History is only important when people, government or organizations take the time to record it for future generations. The Franconia Museum is pleased to have had a role in preserving the earlier community respect for Maurice Jenkins Walker for this report during 2026 Black History Month.

         The Museum was founded in 2001, 25 years ago. One of the first orders of business was to collect the memories of long-time residents. Sure, we knew about the World Wars and the Great Depression of the 1930s, but we had no idea how the people of Franconia lived through those trying days. Fortunately, there were still elders around who remembered those days or had heard their parents and family members talk about them.

         Every White youngster attended Franconia Elementary School back then, and all had warm, glowing memories about the Black school janitor, Jenks Walker, whose own children attended the nearby one-room Laurel Grove Colored School.  His daughter, Winnie Walker Spencer, who was in her 90s, and granddaughter Phylis Walker Ford, the Museum Board’s chairman, were surprised and pleased.

         “Write it down,” Winnie told those who talked about her father and Franconia in bygone days. And so they did, and the Museum published their memoirs in early editions of Francona Remembers, a series of books that record the history of Franconia and its people.

           Winnie lived until 2008. Long enough to see Laurel Grove Colored School restored and protected, largely through the efforts of Phyllis, her niece with whom she lived. Both also were honored to read the accolades for Jenks published in Volume One of Franconia Remembers, a series of books that include stories written about local families.

           Alvin Dennis, whose father built the four-room school at Franconia Road and Beulah Street, wrote about his time there and his memories of Jenks. The school was built in 1932, replacing a two-room school on Old Franconia Road.

           “The custodian was Mr. Jenks (cq) Walker, a black man who owned the farm across Beulah Street from Beulah Baptist Church,” Dennis wrote. “He was a very kind man who, according to legend, always had an extra sandwich in his lunch box for any hungry child who happened along……All of the kids loved and respected Jinks and he always got more presents than all the teachers combined at the Christmas program.”

           In 1982, former student Lynn Fitzgerald addressed a gathering marking the fiftieth anniversary of Franconia School. In it, he lauded Jenks Walker as the long-time custodian who was “ A Guardian and Counsellor at many times to me and other students.”

           Even before the Museum was formed, William Apperson Cooke had begun a long family and Franconia history that would appear in Volume 1 of Franconia Remembers. It includes an interview with Winnie Walker Spencer about her father Cooke conducted in 1996.

           “Jenks loved life and all of the things in it,” Winnie said according to Cooke. Incredible life force brought him joy in the morning. No dark night could ever defeat him. At the same time, he took time to help other people. He stood for the right things. So many never had the opportunity, but Jenks would reach out to help to give them a chance to serve.”

           Jenks motto, according to Winnie: “If I can help somebody as I go along my way, then my living will have not been in vain.”

           William said his father would buy fodder from Jenks and then borrow his Dodge stake body truck to haul it to the Cooke farm.

           The Nalls family lived nearby and were close friends with the Walkers. Young Buddy Nalls grew up to be a home builder and constructed brick houses for Winnie and her sister on the Walker farm. Young Cary Nalls later bought vegetables from Dumont Walker, who farmed the property after his father died.

           Sonny Wright, a rebellious lad who grew up to serve in the Navy and later become a member of the Museum Board of Directors, credits Jenks for keeping him in school. “I walked off one day,” Sonny said, “fed up with school. But Jenks caught up with me and talked me into returning to class.”

           William Jasper was much older than Georgianna Jackson when they were married in 1879. Both were former slaves freed before the Civil War, Jasper from the nearby Hayfield Plantation and Georgianna from the Episcopal Seminary in Alexandria. She was from King George, Virginia. Ironically, Jenks Walker was born the same year in Warrenton, Virginia. He would move to Franconia as a young boy.

           The Jaspers established a home on 13 acres in Franconia he had bought from Hayfield in 1860. He continued to work at Hayfield after being freed, building a home and cultivating crops in his spare time. He and Georgianna quickly decided a school and church were needed, so they set aside a half-acre on Beulah Road and begin constructing what would become Laurel Grove Colored School in 1881. Neighbors joined in and when it was finished, they started on the church, finishing in 1884.          

           The Jaspers had two children, Richard who died at an early age, and Georgianna, named for her mother. Georgianna finished Laurel Grove and married Jenks Walker in 1900 when she was 15. He was 21. All five of the Walker children attended Laurel Grove. Dumont was born in 1902, Van Dyke in 1905, Alma in 1907, Winnie in 1908, and Geneva in 1910. Van Dyke, Alma, Winnie and Geneva went on to earn college degrees and became schoolteachers. Winnie and Geneva taught in Fairfax County, Van Dyke in Washington, DC and Alma in the City of Alexandria.

Because of an illness, Dumont stayed home and tended the farm after his father died. His two children, Dumont, Jr., and Phyllis, both finished college. Dumont, Jr., was killed in an automobile accident in 1984 while serving as principal at Cunningham Park Elementary School.

           The property was sold in the late 1990s, and Phyllis coordinated a process that preserved and protected the school and the church. The school still stands like a beacon on Beulah Street (old timers still call it Beulah Road). The church burned in 2004, but the nearby school was saved by thoughtful members of the Franconia Volunteer Fire Department, who kept a steady stream of water of the wood structure, so it wasn’t engulfed by the blaze that consumed the church.

           Today, the Walker property is home to a first-class office park and the entrance to the Walker Lane Emergency Medical Center. Next door, a full-service hospital is rising to completion. The main entrance will be off Jasper Drive off Walker Lane.

           Laurel Grove Colored School is an important reminder of Franconia’s past. Although the races were separate, neighbors worked together to help each other during difficult times. Jenks Walker was a leading example of helping hands extended by all.

Veterans Day has been celebrated on November 11 every year since 1978. The holiday was adopted in 1938 as Armistice Day, also called Remembrance Day. It was changed to Veterans Day in 1971, and celebrated on the Monday closest to the date to accommodate a three-day weekend.  Since 1978, it has been celebrated on the actual date.

Harvey Benjamin Baggett left his home in nearby Accotink in mid-1918 to answer his country’s call to help defeat the Germans in World War 1. When he returned a little over a year later, after the job was done, his family’s house and farm were gone, now part of a new military installation built to support the war effort.

The government had bought his family’s land, plus many others, to train troops for the war effort. Harvey had to search for his family for about a week before he found them on property on Beulah Road in Franconia.  Undaunted, he helped build a new house, married neighbor Lydia King, and helped raise their two children, Harvey Jr. and Marjorie.

A little more than 20 years later, Howard Tharpe arrived at the base, then named Fort Belvoir, from Front Royal to begin training for the army’s engineer corps that would help win World War II in Europe. While there, he met Baggett’s young daughter, Marge, who worked part-time in the laundry on the Army post, while also attending Mount Vernon High School.  Howard courted Marge on her front porch in Franconia during his free time.

Howard left Belvoir for Massachusetts in preparation to go overseas and wrote to Marge asking her to come there and marry him. That she did, riding the train all night and marrying Howard the day before he left for Europe. Young Marge talked her parents into giving their consent, and Howard talked his commanding officer into granting him time off to tie the knot.                  

Howard’s unit arrived at Normandy on Juno Beach on June 6, 1944, six days after D-Day.  They first turned west to capture the German port at Brest of the Atlantic Coast.  As part of the new United States Ninth Army, Howard and his buddies then advanced with the English Second Army across Northern France and Holland, into Germany, before the Germans surrendered on May 7, 1945.

After the war, when Howard was back in Franconia, he worked as a Union carpenter on many of the housing projects that were springing up in the area. With the help of Marge’s brother, Junior, Howard farmed the property on evenings and weekends, and also built a small house for himself, Marge, and their only child, Judy, on land next door, which he had bought from Marge’s father.

Because of the illness and death of Marge’s mother, and the failing health of her bedridden father, Marge and Howard stayed in the family home to help Junior care for the ailing family members.  Marge’s elderly great-grandmother, Ella Baggett, also became very frail, so they moved her into the family house as well.  A few years later, Judy married and moved to Falls Church. She and her family moved back to Franconia, into the house Howard had built next door to the home place on Beulah Road.  Howard passed away in 2002, and Marge passed away in 2019.

