trains in the Dulles Corridor. The first home in Hallcrest sold for $45,500 in 1969. Homes now are selling for about $650,000. Annual meetings have changed from dull presentations of audit and budget to a get-together with special presentations on everything from Pandemic Flu preparations, to transportation issues, to debates between local Supervisor candidates. As a result, attendance has increased from
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12-15 to now over 100 residents. In 2005 the Washington Post featured a second article on Hallcrest Heights (the first was in 1999). Hallcrest Heights Board Directors Serving More than One Year Between 1973 and 2002 Jim Anderson Rekha Arness Tracy Barrand Richard Beam James Bick Joan Bowyer
Tom Burns Michael Carosella Luis Chaves Lynne Cheney Linda Cook Illona Countryman William Cumming Paul D’Armiento
James Day Jane Delong David Dibner
Steve LeBeau
1987-1988, 1991-1993 Bob Lincoln 1996-1997 Lee Maybaum 1979, 1987 Mrs. William B. Marx 1973-1974 Peter Meckel 1984-1987 Milton Miller 1988-1989 Jim Morrison 1978, 1982-1983, 1989-1991 Jim Moske 1997-1998 Irene Perez 1995-1997 John Phillips 1973-1975 Dave Rand 1991-1992 James Reid 1973-1975 Armand Scala 1974-1975 Mike Smith 1985-1986 Judy Tancill 2001-2002 Cheryl Thomas 2001-2002 Paul Thomas 1981-1983 Ellen Todres 1982-1984, 1988-1990 Clark Tyler 1998-2002 Barbara Van Cleve 1980-1981 Jack Walker 1982-1983 Jennifer Walker Lee 1988-1990, 1998 Phyllis Weaver 1977-1978 Dan Weitzenfeld 1995-1997 Bill White 1993-1995 Shawn Wilson 2000-2002
1981-1982 1997-1998 1998-1999 1973-1976 1973-1974 1984-1988, 1990-1991, 1995-1997 1996-1997 1973-1975 1999-2001 1980-1981 1992-1996 1999-2000 1976, 1980-1981 1977-1978, 1986-1987, 1990, 1997 2001-2002 1975-1976 1998-1999
Dorothy Dibner
1984-1985, 1993, 1998 John Donahue 1979, 1989 Don Forcier 1991-1992 Michael Formica 2000-2002 Tomas Gasque 1979-1980 Don Gilman 1977-1978 Jim Glerum 1977-1978 George Greenleaf 1985-1987 Clarence Hammerle 1980-1986, 1988 Carol Hart 1987-1988 George Hazelrigg 1992-1994 Anne Jacques 1995-1998 Linda Jasper 1995-1996, 1998-1999 Marcy Kelly 1989-1992 Jody Kingsley 1999-2000 Patricia Leary 2001-2002 68
Pimmit Hills By Jan Auerbach 2007
Leesburg Pike (Route 7) started as a buffalo path and then, as an Indian trail, became one of the great "rolling roads" of the Colonial period. Over it, great hogsheads of tobacco were rolled down to the wharves of Alexandria. Near Pimmit Run in what is now Pimmit Hills, there was a salt lick where farmers coming from the west would stop their cattle to fatten them up before taking them to the stockyards in Alexandria. Until ground was broken for the $25 million, 663-acre subdivision called Pimmit Hills in May 1950, the area was devoted to farming and grazing. The first section of homes was finished on Pimmit Drive in late 1950. The houses sold for $9,950. Owners did not have to make a down payment; mortgages cost $62.18 per month. Many early residents were military families attracted by the affordable prices. At the time it was built, Pimmit Hills was Fairfax County's largest subdivision. It was divided into 15 districts with names like Orchard Crest, Pimmit View, Magarity Heights and Sportsman's Park. Photos from the 1950’s show bare land, cleared of bushes and even grass. The new homes, light-colored with dark trim along rooflines and windows, stood starkly in the middle of treeless, quarter-acre lots. Jack Barnes, who moved to Pimmit Hills in December 1950 with his wife, Shirley, recalled, “You could tell who was home by the boots out front.” Shirley added, “You never went outside without your boots on,” because mud was the rule. Of the 1,642 homes in the neighborhood, 1,280 were originally constructed on a slab or crawl space, with identical 833-square-foot floor plans that included three bedrooms and one bath. These boxy, efficient homes had pitched roofs, three front windows, and a front door set slightly off-center. Many of these homes were constructed by builder Tom Offutt. See street map on page 75. 