While Baggett and the Americans were in France just a short time in 1918, their presence hastened the end of the war, after hard-fought trench warfare. An American attack in the Argonne Forest in early November forced the Germans to ask for an armistice.  Baggett wrote home that he had endured fighting from November 1 to November 11 that “was worse than hell.”

The military base at Fort Belvoir had undergone massive growth in the time between Harvey’s and Howard’s being there, stretching from a small enclave at Gunston Cove on the Potomac River, to Springfield on the west. Originally named Camp Humphreys to honor a Civil War Union General, the base included its own railroad in its early days, reaching five miles to the main line at Newington.

Although Arlington Cemetery is much better known as the final resting place for veterans, Franconia includes Hallowed Ground for local residents who protected the nation. They are joined by neighbors who farmed and worked with them to help make our community extra special.  Visit Beulah Cemetery and the Shurtz Cemetery next to each other on Beulah Street, and the cemetery behind Sharon Chapel on Franconia Road.   Pause to thank our veterans and their many friends.

                           _____________________________________________________________
For previous stories, go to franconiamuseum.org and click on history blog.  

FRANCONIA REMEMBERS
This is one of the Franconia Museum’s occasional articles highlighting the area’s history.  If you would like a friend to receive these FREE articles, contact us at franconia.museum.newsletter@gmail.com  Membership is also encouraged, so that we can continue our work.  The Museum is in the Franconia Government Center, currently located at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22310.  The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Museum is a 501 (c) tax exempt organization, as approved by the Internal Revenue Service.

Join or contribute to the Franconia Museum electronically by accessing Franconiamuseum.org and clicking on Become a Member. You can also join the old fashioned way by mailing a check made payable to the Franconia Museum at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, VA, 22310.  Levels of memberships and giving are presented below.  
 
The Museum will soon move into new quarters at the relocated Franconia Government Center on Beulah Street, near its intersection with the Franconia-Springfield Parkway. We need your help to make the move, so please consider making a contribution or becoming a member for 2025. Contributions in excess of the membership fee are encouraged. The Museum is a volunteer effort, but there are also costs for insurance of our artifacts, printing and postage.  Please help!
 
2025 MEMBERSHIP DRIVE – PLEASE JOIN OR RENEW
Join us in celebrating our 24th year of preserving and protecting the history of our unique community. Our collections are growing, and we are starting to purchase electronic equipment for displays that will be available in the new Franconia Govt. Center coming in 2025 next to Lane Elementary and Beulah Park. Make the move with us by becoming a member! Additional donations are especially welcome! We are a tax-exempt, volunteer organization.  There are no fund-raising costs! Come see us and learn about our past, present and future! Join us as a new member, renew your 2024 membership, or become a Lifetime or Founding member.  We need to fill vacancies on our Board of Directors, and need volunteers to help man the Museum on Mon-Tues-Wed-Sat.
 
Annual dues $25.00        
Donation $______________      
Total Enclosed $_____________
      or Lifetime Member…$350.00 (one time payment)
      or Founding Member…$1,000.00 (one time payment)
 
Name............................................................................................................................................
 
Address.......................................................................................................................................
 
 .......................................................................................................................................
 
Phone..................................................  E-mail...........................................................................
 
Please complete application and mail with payment to
Franconia Museum, 6121 Franconia Rd, Franconia, VA 22310
 
Open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Questions: Call Carl Sell at 703-971-4716 or email sellcarl@aol.com

When the first settlers arrived on the New World mainland in the early 1600s, they found a bounty of game, seafood, fruit and fowl for substance and food, as well as magnificent forests that would provide wood for warmth, cooking and shelter. What they didn't find were dairy or poultry products, for there were no cows or chickens. They also found a shortage of brandy, wine, beer and cider because there were few brewmasters. The later drinks were important because water was looked upon with disfavor in those days.

The settlers immediately sent word back to Europe, and within a few months, cows and brewmasters were on the way. Chickens began to appear, but history doesn't record how they arrived. They were most likely from New World Indian tribes, mainly in South America. Poultry quickly became a favorite, and today the average American consumes 100 pounds per year!

Preparation of meals took up much of the day. Menus grew to the point where they had to be written down in order to be remembered. The first published menus made their debut in the early 1700s. Previously, they were handed down through the family line. Soon, cookbooks were popular fund-raisers for church groups.

Bibles, Broadsheets (newspapers) and cookbooks are great sources of actual history of this country. Although first published in 1957, the Virginia Cookery -- past and present by Olivet Episcopal Church in Franconia offers previously unpublished manuscript recipes of the Lee and Washington families that were used during Colonial Times.

The Franconia Museum has a few of these valuable cookbooks that will make an important keepsake gift as the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary in 2026. These recipes were on the tables in Virginia as the Revolutionary War was being fought, and were no doubt part of feasts as word arrived that the British had been defeated at Yorktown in 1781, five years after the 13 colonies had declared their independence.

Started as a fund-raising effort and a way to introduce the church to a growing community, the cookbook became a popular item throughout Virginia. It included recipes from the Old Dominion's network of parishes. The book grew to 450 pages in a six inch by nine inch format. Included are offerings from local Franconians and businesses. Those who have been around for a while will recognize the names.  

The effort was spearheaded by Olivet's Cook Book Committee which included Mrs. Walter Husted, Mrs. William (Dorothy) H. Higham and Mrs. Charles E. Karsten, Jr. So far it has been printed 12 times, the last being in 1994. There are only a few books left, so act fast if you would like to own one. Reading it will be like studying a history book for the last 300 years. People are what they eat!

 Pick one up at the Museum for only $15 dollars. Order by mail for $25 to defray the cost of mailing, packaging and electronic payment charges. Mail a check to the Museum at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, VA 22310, or order online by clicking on franconiamuseum.org, then go to the e-store, locate the book and follow instructions.

The cookbook is dedicated to Dorothy Anderson Higham, one of Franconia’s famous daughters who supported Olivet and Franconia for many years. She was a teacher at Franconia Elementary School who rented a room from Kathie Higham and married her landlord's son, Bill.  Dorothy and Bill had two sons, Bill, Jr., and Andy, both of whom have now passed away. Bill, Jr.'s wife, Nancy, and Andy's wife, Jane, manage the sale of the remaining cookbooks. Jane is the treasurer of the Franconia Museum.

There will be all sorts of elaborate reminders of the United States' first 250 years as a country. This cookbook is a down-home history of our country and Franconia that will remind you of our past every time you put one of its offerings on your family's table. And, you will be supporting Olivet (now a part of the merged congregations of St. Martin de Porres Episcopal Church) and the Museum, which will split the sales of the cookbooks.

________________________________________

For previous stories, go to franconiamuseum.org and click on history blog.

FRANCONIA REMEMBERS

This is one of the Franconia Museum’s occasional articles highlighting the area’s history. If you would like a friend to receive these FREE articles, contact us at franconia.museum.newsletter@gmail.com Membership is also encouraged, so that we can continue our work. The Museum is in the Franconia Government Center, currently located at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22310. The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Museum is a 501 (c) tax exempt organization, as approved by the Internal Revenue Service.

Join or contribute to the Franconia Museum electronically by accessing Franconiamuseum.org and clicking on Become a Member. You can also join the old fashioned way by mailing a check made payable to the Franconia Museum at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, VA, 22310. Levels of memberships and giving are presented below.

The Museum will soon move into new quarters at the relocated Franconia Government Center on Beulah Street, near its intersection with the Franconia-Springfield Parkway. We need your help to make the move, so please consider making a contribution or becoming a member for 2025. Contributions in excess of the membership fee are encouraged. The Museum is a volunteer effort, but there are also costs for insurance of our artifacts, printing and postage. Please help!

2025 MEMBERSHIP DRIVE – PLEASE JOIN OR RENEW

Join us in celebrating our 24th year of preserving and protecting the history of our unique community. Our collections are growing, and we are starting to purchase electronic equipment for displays that will be available in the new Franconia Govt. Center coming in 2025 next to Lane Elementary and Beulah Park. Make the move with us by becoming a member! Additional donations are especially welcome! We are a tax-exempt, volunteer organization. There are no fund-raising costs! Come see us and learn about our past, present and future! Join us as a new member, renew your 2024 membership, or become a Lifetime or Founding member. We need to fill vacancies on our Board of Directors, and need volunteers to help man the Museum on Mon-Tues-Wed-Sat.
 
Annual dues $25.00 Donation $______________ Total Enclosed $_____________
or Lifetime Member…$350.00 (one time payment)
or Founding Member…$1,000.00 (one time payment)

Name............................................................................................................................................
 
Address.......................................................................................................................................
 
              .......................................................................................................................................
 
Phone.................................................. E-mail...........................................................................
 

Please complete application and mail with payment to:
Franconia Museum, 6121 Franconia Rd, Franconia, VA 22310

Open Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Questions: Call Carl Sell at 703-971-4716 or email sellcarl@aol.com

On September 27, 1863, Major John S. Mosby with eight men, left Fauquier County and made a reconnaissance in the vicinity of Alexandria. Mosby’s intention was to capture the provisional governor of the restored government of Virginia, Francis Pierpont. While on his way to Alexandria, Mosby passed within half a mile of a detached camp of the Second Massachusetts Cavalry, whose headquarters were at Centreville.

Near Springfield Station, they captured two teams, consisting of four mules each. From Springfield Station they traveled toward Alexandria by unfrequented roads, but following the direction of the Little River Turnpike.  Mosby and his men finally stopped and slept in the pines somewhere outside Alexandria.  Afterwards they penetrated the enemy’s lines to the very gates of Alexandria.  

On reaching the City Hotel, in Alexandria, where Mosby expected to find the governor, he learned Pierpoint had left that evening for Washington City. The next day Mosby attempted to burn a railroad bridge across Cameron Run, a quarter of a mile from Fort Ellsworth and Fort Lyon, and directly in the range of their two batteries, near George D. Fowle’s Burgundy farm. It was at the Fowle farm and some neighboring houses that Mosby obtained turpentine that he used to set fire to the bridge, but fearing Fort Ellsworth would open upon them, they withdrew, and unfortunately for Mosby the fire failed to ignite. So, the bridge was not damaged.

Mosby then captured a half dozen stragglers that were sent off under guard late in the afternoon reducing his party to five rangers. Two farmers, William Reid and Lewis Tresler were eventually released, minus their valuable possessions. Tresler claimed the Confederates took some $200 in gold and approximately $40 in Treasury greenbacks. However, Reid was known to pass information to the Confederacy and was a friend of the South. Reid’s farm was located on the Old Fairfax Road [the Old Fairfax Road is today’s Franconia Road] and was adjoining the Rose Hill plantation. So, it is possible that Reid led Mosby’s small band across his land towards Maynadier Mason’s Rose Hill farm to surprise Colonel Daniel F. Dulany, who was residing there. It is also feasible that Reid and Fowle were Confederate agents who assisted men like Mosby, Frank Stringfellow, and other Southern spies to enter and exit Alexandria.

Mosby, on entering the Rose Hill mansion, was met at the door by the colonel. Dulany expressed delight “at meeting with Jesse scouts” [Union troopers dressed as Confederate cavalrymen],” and invited Mosby in, and asked him his business, when to his amazement, French Dulany, Colonel Dulany’s own son, who rode with Mosby, stepped in and invited his father to get on his horse and accompany them to Fauquier County.

Anne S. Frobel wrote in her diary, “One night a party of Mosby’s boys came very unexpectedly to Rose Hill and took off Colonel Dulaney [Dulany]. One of them was his own son. I was very much amused when I heard the story, and the whole scene narrated. This boy’s first greeting to his father when he rushed into the room where his father was in bed. In his gruff boyish voice, “How do Pa-I’m very glad to see you,” and the father’s answer sitting up in bed, with proper dignity, “Well sir, I’m d-sorry to see you.” But they took him down to Richmond nevertheless.”

Ranger Mosby penned a letter to his wife shortly after the raid and wrote: "...It was quite an amusing scene, between Colonel Dulaney [Dulany] and his son. Just as we were about leaving the Colonel sarcastically remarked to his son that he had an old pair of shoes he had better take, as he reckoned they were darned scarce in the Confederacy, whereupon the son holding up his leg which was encased in a fine pair of cavalry boots just captured from a sutler, asked the old man what he thought of that."

Anne Frobel continued to write in her diary, “I laughed although I always liked Colonel Dulaney [Dulany] and think it was well for us to have such a person in the neighborhood, he is kindhearted and inoffensive, and could do, and did do many things for the people around that they could not have gotten done otherwise.” Colonel Dulany, even though he was a “Yankee,” was well respected by the Southerners in the Franconia area.

Unfortunately, there is a sad end to this tale that must be communicated to the reader. Colonel Dulany would be sent to Libby Prison, in Richmond, would be exchanged and returned to Fairfax County before the war ended. The Second Massachusetts Cavalry would kill young French Dulany in mid-May 1864 in a raid near Herndon. Colonel Dulany would survive the war, but nobody knows where he is buried today. Additionally, the real tragedy is that no one today knows where young French Dulany was put to rest either. There is no tombstone recorded in Fairfax County identifying these two men. We can only hope that someone in the Dulany family knows the final resting places of these two Virginians.

FRANCONIA REMEMBERS
This is one of the Franconia Museum’s occasional articles highlighting the area’s history.  If you would like a friend to receive these FREE articles, contact us at franconia.museum.newsletter@gmail.com  Membership is also encouraged, so that we can continue our work.  The Museum is in the Franconia Government Center, currently located at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22310.  The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Museum is a 501 (c) tax exempt organization, as approved by the Internal Revenue Service.

                         ________________________________________
For previous stories, go to franconiamuseum.org and click on history blog.   
Join or contribute to the Franconia Museum electronically by accessing Franconiamuseum.org and clicking on Become a Member. You can also join the old fashioned way by mailing a check made payable to the Franconia Museum at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, VA, 22310.  Levels of memberships and giving are presented below.  
 
The Museum will soon move into new quarters at the relocated Franconia Government Center on Beulah Street, near its intersection with the Franconia-Springfield Parkway. We need your help to make the move, so please consider making a contribution or becoming a member for 2025. Contributions in excess of the membership fee are encouraged. The Museum is a volunteer effort, but there are also costs for insurance of our artifacts, printing and postage.  Please help!
 
2025 MEMBERSHIP DRIVE – PLEASE JOIN OR RENEW
Join us in celebrating our 24th year of preserving and protecting the history of our unique community. Our collections are growing, and we are starting to purchase electronic equipment for displays that will be available in the new Franconia Govt. Center coming in 2025 next to Lane Elementary and Beulah Park. Make the move with us by becoming a member! Additional donations are especially welcome! We are a tax-exempt, volunteer organization.  There are no fund-raising costs! Come see us and learn about our past, present and future! Join us as a new member, renew your 2024 membership, or become a Lifetime or Founding member.  We need to fill vacancies on our Board of Directors, and need volunteers to help man the Museum on Mon-Tues-Wed-Sat.
 
Annual dues $25.00        
Donation $______________      
Total Enclosed $_____________
      or Lifetime Member…$350.00 (one time payment)
      or Founding Member…$1,000.00 (one time payment)
 
Name............................................................................................................................................
 
Address.......................................................................................................................................
 
 .......................................................................................................................................
 
Phone..................................................  E-mail...........................................................................
 
Please complete application and mail with payment to
Franconia Museum, 6121 Franconia Rd, Franconia, VA 22310
 
Open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Questions: Call Carl Sell at 703-971-4716 or email sellcarl@aol.com

This story first appeared in the Museum's Spring 2013 newsletter, which had limited distribution. Since then, the name has been changed to Franconia District from Lee District. Likewise, Lee District Park and Recreation Center have been changed to Franconia District Park and Recreation Center. Likewise, the park in Monticello Woods that was named Franconia has been changed to Grove Point Park (located off Thomas Drive in Monticello Woods) to avoid conflict with the District Park. In the interest of historic accuracy, the names have not been updated.

Walhaven Gravel Pit – 1920s-1930s

For decades, farming was a way of life in Franconia. The land produced food for the table and money to pay for family needs. That was true through the Civil War, two World Wars, Reconstruction, the Depression, the discovery of electricity and the automobile. Things that were grown on the farm added to the bounty. What was hidden below the surface would produce a revolution in the way local landowners viewed their property.