1950’s Most homes in the first sections did not have telephone service. People waited in a line to use the pay phone at a workshop on Leesburg Pike, which at that time was a two-lane road. Across Leesburg Pike from Pimmit Hills stood the Ahalt farm. Trash disposal was at best uncertain. Residents needed to go to Falls Church to the post office to receive their mail at the General Delivery window because there was no door-to-door delivery on the unmarked and sometimes impassable streets. Road construction was the responsibility of the various builders and lagged behind home building in the first five sections. Cars sank into the mud and required repairs after each heavy rain. Jack Barnes recalled that four or five men would pool their resources to buy a car in order to get to work. With no bus service available in the early days, women needed the family car to shop. Students attending Marshall High School recall
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being labeled as living in “Primitive Hills.” After a survey of homeowners indicated that 82% wanted streetlights and 71% desired curbs and gutters, the Pimmit Hills Citizens Association (PHCA) formed a committee to raise funds to build the curbs and gutters. The PHCA also helped address problems such as installing street signs, identifying police and fire protection districts, and providing bus service. The very first PHCA newsletter was published in June 1952 and consisted of two legal sized pieces of paper. PHCA sponsored a community picnic and fireworks display in July, and also formed a bowling league and square dance group. Street signs began to be installed in September 1952. In December 1952 PHCA sponsored a wellattended community dance and a Christmas decoration contest. In 1954, PHCA’s Civil Defense Committee held a series of civil defense classes titled “Radiological, Chemical and Bacteriological Warfare.” It also offered first aid classes. Bus service came to Pimmit Hills in late 1954. A small trailer on Patterson Road housed a convenience store. Nearby was a water tower which is still there. PHCA held polio drives to collect money for those with the illness. Phone numbers looked like JE (Jefferson) 6-3073 or TW 3-9411. Dues for the community’s garden club were 25 cents. A Vienna man came by every Tuesday with a truck full of vegetables and let the young mothers buy on credit. Later, he also came on Thursdays to sell bread, eggs, bacon, and sausage. Soapsuds from a sewer plant next door would float through the neighborhood. There was a NIKE missile site near Magarity Road. An occasional cow would pass through on its way to a salt lick. Roy Clark lived in Pimmit Hills before hitting it big in country music. The Hemsley Orchard, a peach orchard next to Pimmit Hills on Leesburg Pike, hired teens to pick peaches in the summer.
Pimmit Hills House Prices 1950 1954 1963 1970’s 1990 1999 2000 2005
$9,950 $13,000 $13,500 $50,000 $125,000 $165,182 $183,888 $476,000
There was a strong sense of community in the early days. When Jack Barnes began building his porch in 1954, “Six neighbors came by and helped me dig the foundation, pour the concrete and build the addition.” He and other neighbors helped each other build back porches, basements, garages, second stories, and family recreation rooms as each home began to take on a distinctive look. That sense of community revived a bit in the 1990’s as second-generation members of families moved back to Pimmit Hills.