Every farmer in Franconia was aware of the sand and gravel that lurked under the topsoil.  All they had to do was try to dig a   basement, or, in the “real” old days, a privy. The going was tough once you hit the gravel, rocks and the sand that surrounded it. Only after World War II, when economic growth took off in the Washington, D.C. area, did some begin to realize they were sitting on a new way of providing for their families.  

The geological formations under some of Franconia produced much of the aggregate, as it is known in the industry, to build the concrete buildings, bridges and roads that began to spring up like weeds in the Washington area. Beginning in the late 1940s, much of the material used to   construct new federal buildings, the Capital Beltway, the original Woodrow Wilson Bridge and the early office buildings in Rosslyn, Tyson’s Corner and downtown Washington came from Franconia.

For the most part, landowners leased their properties to large concrete, construction and trucking companies that competed for the right to extract the precious sand and gravel that was being gobbled up by the builders. Franconia became a collection of gravel pits where there once had been rows of corn, vegetable gardens, and horses for both work and pleasure amid a quiet country atmosphere. Instead, the steam shovels and bulldozers clawed at the earth and the trucks rolled by on nearby roads built for much less traffic.

Today, most people would not recognize the areas that once were working gravel pits. Residential, office and retail development as well as parks have taken the place of the pits. Examples are the residential and commercial areas of Kingstowne and Manchester Lakes. Also, communities such as Lansdowne, Amberleigh, Franconia Commons, Van Dorn Village, Brookland Estates, Loftridge, Wellington Green, and Fleet Industrial Park were once gravel pits.  The new Wegman’s at Telegraph and Beulah is rising on what once was part of a sand and gravel operation. Lee District Park, Beulah Park and Franconia Park were sand and gravel extraction sites before being purchased by the Fairfax County Park Authority using citizen approved long-term bonds (mortgages).

 The largest sand and gravel-mining operation was in the Kingstowne-Manchester Lakes area. All the current houses and commercial areas are situated on former extraction sites. Kingstowne, for example, was built on what was known as the disturbed area while remaining trees were left intact. Manchester and its neighboring communities generally were built on land reclaimed from sand and gravel operations. One of the first was operated by Bill Clem on land where Fleet Industrial Park is now located. There were pits between the railroad tracks and what is now Springfield Forest as well as the property on which Springfield Mall was built.  In those days Franconia generally was located, at least in people’s minds, as being between Telegraph Road on the east, Springfield on the west and the intersection of Beulah Road and Telegraph on the south. Newington and Accotink were neighbors on the south, with Alexandria on the north.

There was a number of operators in the Kingstowne area, the largest of which was Northern Virginia Sand and Gravel, which operated in tandem with Virginia Concrete. Clarence Jones, George Dodd, Marshall Gorham, Addie Tyler and others were involved in the area. At the corner of Beulah Road and Telegraph Road was the Gailliot property, the site of a poultry operation during World War II, then a gravel pit, then a landfill and now a burgeoning commercial center with a golf course built on the landfill. What is now Beulah Park was an extension of the large mining operation in that area of the original intersection of Beulah Road and Hayfield Road.    

Vera Gorham recalls that most of the operators, including her husband Marshall, mined the gravel and then sold it to trucking companies who hauled it to the construction sites. Many of the drivers came from as far away as Piney River, about halfway between Charlottesville and Lynchburg. Some were relatives of Cockeye and Kirk Campbell, who lived there before they moved to Franconia and started hauling gravel. Vera says the drivers would stay in a big house near the intersection of Hayfield Road and Beulah Road during the week and go home on weekends. A popular spot for dining was Arrington’s Store and Restaurant at the same intersection. Much of the property there was owned by Charles Arrington, after whom the street between Beulah and Manchester Drive is named.

Lester Dove recalls gravel pits on both sides of South Van Dorn Street. On the west was the area now developed as Van Dorn Village and Runnymeade. On the other side a road led back to where Brookland Estates is today. Lester says gravel also was mined where Franconia Baptist Church is located. He should know as he worked at many of the operations. Northern Virginia Sand and Gravel mined a large area behind what is now Clermont Park.  

When the Virginia portion of the Beltway was built in the late 1950s and 1960s, much of the gravel came from what was known as the Kronish Borrow Pit located between what is now Monticello Woods and the railroad, just a stone’s throw from the actual road. After the original four-lane Beltway was built, the Virginia Department of Transportation, as it was known then, sold the land to the Fairfax County Park Authority and it was named Franconia Park.  Later when the Beltway was widened to eight lanes, more gravel was needed so a deal was struck to allow VDOT to extract more gravel in exchange for restoring the land and building the original fields and parking lots.

The area of Lee District Park covered by playing fields also once was a gravel pit. Like Kingstowne, the treed area of the park did not contain gravel and therefore was left in its natural state. A phenomenon called “marine clay” lurks below the surface in a large part of both areas, so mining was not an option. The clay shrinks and swells according to the water table and, as developers and the County learned, is not a good place to dig for gravel or build structures without extensive subterranean pylons and/or retaining walls. The County bought what is now Lee District Park at a bankruptcy auction.  
 
Joe Alexander grew up on Beulah Road and there were few, if any gravel pits in the neighborhood when he was in high school. He went away to what is now Virginia Tech in 1947 and it seemed to Joe by the time he finished college there were gravel pits everywhere.  Just over a decade later, after a tour of duty with the Air Force in Korea, he represented Franconia on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and was in the center of a controversy about how to control the expanding pits.

Gravel pits were beginning to threaten nearby homes and farms. Les Dorson, who had moved into Walhaven and become a community leader, saw the need for the establishment of some controls over the gravel operations.   As Joe remembers, people were scared their homes were threatened as the pits began to close in on property lines. “There were cases of a 25-foot or more drop at the edge of people’s property,” Joe said. “We had to put a stop to that.”

Working with other members of the Board such as John Parrish and Herb Harris from Mount Vernon, Happy Bradley from western Fairfax and Chairman Fred Babson, Joe was able to put together a Natural Resources Ordinance that established setbacks from the property lines and restoration of the mined area. Joe credits Les for his work in organizing area citizens to help convince the Board of Supervisors to adopt the ordinance. Les’ community efforts are memorialized by a plaque on a huge rock from a nearby gravel pit that stands in front of the Franconia Governmental Center.

Most long-time residents of Franconia and the Beulah Road area spent many hours of their youth in the gravel pits, playing, courting, partying, biking (both pedal and motorized) and other activities. Some even went swimming in the ponds located in what is now Kingstowne Park.

 
                          ________________________________________
For previous stories, go to franconiamuseum.org and click on history blog.  

FRANCONIA REMEMBERS
This is one of the Franconia Museum’s occasional articles highlighting the area’s history.  If you would like a friend to receive these FREE articles, contact us at franconia.museum.newsletter@gmail.com  Membership is also encouraged, so that we can continue our work.  The Museum is in the Franconia Government Center, currently located at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22310.  The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Museum is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, as approved by the Internal Revenue Service.

Join or contribute to the Franconia Museum electronically by accessing Franconiamuseum.org and clicking on Become a Member. You can also join the old-fashioned way by mailing a check made payable to the Franconia Museum to 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, VA, 22310.  Levels of memberships and giving are presented below.  
 
The Museum will soon move into new quarters at the relocated Franconia Government Center on Beulah Street, near its intersection with the Franconia-Springfield Parkway. We need your help to make the move, so please consider making a contribution or becoming a member for 2025. Contributions in excess of the membership fee are encouraged. The Museum is a volunteer effort, but there are also costs for insurance of our artifacts, printing and postage.  Please help!
 
 
2025 MEMBERSHIP DRIVE – PLEASE JOIN OR RENEW
Join us in celebrating our 24th year of preserving and protecting the history of our unique community. Our collections are growing, and we are starting to purchase electronic equipment for displays that will be available in the new Franconia Govt. Center coming in 2025 next to Lane Elementary and Beulah Park. Make the move with us by becoming a member! Additional donations are especially welcome! We are a tax-exempt, volunteer organization.  There are no fund-raising costs! Come see us and learn about our past, present and future! Join us as a new member, renew your 2024 membership, or become a Lifetime or Founding member.  We need to fill vacancies on our Board of Directors, and need volunteers to help man the Museum on Mon-Tues-Wed-Sat.
 