In 1955 PHCA tried to get a traffic light installed at the intersection of Pimmit Drive and Leesburg Pike. They were told there needed to be 350 cars per hour for two consecutive hours passing through the intersection in order to qualify for a light. At the time, there were an estimated 1,500 cars in Pimmit Hills. Half of them would have to use that intersection over the two-hour period in order to qualify for the light. Men
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called their wives from work in the morning after seeing the traffic counters being set up. The women then got in their cars and went in and out of the neighborhood several times each. Shirley Barnes laughed, “They didn’t count which cars, just how many went by.” Pimmit Hills got its traffic light. At this time, all public school children in Pimmit Hills went to Pimmit Hills Elementary School. As Lemon Road Elementary School, Westgate Elementary School, and Lewinsville Elementary School opened, children in various parts of Pimmit Hills went to different elementary schools. Friden Road was the school boundary line within Pimmit Hills between Lemon Road Elementary to the east and Pimmit Hills Elementary to the west. Most children went to one of these two schools. All public school children were united in high school at Marshall. The St. Luke’s Methodist Church opened its new building on Leesburg Pike in November 1958. In 1959 the Lemon Road PTA held a “Card Party” (bridge, canasta, pinochle) and the Jubitones Barber Shop Quartet sang at it. Dances continued to be popular. There was a Pimmit Hills Community Valentine dance, a Spring dance in early May and an Inauguration dance in June “in honor of its newly elected officers.” Some adult male drivers were caught drag racing on Pimmit Drive with their children in the cars. 1959 prices at the Pimmit Drug Center were 79 cents for a half-gallon of ice cream, 84 cents for shampoo, $5.49 for a gallon of paint, 9 cents for a toothbrush, and 87 cents for an umbrella. In the summer of 1959, 1,000 children were inoculated for polio. 1960’s About 70 homes along Olney Road, the northern border of Pimmit Hills, were built in the early to mid-1960’s. These homes were built with a Model A design, and were 1,750 square-foot, two-story structures on one-quarter to one-third acre lots. The 1962 PHCA membership drive was so successful that PHCA became the largest active citizens association in Fairfax County. That year, trash pickup cost $2 a month. Miss Brenda Raines of Howard Court was named the Snowball Queen at the Pimmit Hills Teen Club’s annual dance. The Pimmit Hills PTA, representing Fairfax County, had a float in the 1962 National Cherry Blossom Parade that was awarded First Place for best overall float, winning over floats by Coca-Cola and C&P Telephone. The PHCA Dispatch announced recent county approval of road widening and use of two Tysons Corner 80-acre sites “for possible shopping centers.” In 1965, Lois Schaben began her 25-year presidency of the Pimmit Hills Extension Homemakers Club, a group of 25 women who met every month to make crafts, such as placemats and tree ornaments, and to trade family news.
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1970’s During the decade of the 1970’s, there were still signs of vitality and community spirit in Pimmit Hills. Association membership stood at 1,425. The Dispatch had a managing editor, editor, advertising manager, artist and three typists. A community talent show held at Marshall High School drew 800 people. There was a new Pimmit Hills Teen Club where teens could play ping pong, pool, board games, hobbies and crafts. The County continued to install sidewalks, curbs and gutters in Pimmit Hills. The Fairfax County Library Bookmobile made regular runs through the community. By this time, most residents had made at least one addition to their homes. A popular addition at this time was a shed attached to the house. Dave Robertson recalled growing up in Pimmit Hills in the 1960’s and 1970’s. He remembered “hordes of children” on the street, a circus that came to Magarity Road each summer, and the Teen Club dances. What he felt was unique about Pimmit Hills was that, “It was safe. Everybody knew who you were. You could walk home after dark as a kid and not be afraid. It was like a Neighborhood Watch without knowing it.” His friend Don Palmer added, “You could walk through an open door, uninvited, sit down and watch cartoons. It was that kind of place.” Children caught crayfish in Pimmit Run and went sledding at Lemon Road School. The old Pimmit Hills Shopping Center, now called Tysons Station, had a soda fountain in the drug store, a High’s convenience store where you could