Annual dues $25.00        Donation $______________      

Total Enclosed $_____________

      or Lifetime Member…$350.00 (one-time payment)
      or Founding Member…$1,000.00 (one-time payment)

 
Name............................................................................................................................................
 
Address.......................................................................................................................................
 
 .......................................................................................................................................
 
Phone..................................................  E-mail...........................................................................
 
Please complete application and mail with payment to 
            Franconia Museum, 6121 Franconia Rd, Franconia, VA 22310
 
Open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. 
Questions: Call Carl Sell at 703-971-4716 or email sellcarl@aol.com

Imagine the anxiety, fear and bravery of the men who jumped or rode gliders behind enemy lines into France in the early morning hours of D-Day on June 6, 1944. Overcast skies made it so dark that the ground would appear just before they landed. The Germans could hear them coming but couldn't see them unless a landing occurred in their midst. Once on the ground, the invaders had no means of communication except an ingenious little square steel box that emitted a clicking noise when squeezed. A far cry from today's electronic means of communication.

The assault to begin the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi occupation had been put off for several hours because of weather conditions. The idea was for paratroopers from the Eighty-Second Airborne and One Hundred First Airborne, and the troops in gliders to disrupt German communications supply lines to assist the mass landing that would occur on the Normandy coast at dawn. The air assault had limited success, but no doubt helped weaken the formidable German defense.

Thousands of paratroopers and hundreds of those on gliders were involved in the behind-the-lines effort. Tens of thousands were involved in the amphibious assaults at Omaha, Utah, Sword, Juno and Gold Beaches. Many perished at the shore, and as they unloaded the assault boats and at the first line of German defense on the adjacent cliffs. But they pushed forward, chasing the enemy all the way to Germany, where they surrendered less than a year later.

It took several days for those who landed on the shore to reach those who had arrived behind the lines. Many had been captured or killed, but countless others had been saved by those little steel clickers. Once they landed, the men clicked the devices once. If they received two clicks in return, they knew a comrade was nearby. Units were formed in that manner and set about wreaking havoc on the enemy's rear lines.

Seven thousand steel clickers were made for Allied use as part of the behind-the-enemy-lines use by the British firm, Allied Whistles, which remains in business and is trying to retrieve as many of them as possible. Brass clickers were later manufactured and given out as souvenirs to those who visited the Normandy American Cemetery overlooking Utah Beach. Nearby is the Point Du Hoc monument honoring the American Rangers who scaled the heights as part of the Normandy invasion. The cemetery and monument are part of the American Battle Monuments network of cemeteries and monuments honoring American dead in England, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Panama, Tunisia, the Philippines, and Hawaii.

The original clickers were made of spring steel that has a thumb rest on one side. The idea was to hold it in one hand with the steel spring upwards against the thumb. The clicking sound could be heard for a short distance. The replicas used the same "technology" but were made of brass or other metal.

The Franconia Museum has a set of the replica clickers that are part of a World War display provided by Martha Sell, who was Chief of the American Battle Monuments Operations before she retired. Her husband, Carl Sell, is the President of the Franconia Museum.  Also included in the display is soil from both Omaha Beach and Point Du Hoc, a flag that was flown over the Normandy American Cemetery in honor of the Franconia Museum, barbed wire from the German defensive lines in France during World War I, wood from a tree from Belleau Woods in France, the site of some of WWI's most furious fighting, and a picture of the mushroom cloud over Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945, that was taken from a B-29 aircraft just 10 miles away.

Other items of local historical value are also on display at the Museum. A helmet and arm band used by volunteers at an Aircraft Warning Service Station on Collard Street in Groveton was preserved by the Bassler family and presented to the Museum. Local volunteers manned the site on two-hour shifts near the end of the war, looking for German bombers or rockets that reportedly could reach the United States.  The uniform of Army Air Corps Staff Sergeant Jack Kirby is also on display. He was a radar operator on B-29 aircraft that bombed Japan.  He married Nelle Elizabeth Peverill, who grew up on a farm in Franconia located where Rose Hill Shopping Center is located today.

This is one of the Franconia Museum’s occasional articles highlighting the area’s history.  If you would like a friend to receive these FREE articles, contact us at franconia.museum.newsletter@gmail.com  Membership is also encouraged, so that we can continue our work.  The Museum is in the Franconia Government Center, currently located at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22310.  The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Museum is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, as approved by the Internal Revenue Service.

Join or contribute to the Franconia Museum electronically by accessing Franconiamuseum.org and clicking on Become a Member. You can also join the old fashioned way by mailing a check made payable to the Franconia Museum to 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, VA, 22310.  Levels of memberships and giving are presented below.  
 
The Museum will soon move into new quarters at the relocated Franconia Government Center on Beulah Street, near its intersection with the Franconia-Springfield Parkway. We need your help to make the move, so please consider making a contribution or becoming a member for 2025. Contributions in excess of the membership fee are encouraged. The Museum is a volunteer effort, but there are also costs for insurance of our artifacts, printing and postage.  Please help!
 
2025 MEMBERSHIP DRIVE – PLEASE JOIN OR RENEW

Join us in celebrating our 24th year of preserving and protecting the history of our unique community. Our collections are growing, and we are starting to purchase electronic equipment for displays that will be available in the new Franconia Govt. Center coming in 2025 next to Lane Elementary and Beulah Park. Make the move with us by becoming a member! Additional donations are especially welcome! We are a tax-exempt, volunteer organization.  There are no fund-raising costs! Come see us and learn about our past, present and future! Join us as a new member, renew your 2024 membership, or become a Lifetime or Founding member.  We need to fill vacancies on our Board of Directors, and  need volunteers to help man the Museum on Mon-Tues-Wed-Sat.
 
Annual dues $25.00        
Donation $______________      
Total Enclosed $_____________

      or  Lifetime Member…$350.00 (one time payment)
      or Founding Member…$1,000.00 (one time payment)
 
Name............................................................................................................................................
 
Address.......................................................................................................................................
 
 .......................................................................................................................................
 
Phone..................................................  E-mail...........................................................................
 
Please complete application and mail with payment to
            Franconia Museum, 6121 Franconia Rd, Franconia, VA 22310
 
Open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Questions: Call Carl Sell at 703-971-4716 or email sellcarl@aol.com

Private Stewart Delaney Saffelle was killed within minutes of landing with his unit on Omaha Beach at Normandy in Northern France in the early morning hours of June 6, 1944. He was among the first to die as Allied Forces stormed the European continent as part of an assault that would lead to the end of German occupation and World War II. It was just a day short of the one-year anniversary of his graduation from Mount Vernon High School in Fairfax County, Virginia.

Private Saffelle was part of the 116th Infantry Regiment, Twenty-Ninth Division, which traced its roots to the Revolutionary War and Confederacy's Stonewall Brigade in the Civil War. Included was a large number of soldiers from Bedford, Virginia, 19 of which were killed that day at Normandy and became known as the "Bedford Boys". All are remembered at the National D-DAY Memorial in Bedford.  

Saffelle lived on Duke Street with an Alexandria address, adjacent to Franconia via Quaker Lane across a ford of Cameron Run and the tracks of two railroads. Except for times of high water, neighbors traveled back and forth to shop and visit. Alexandria annexed the area after the war and the Beltway and Metro were added, blocking direct access. Students from the Duke Street area attended Mount Vernon after it opened in 1941. Yearbooks picture Saffelle as a Mount Vernon student in 1942 and 1943.

He entered the army in July of 1942 and received his training at Camp Knox on the South Carolina-Georgia Border. He was attached to the 116th Regiment infantry unit and shipped overseas in January 1943. The unit spent the next six months preparing for the invasion. Press reports after his death identified Saffelle as having attended both Mount Vernon and George Washington High Schools. There is a memorial marker at now George Washington Middle School on Braddock Road in the city that incudes his name.

Private Saffelle still has relatives living in Francona. His nephew, Jeffrey, lives with his wife Sohna in the Island Creek Community off Beulah Street. Jeff provided the picture of himself at Private Saffelle's gravesite in Arlington National Cemetery. The picture of Private Saffelle is from the 1943 Mount Vernon yearbook.

Private Saffelle's mother's maiden name was Annie Virginia Dove, making her the grandmother of Carol Hakenson, wife of Don Hakenson, the Vice President of History for the Franconia Museum. We know Stewart and Carol are related because both trace their ancestry to Indiana Devers Dove, Annie's mother.

We all owe Private Saffelle, the Boys From Bedford, and all who stormed the beaches at Normandy that day a special prayer. We remember their sacrifice so we might continue to live in freedom!

Air Force captain and Franconia native Joseph Davies and his co-pilot were shot down over North Vietnam’s Quang Bing Province on May 18, 1968. (It was actually May 19 in Vietnam.) More than 20 years later, inspection teams from the United States and the Republic of Vietnam found the wreckage of an F-4DII  aircraft, the type Davies was flying.  All remains recovered were identified by DNA testing as being those of  First Lieutenant Glenn McCubbin, the co-pilot.  No remains were identified as Davies.

Interestingly, metal ID tags with Davies’ name, of the type usually found on equipment, were acquired. While the recovery team was working, a nearby resident approached carrying Davies’ dog tags.  He turned the tags over to the Vietnam team.

Joseph Davies   --   MIA  19 May 1968

In June 1974, the United States held a memorial service for Davies.  The Defense Department said he had been killed in action in Vietnam, and they then promoted him to the rank of Major.  His name was added to the Vietnam Memorial on the Mall in Washington, D.C., and also to the Tablets of the Missing, at the Military Cemetery at Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu, Hawaii.  

Shirley Davies, Joe’s wife, was at home in North Garden, Virginia, with two of their four sons, Jeff and Jason, when word of Joe’s loss was delivered by an Air Force representative. Actually, the representative first met Shirley’s brother, Jimmy, who lived next door. The other two Davies boys, Joey and Jerry, were at nearby Red Bud Elementary School, Joey in the third grade and Jerry in the second grade.

Shirley’s older sister, Gin, was nearby, and Jimmy called his brother, Lenny, in Franconia. The Air Force also sent officers to notify Joe’s parents in Franconia. Joe’s sister, Cassie, arrived to console her mother, Jo.  Joe’s father, Ed, had gone to the Shenandoah Valley, and he was contacted and asked to come home. Joe’s youngest sister, Pat, was home from college, and his brother, Tony, was in school in Kansas.
 
Over the years, family and friends helped Shirley and the boys come to grips with losing Joe in such a heart-breaking way. The family moved several times, including a five-year stay at an Air Force facility in Michigan. Hope for Joe’s recovery was continuously on everyone’s mind. Shirley’s brothers and sisters and Joe’s siblings were a constant source of strength for her, despite their own grief.

Shirley and the boys recently held a family reunion at the nursing home in Florida where she is now a resident.  Joey, Jerry and Jeff followed their father in military careers, while Jason chose a business career. All have families of their own.

Shirley lost her brother, Lenny, in recent years. Joe’s younger brother. Tony, has also passed away. Joe’s sisters, and Pat, live in Fredericksburg and Charlottesville, respectively. Jimmy, Shirley’s brother, lives in Smith Mountain Lake, and Gin, an active 95 year old, lives in Richmond.

Perhaps the only positive memory of that long period took place just months before Joe was lost. Scheduled for a rest and relaxation week in the Philippines, Joe instead chose to travel surreptitiously halfway around the world to visit his family. He flew on an Air Force jet to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, and caught a bus to North Garden (near Charlottesville) to surprise Shirley and the boys.

Gin and Jimmy watched the boys as Shirley and Joe spent a few days at a Virginia resort, while also visiting Ed Henry, Joe’s former high school football coach, at Virginia Military Academy in Lexington. Then it was on to Franconia to see Joe’s family, friends and relatives. After the short stay, Shirley and Nelson Connor, Joe’s best friend growing up, took him back to Andrews to begin the long flight back to Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand, where he was stationed.  
 
Joe is one of seven Franconians honored with stars at the Rocky Versace Plaza in Alexandria.  The plaza was named for the Army captain who grew up there, and was killed when captured, after holding off a superior force while wounded in 1965. Versace died in captivity, and his body has never been recovered.  He became a Medal of  Honor recipient thirty-seven years later. Friends and comrades financed the center, located at the Mount Vernon Recreation Center on Commonwealth Avenue. A program of remembrance is held there on Memorial Day in May.

Also honored at the Versace Plaza are Corporal Robert W. Cupp, who died as the result of wounds received when a mine exploded June 6, 1968;  Corporal Charles H. Elliott, who perished while a member on an Engineer unit; Private First Class Herman Judy, who was killed in action on May 29, 1969; Private First Class Bill Holland, a United States Marine who died on March 22, 1970; Air Force Captain  Paul Bayliss, who was killed in a crash in Thailand on November 6, 1966; Private First Class Michael Ludwig, who died  on May 27, 1968, just 17 days after arriving in Vietnam; and Air Force Tech Sergeant Mike Walker, who died on July 10, 1973, of pneumonia due to injuries and wounds suffered in Vietnam.

Send Shirley a card to let her know Franconia is still thinking of her, and of Joe. Her address is Shirley Davies, 37300 Royal Oak Lane, #226, Dade City, Florida 33525.  Tell her the Franconia Museum provided her address.

Joe Davies and the other Franconia community members are featured in Volume Six of Franconia Remembers, which is available at the Museum for only $10. Add mailing costs to purchase online at franconiamuseum.org. Click on e-store for details.

FRANCONIA REMEMBERS

This is one of the Franconia Museum’s occasional articles highlighting the area’s history.  If you would like a friend to receive these FREE articles, contact us at franconia.museum.newsletter@gmail.com  Membership is also encouraged, so that we can continue our work.  The Museum is in the Franconia Government Center, currently located at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22310.  The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Museum is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, as approved by the Internal Revenue Service.

Join or contribute to the Franconia Museum electronically by accessing Franconiamuseum.org and clicking on Become a Member. You can also join the old fashioned way by mailing a check made payable to the Franconia Museum to 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, VA, 22310.  Levels of memberships and giving are presented below.  

The Museum will soon move into new quarters at the relocated Franconia Government Center on Beulah Street, near its intersection with the Franconia-Springfield Parkway. We need your help to make the move, so please consider making a contribution or becoming a member for 2025. Contributions in excess of the membership fee are greatly appreciated. The Museum is a volunteer effort, but there are also costs for insurance of our artifacts, printing and postage.  Please help!

2025 MEMBERSHIP DRIVE – PLEASE JOIN OR RENEW
Join us in celebrating our 24th year of preserving and protecting the history of our unique community. Our collections are growing, and we are starting to purchase electronic equipment for displays that will be available in the new Franconia Govt. Center coming in 2025 next to Lane Elementary and Beulah Park. Make the move with us by becoming a member! Additional donations are especially welcome! We are a tax-exempt, volunteer organization.  There are no fund-raising costs! Come see us and learn about our past, present and future! Join us as a new member, renew your 2024 membership, or become a Lifetime or Founding member.  We need to fill vacancies on our Board of Directors, and need volunteers to help man the Museum on Mon-Tues-Wed-Sat.
 
Annual dues $25.00        Donation $______________       Total Enclosed $_____________
      or  Lifetime Member…$350.00 (one time payment)
      or Founding Member…$1,000.00 (one time payment)
 
Name............................................................................................................................................
 
Address.......................................................................................................................................
 
              .......................................................................................................................................
 
Phone..................................................  E-mail...........................................................................
 
Please complete application and mail with payment to 
Franconia Museum, 6121 Franconia Rd, Franconia, VA 22310
 
Open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday  10 a.m. until 2 p.m. 
Questions: Call Carl Sell at 703-971-4716 or email sellcarl@aol.com
 For previous stories, go to franconiamuseum.org and click on history blog. 

The Franconia Museum announces that Wayne Wakefield has agreed to join its Board of Directors. A native of the Pacific Northwest, Wayne has lived in Franconia for more than 40 years. He brings a professional museum historian’s background to the group that preserves, protects and promotes our cherished section of Fairfax County.

Joining Wayne on the Board are Carl Sell, President, Don Hakenson and Nathaniel Lee, vice presidents, Judy Hutchinson, secretary and Jane Higham, treasurer. Other members are Cary Nalls, Charlie Wood, Joyce and Bob Young, Carol Hakenson, Steve Sherman, Phyllis Walker Ford, Carolyn Banks Summers and Jeff Langley.