return milk bottles and get the deposit back, and a Kroger grocery store. Current resident Roy Davis owned Mr. Roy’s Hairstylists in the shopping center from 1970-1979. Roy Davis also played drums occasionally in a band at the Pimmit Grill. The post office at that time faced Leesburg Pike (it is now on the side of the row of stores). Despite the community activity, this decade also included signs of problems. Greg Gil, an elevator mechanic who lived on Griffith Road, acknowledged that, “the neighborhood had a pretty bad reputation [with] roaming dogs and …gunshots on the fourth of July.” Many of the homes were then occupied by renters who didn’t keep up the houses or the yards. Another contributor to the poor reputation was the presence of members of the Pagans motorcycle gang in a house on Pimmit Drive. Neighbors said that the bikers never caused any trouble and attended PHCA meetings regularly. Resident Shirley Barnes noted, “Those kids weren’t so bad. All they did was work on their motorcycles….Whatever trouble they caused, they did it somewhere else.” Marie Davis remembers that they were a bit loud at times but they also were the first on the scene to help when her friend was involved in a car accident near their house. Yet, their presence gave Pimmit Hills a bad name. In the early 1970’s the Hemsley Orchard gave way to the four-story Peach Tree Apartments. In 1972 the Pimmit/Westgate schools were scheduled to be the test case for the county for the concept of a year-round school. Pimmit Hills citizens voiced their opposition and the project was canceled. The State Highway Department refused PHCA’s request for a stoplight at the corner of Magarity and Anderson Roads; it was
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finally approved in 1982. After conducting a series of studies, the Fairfax County Park Authority determined that it wasn’t feasible to build a public swimming pool in Pimmit Hills, even though residents had been raising funds since the 1960’s to pay for it. 1980’s The Pimmit Hills Neighborhood Watch Program became operational in April 1982 and signs were put in place. Also that year, I-66 opened to traffic. The Pimmit Hills School closed as an elementary school but continued to be used as a “people place” with a variety of programs. In September 1983, the Pimmit Hills Adult and Community Education Center had its “grand opening celebration.” The following month, the County held groundbreaking ceremonies for the new Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library. Carl Zimmer, a Pimmit Hills resident since 1961 and called “Mr. Pimmit Hills” by some, was instrumental in getting the library located there. While there were improvements around the area, Pimmit Hills itself was still going through some hard times. Resident Cindy Kwitchoff noted that, “People would sit outside on the top of their cars. Houses weren't kept very nice." The low point in Pimmit Hills history came in 1980 when house painter and Lisle Avenue resident Richard Lee Whitley murdered his next-door neighbor by slitting her throat and strangling her as she prayed for her life. Whitley, who sexually assaulted the 63-year-old widow after her death, was executed in 1987. 1990’s Though by 1990 there wasn’t much crime in the area, Pimmit Drive resident Irvin Poole was heartbroken when thieves ran off with part of his elaborate and locally famous Christmas display, including handmade plywood characters of Yogi Bear, Boo Boo and Santa Claus. The turn-around in Pimmit Hills fortunes started in the 1990’s as the growth of the Tysons Corner area lured many young professionals to buy in Pimmit Hills. By this time, families were smaller and both parents worked. It was estimated that about 20% of the homes were rented. When Dave Robertson grew up in the 1960’s and 1970’s, “During the summer, there was so much activity. Kids in the streets and in the neighbors’ yard. Mothers talking across the fence and exchanging vegetables from their gardens.” By the 1990’s, “It is a ghost town during the summer. The kids are in day care and parents work….Now there are not as many [children] for my children to play with. People more often buy a house, fix it up and move. People are just more transient.” Marc Adkins, who restarted the Neighborhood Watch program after it died out in the 1980’s, admitted the difficulty in getting people involved. He noted, “The association is not as important as it once was. But people just don’t have the time anymore.” Yet, Robertson noted, “I still feel like I can walk down the street and, if something happened, I’d be able to knock on somebody’s door and, most likely, people would still know I was one of the Robertson kids and help.”