No stranger to the Museum, Wayne has been a volunteer docent, spending time cataloging the numerous artifacts in anticipation of the upcoming move later this fall. He is working with Nathaniel Lee, the Museum’s Vice President for Administration, on a plan to move the Museum to its new location as part of the government center on Beulah Street. The move will involve a more organized display of artifacts and information, both actual and electronically.

A budget has been established to buy electronic equipment as well as shelving artifacts. The logistics of moving from one building to another is being planned. Although the new room will only be a bit larger than the present Museum space, other opportunities for historic displays will be located on the same floor as the Museum.

In 2023, Wayne retired from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History where he had worked as a Museum Specialist for 35 years. He previously worked for the National Park Service in Walla Walla, Washington, the United States Army Engineering Museum at Fort Belvoir, and the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

Wayne began his association with the Franconia Museum on the Both Sides Tour, the Museum’s semiannual fund-raising tours to Civil War sites in the Mid-Atlantic Region. On the tour to the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 2009, he bought a Union cap. For a Civil War themed wedding of a friend, in 1995, playing a Confederate officer, he rented the uniform, but had to buy the kepi (cap). Now he has hats for both sides of the tour.

A tradition was born on the next tour as Wayne wore a blue cap in Union territory and the gray cap in Confederate areas. putting on the one that signified the current talk. His action was noticed by others on the tour, who began to check to see which hat “Both Sides Wayne” had on top.

Wayne was born in Tacoma, Washington, where he attended high school. He did his undergraduate study at Western Washington University, in Belingham, Washington, majoring in history and anthropology. He also earned a master’s degree in history and museum studies from the Cooperstown Graduate program, a division of the New York State University system.

His favorite historic sites so far in Franconia are Ward’s Corner, the collection of businesses, a movie theater/performance hall, restaurant and grocery store that were located on Franconia Road, and the historic Ashland house, which still stands on Walhaven Drive. Fellow board member Cary Nalls is the grandson of the founder of Ward’s Corner. Woodie Smith, Franconia’s first paid fireman, was born at Ashland. He was the father of Mary Smith, a long-time board member and adviser.

Wayne can usually be found at the Museum on Wednesdays between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The Museum is also open at those same hours on Monday, Tuesday and Saturday.
Check out our previous history blogs and other information on our web site, franconiamuseum,org.

This is one of the Franconia Museum’s occasional articles highlighting the area history.  If you would like for a friend to receive these FREE articles, contact us at franconiamuseum@yahoo.com. Memberships are also encouraged so we can continue our work. The Museum is located in the Franconia Government Center, currently located at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22310. The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Museum is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization as approved by the Internal Revenue Service.

Join or contribute to the Franconia Museum electronically by accessing Franconiamuseum.org and clicking on Become a Member. You also can join the old fashioned way by mailing a check made payable to the Franconia Museum at 6121 Franconia Road 22310. Levels of membership and giving are presented below.

The Museum soon will move into new quarters at the relocated Franconia Government Center on Beulah Street near its intersection with the Franconia-Springfield Parkway. We need your help to make the move, so please consider contributing or becoming a member for this year. Contributions in excess of the membership fee are encouraged and greatly appreciated.  The Museum is a volunteer effort, but there also are costs for insurance of our artifacts, printing and postage. Please help!

We are a tax-exempt, volunteer organization.  There are no fund-raising costs! Come see us and learn about our past, present and future! Join us as a new member, renew your 2024 membership, or become a Lifetime or Founding member.  We need to fill vacancies on our Board of Directors, and need volunteers to help man the Museum on Mon-Tues-Wed-Sat.
 
Annual dues $25.00        

Donation $______________      
Total Enclosed $_____________
 
or Lifetime Member…$350.00 (one-time payment) ____________
or Founding Member…$1,000.00 (one-time payment) __________

It’s hard to image that our world-class First Responder organization, the Franconia Volunteer Fire Department, was inaugurated with a water tank mounted on a Ford Model T station wagon chassis almost 90 years ago. More than 50 Franconians had signed up to serve as firefighters on the vehicle that had been donated by resident Kathy Higham. Soon thereafter, the Richmond Fire Department donated a real fire engine, a 1921 truck that had a siren and was painted fire engine red!

After 9-11 in 2001, FVFD would repeat the gesture by donating an engine to the New York City Fire Department, whose equipment had been decimated by the fallout from the World Trade Center terrorist attack. When the new Kingstowne station opened, Franconia stepped up and provided the equipment necessary to begin fighting fires and saving lives immediately. The two engines and two EMT vehicles were all donated by Franconia.

Just recently, FVFD donated an ambulance/medic unit to the Ukrainian government for use as a rescue vehicle in that nation’s war against Russia. The unit had been in service as a mobile intensive care unit at Franconia.

After the fire vehicle inventory increased at the beginning, the Franconia members began to think about a station in which to house it. A site was donated by Arthur Thomas on Franconia Road where the current government center is located, and the volunteers built a two-bay facility with room for four vehicles in 1937. That was expanded to four bays in the early 1950s, and the station moved around the corner on Beulah Street to the present facility in the early 1960s.

The volunteers bought a new 1937 International Pirsch with all the bells and whistles for the new home. In 1941, two Mack fire vehicles, one regular fire engine and another for brush fires, were added to the inventory. Since then, equipment was upgraded to the point where Franconia answers current calls with the latest in technology.

The 1937 engine is still housed at Franconia and is currently awaiting installation of a new fuel pump before it goes back on the road to represent Franconia at area parades and community and fire department events.

The Franconia Rescue Squad began in the 1950s with an ambulance donated by Fort Belvoir. Many of the same volunteers who had started the fire department took on the chore of providing medical service. They took classes offered by the Red Cross, and wrapped bandages to meet the needs of those injured in increasing auto accidents and other mishaps.

Today, Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTS) respond in vehicles with state-of-the-art equipment that is electronically connected to emergency room doctors and personnel, saving valuable time that often means the difference between life and death.

All of the personnel on board meet the highest professional standards set by Fairfax County. Franconia VFD includes a large number of college students seeking degrees and certificates that will lead to regular employment. They chose FVFD because of its high standards that resonate with future employers.

All of this is backed by volunteer service that raises the funds necessary to purchase new equipment, saving taxpayer dollars. Last year, Franconia purchased a new EMT vehicle at a cost of $336,000. Another one is needed on the horizon. The money is raised through weekly bingo, rental of the activities hall and special events. In the past, FVFD sponsored carnivals, parades, and music shows to raise the funds necessary to build what it has today.

Did you know that one of Dolly Parton’s first appearances as a feature performer was at a fund-raiser for the Franconia Volunteer Fire Department? You can help by donating through the fire department’s direct mail appeal.

You can learn more about FVFD’s history by purchasing a copy of Volume VII of Franconia Remembers at the Franconia Museum. This hardback publication is only $10. Order online at the Museum’s website (franconiamuseum.org) by clicking on the e-store page.

____________________________________________________
For previous stories, go to franconiamuseum.org and click on history blog.

FRANCONIA REMEMBERS

This is one of the Franconia Museum’s occasional articles highlighting the area’s history. If you would like a friend to receive these FREE articles, contact us at franconia.museum.newsletter@gmail.com Membership is also encouraged, so that we can continue our work. The Museum is in the Franconia Government Center, currently located at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22310. The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Museum is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, as approved by the Internal Revenue Service.

Join or contribute to the Franconia Museum electronically by accessing franconiamuseum.org and clicking on Become a Member. You can also join the old-fashioned way by mailing a check made payable to the Franconia Museum to 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, VA 22310. Levels of memberships and giving are presented below.

The Museum will soon move into new quarters at the relocated Franconia Government Center on Beulah Street, near its intersection with the Franconia-Springfield Parkway. We need your help to make the move, so please consider making a contribution or becoming a member for 2025. Contributions in excess of the membership fee are encouraged. The Museum is a volunteer effort, but there are also costs for insurance of our artifacts, printing and postage. Please help!!