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2000’s The Pimmit Hills School was renovated in 2000. It houses an Alternative High School, Adult and Community Education classes and a Senior Center. In 2005, 78 homes sold for prices ranging from $300,000 to $841,000, with an average sales price of $476,000. Increasingly common were tear-downs with multistory homes replacing the original home. A 2005 improvement was the erection of welcome signs at the Lisle Avenue and Pimmit Drive intersections with Leesburg Pike. The carved and painted wooden signs cost about $9,000 and were paid for from the fund created in the 1960’s for the neighborhood swimming pool that was never built. The sign on Lisle Avenue is in the yard of one of the original Pimmit Hills model homes. PHCA owned the house for awhile and sold it before 1963 to BellSouth for use as a substation. BellSouth later sold it for use as a private residence. PHCA still has use of another model home. This one, on Pimmit Drive, was sold to the Fairfax County Park Authority for $1. The Park Authority uses the grounds of the home as a maintenance yard but allows PHCA use of the house. Association files are stored there and the home’s address serves as the official PHCA mailing address. In 2007, PHCA membership dues are $12 a year, $20 per family. The association now focuses primarily on community issues rather than social activities, although it still sponsors some community events each year, such as the annual community picnic at Olney Park, community yard sales, and semi-annual trash pickup days. It still sometimes sponsors bake sales on Election Day. Community issues include cut-through traffic, the completion of sidewalks throughout the neighborhood, teardowns, the HOT lanes on the Beltway, the Metro substation planned for the corner of Magarity and Olney Roads, and the rundown condition of some properties. By now, there are perhaps more renters than owners living in Pimmit Hills. The association has no authority to dictate what residents can do to their houses or yards, so relies mostly on peer pressure and positive reinforcement for maintaining and improving property. References Davis, Marie and Roy. Personal interview. March 24, 2007 Dowling, Russ and Evy. Recollections. www.pimmithills.org Kenny, Cheryl. “Heading for the Hills in Fairfax County,” The Washington Post, July 29, 2000; Page H01 Pimmit Hills Citizens Association Dispatch, www.pimmithills.org Pimmit Hills Phone Directory, 1983 Steinberg, Mark. “The Hills are Alive,” The McLean/Great Falls Connection, February 15, 1990 Straight, Susan. “1950s Suburb Evolves With Time,” Washington Post, November 12, 2005; G01 Vial, Debra Lynn. “Pimmit Hills Grows from Past as Tiny Boxes,” Fairfax Journal, 1991
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Commons of McLean By Edgar R. Hon April 2007 The Commons of McLean rental complex is located mid-way between Tysons Corner and the century-old community of McLean. Apartment addresses are along Anderson Road, Ambergate Place, Colshire Drive and Dartford Drive. The rental office is at 1653 Anderson Road, McLean, 22102. Major highway arteries nearby are the Capital Beltway (I-495), Dolley Madison/Chain Bridge Road (Route 123), Leesburg Pike (Route 7), and the Dulles Access and Toll Road. A perennial stream, Scotts Run, beginning as underground springs, flows northward four miles to meet the Potomac River. A commuter rail line, proposed to pass nearby from West Falls Church station, through Tysons Corner, then westward toward Reston and Dulles Airport, will have a station at Route 123 and Scotts Run, just a few minutes’ walk from the Commons. M.R. Commons LLC, an affiliate of Monument Realty LLC, a Washington, D.C.based developer, purchased the apartment complex from Commons Investors LLC (Ralph Dweck) in 2005. Dweck and Associates had bought the “Commons” from McLean-based WEST*GROUP in 2000 for $73,000,000. WEST*GROUP is the parent of WestGate, the land developer and manager of the apartments from the time of construction and opening of the Ambergate section in 1968 to date of sale.1 On purchase, Monument Realty contracted with Gates, Hudson and Associates, Inc. Fairfax, to continue managing the property. The property was farm and dairy land when development began. The 24 apartment buildings are sited on 33 acres of grassy lawn, well planted in trees and bushes, but rather sloping in places. The little play area/picnic area above the swimming pool is the highest ground on the property. The buildings are considered low-rise. Most are three stories in height, but some are four. Altogether, there are 549 garden-style apartments and 28 townhouse-style units. There is no evidence that the buildings or grounds have been changed or altered in any way since the time of the first construction in the late 1960’s to early 1970’s. The December 2001 issue of the Commons Citizen newsletter reported that, “The Commons was designed by a famous architect, Charels Goodman, who also designed the tower at National Airport.” Goodman seems to have been active elsewhere in the county: two low-rise office buildings at 1755 and 1765 Old Meadow Road nearby bear striking architectural similarities to most buildings in the Commons, and Fairfax County, Virginia: A History notes that Goodman designed the houses in the Hollin Hills subdivision (just south of Alexandria), built in 1949.2
1. 2003 Rental Housing Complex Census Analysis, Dept. of Systems Management, Fairfax County Government, 26. 2. Nan Netherton et al., commemorative edition, 1992, 656.
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A Fairfax County aerial photograph, used for zoning/tax map purposes in 1969, shows construction well underway with completed structures on Ambergate Place, Colshire Drive, and part of Anderson Road. Dartford Drive, soon to be the fifth phase of the five-phase construction effort, was then just a weedy field along Magarity Road. The photo image shows the construction of the future Commons Shopping Village: the roofless exterior walls of the Safeway grocery (7301 Colshire) and the anchoring Drug Fair (7407 Colshire), with a lunch counter, can be seen. Neither today’s Shell service station nor the bank building is shown.3 Construction throughout the Commons used brick over cinder block for the outside walls. The brick was laid using a “running” (or “stretcher”) bond throughout, but other bonds can be seen: “rowlock,” for example, forming the “eyebrow” above the distinctive curve of the apartment windows. Concrete was used sparingly: mostly in slab form along the balconies and above the main doorways, and as decoration elsewhere. An oyster-white paint was applied to the brickwork along Dartford Drive and still looks good. Standing-seam copper cladding offers an interesting contrast to the masonry units around the second- and third-floor exteriors along Colshire Drive. Occupation of the land traces back to Alexander Scott, a tobacco grower in the early 1700’s. His acreage was in the high hundreds. We know most about Jonathan and Frances (Swink) Magarity, an immigrant from Ireland. They were married about 1848, the union producing nine children. A farmer in Providence District, Magarity is listed in the 1860 Agricultural Census as owning 270 acres, mostly planted in corn, wheat and oats. Sara Ann Euphemia Magarity married New York native John C. Storm in 1877 and, by 1881, was farming and dairying on the 210-acre gift from her parents. In 1960 their son, Jonathan C. Storm, now widowed, sold 126 acres to trustees who, in 1967, conveyed the property to the newly-created WestGate Corporation, the future builder of the Commons. Many Magaritys and Storms are buried in the Lewinsville Presbyterian Church cemetery on Great Falls Street. Even into the 1970’s, the area behind the pool area was a horse farm. One of the benefits of residence at the Commons was the ability to ride horseback. An “uncommon” current resident is Germaine Broussard, a.k.a. “The Cookie Lady.” By day, she monitors the Dow Jones Industrials for her employer, a brokerage; by night, she watches oven temperatures as cookies bake in her apartment kitchen. Soon boxed and mailed, they’re headed for American troops stationed overseas. The January 10, 2007 issue of the Fairfax County Times wrote of her increasing media attention and imaged her 50,000th cookie while Secretary of the Navy Dr. Donald Winter looked on. Marilyn Barrueta, an original Commons resident, began her 50th year in the teaching profession in 2006. A language teacher in the Arlington County School District, she was one of five selected in 2005 as “Teacher of the Year.” 3. Lands along Colshire Drive: News of Occupation, Use and Change, Edgar R. Hon, McLean, 20901, Virginia Room, Fairfax County Regional Library, Fairfax.
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Some Commons images: floors swaying during the December 2005 earthquake …a gray fox nosing along the parking lot on a rainy midnight, its swishing tail like electric smoke under the street light…the V-formations of Canadian geese heading for their pond-home in Capital One park…aromas of yeast bread from apartment 5, of stew from “4,”…cats on leashes, cats dozing on windowsills…dog walkers with gloved hands and “doggy” bags…office buildings nearby vacant for too long, put to odd, now-and-then uses by the owners…immigrant cell phoners outside at night, loudly calling friends and relatives in places far away…a scarved and gowned grandmother sliding a van door to release yelling pool-bound kids…a frail Asian couple walking hand-in-hand to pick up ripened fruit beneath the walnut tree…memories of the night-time water main break on Ambergate Place and the four nights in the Doubletree motel…mailbox labels that read like a little U.N….hallways free of graffiti…police cars and fire trucks still a rarity here.
7434 Colshire Drive, April 2005
Dartford Drive, phase 5 of 5. Note enclosed balconies, use of paint on brick, and difference in window design and height. April 2005 78