2025 MEMBERSHIP DRIVE – PLEASE JOIN OR RENEW

Join us in celebrating our 24th year of preserving and protecting the history of our unique community. Our collections are growing, and we are starting to purchase electronic equipment for displays that will be available in the new Franconia Govt. Center coming in 2025 next to Lane Elementary and Beulah Park. Make the move with us by becoming a member! Additional donations are especially welcome! We are a tax-exempt, volunteer organization. There are no fund-raising costs! Come see us and learn about our past, present and future! Join us as a new member, renew your 2024 membership, or become a Lifetime or Founding member. We need to fill vacancies on our Board of Directors, and need volunteers to help man the Museum on Mon-Tues-Wed-Sat.
 
Annual dues $25.00 Donation $______________
Total Enclosed $_____________

or Lifetime Member…$350.00 (one-time payment)
or Founding Member…$1,000.00 (one-time payment)


Name............................................................................................................................................
 
Address.......................................................................................................................................
 
              .......................................................................................................................................
 
Phone.................................................. E-mail...........................................................................
 
Please complete application and mail with payment to
Franconia Museum, 6121 Franconia Rd, Franconia, VA 22310
 
Open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Questions: Call Carl Sell at 703-971-4716 or email sellcarl@aol.com

 While the nation was roiled by protests for and against integration, as well as three political assassinations in the 1960s, Ronald (Ronnie) Banks and his friends in the Franconia area were practicing what Martin Luther King was preaching, even though King himself was one of those who would be assassinated.

 Ronnie was part of a large Black family that moved from Alexandria to 10 acres on Old Telegraph Road in the 1950s. There, Olander Banks, Sr., and his wife, Margaret, built a large home for themselves and what would total a family of nine children. They had worked hard, often at two jobs each, but were unable to obtain private financing for the construction of a new home. One of Olander’s employers, Jack Starry of Alexandria Seafood, was impressed with the Banks’ work ethic and financed the project.

 Olander and Margaret would become millionaires and part of a growing community of overwhelmingly White families who transformed the area from rural to a fast-growing suburban community. The Banks property served as a community-gathering point for local youths. It continues today as a Fairfax County Park, thanks to an innovative financial arrangement that benefited both the Banks family and Fairfax County.

 Ronnie was born on October 13, 1955, a little more than a year after the United States Supreme Court ruled that the 1895 separate but equal interpretation of the Constitution was illegal. It took several years for Virginia and other southern states to fully integrate as far as public schools and public facilities were concerned. Ronnie and his family lived in a small house on the Old Telegraph Road property while a 25-room mansion was being built.

 During that time, the area along Telegraph Road was being developed with large communities such as Jefferson Manor, Burgundy Village, Virginia Hills and Rose Hill. The nearby community of Hayfield wasn’t far behind. According to his older sister, Deborah, Ronnie attended public school at Bush Hill and Wilton Woods Elementary, long bus rides away, and transferred with his schoolmates to the new Hayfield Elementary, almost just across the street, in January 1967.

 Earlier, he had met Marty Mittendorf, who lived just north of the Banks on Telegraph Road. Marty stopped to talk to Ronnie as he passed the Banks house on the way to visit his cousin, who lived on a farm near where Hayfield Middle School and High School would be built. Ronnie soon learned that Marty’s father and brother had built a large model train (HO gauge) system in their house so he visited often to enjoy operating the system.

 Ronnie and Marty attended schools, including Wilton Woods and Hayfield and played baseball against other communities which were played at Virginia Hills Elementary School. Richard Cooper, who played for the McDonald’s team from Virginia Hills, later would admit that Ronnie was the “first black person I had ever seen”.  The two would become friends, sharing an interest in baseball and automobile repair.
 
 Jeff Larrick grew up in Virginia Hills and attended elementary school there. He played baseball as a youngster in Alexandria because his dad, Henry Larrick, operated City Sports Shop. Jeff’s dad knew Ronnie’s dad, but the boys didn’t become friends until they attended Hayfield Middle School. Jeff was injured in an auto accident as a young man and is paralyzed from the waist down. He could drive, and visits with friends often. Jeff serves as a mentor for others who are paralyzed and works as a permit facilitator with local governments.

 At Hayfield Elementary, Ronnie established a friendship with Cary Nalls, who transferred from Franconia Elementary, that would last a lifetime. Ronnie and Cary started out trying to compete with each other, but soon learned that working together would produce better results.  They began selling candy charm pops to other students and pocketed the profits. Cary operated his own roadside stand at his grandparents’ property on Beulah Road, raising flowers and vegetables.

Cary Nalls (far left) and Ronnie Banks (far right) as classmates at Hayfield Elementary in 1968.

The popular Nalls Produce still operates, giving recent arrivals a glimpse of what Franconia was like before they arrived.  Cary augmented his stock with visits to a market in Washington, D. C., taking Ronnie along to see what they could find to sell at school. Cary’s grandfather was the driver, but soon Cary made enough money to buy his own truck to use when he got his driver’s license.

 The boys were probably too young to fully grasp the nation’s grief when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. The gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald, was shot and killed two days later. The assassination of King on April 8, 1968 and Robert on F. Kennedy on June 6, 1968, hit home for Ronnie and his friends, who were living examples of King’s advice that people should be judged by their character rather than the color of their skin.

 This story about Ronnie Banks and his friends is presented by the Franconia Museum during Black History Month to provide a snapshot of racial relations in Franconia during turbulent times. Ronnie passed away February 24, 2024.

 At Ronnie’s funeral, Cary Nalls told a story about the time in their youth when he and Ronnie were out trick or treating. They stopped at the home of an elderly lady who was losing her eye sight. However, she recognized Cary, but didn’t know Ronnie and remarked that this costume and color seemed real.

 “That’s because it’s my natural color,” Ronnie told her, sharing a laugh with Cary. In a nutshell, that was Ronnie’s approach to racial comments.

 Richard Cooper recalled a time when was cleaning out his parents’ home and found a baseball glove and ball Ronnie had left there years earlier. “It was a big deal for Ronnie, “Richard said. “You’d have thought I had given him something of extreme value.”

 Marty Mittendorf recalls receiving a call from Ronnie just before his childhood friend died. Marty now lives near Lynchburg and was surprised to hear from Ronnie. “We talked about trains and the good old days for about two hours. It was almost like he wanted to know if it was all real.”

 Ronnie’s dad founded Banks Auto Parts, first on nearby Backlick Road and later on Smoketown Road in Woodbridge and Fredericksburg Ronnie exhibited an interest in model cars, automobile repair and parts sale, real estate and culinary arts during his life. As one of his childhood friends remembered “Ronnie liked everyone and everybody liked Ronnie.”
Ronnie’s younger sister, Carolyn, is a recent addition to the Franconia Museum’s Board of Directors. Cary Nalls, one of Ronnie’s friends, also is a member of the Board and suggested this story about whom he called “his best friend.”

FRANCONIA REMEMBERS
This is one of the Franconia Museum’s occasional articles highlighting the area’s history.  If you would like a friend to receive these FREE articles, contact us at franconia.museum.newsletter@gmail.com  Membership is also encouraged, so that we can continue our work.  The Museum is in the Franconia Government Center, currently located at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22310.  The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Museum is a 501 (c) tax exempt organization, as approved by the Internal Revenue Service.

                         ________________________________________
For previous stories, go to franconiamuseum.org and click on history blog.  
 
Join or contribute to the Franconia Museum electronically by accessing Franconiamuseum.org and clicking on Become a Member. You can also join the old-fashioned way by mailing a check made payable to the Franconia Museum at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, VA, 22310.  Levels of memberships and giving are presented below.  
 
The Museum will soon move into new quarters at the relocated Franconia Government Center on Beulah Street, near its intersection with the Franconia-Springfield Parkway. We need your help to make the move, so please consider making a contribution or becoming a member for 2025. Contributions in excess of the membership fee are encouraged. The Museum is a volunteer effort, but there are also costs for insurance of our artifacts, printing and postage.  Please help!
 
2025 MEMBERSHIP DRIVE – PLEASE JOIN OR RENEW
Join us in celebrating our 24th year of preserving and protecting the history of our unique community. Our collections are growing, and we are starting to purchase electronic equipment for displays that will be available in the new Franconia Govt. Center coming in 2025 next to Lane Elementary and Beulah Park. Make the move with us by becoming a member! Additional donations are especially welcome! We are a tax-exempt, volunteer organization.  There are no fund-raising costs! Come see us and learn about our past, present and future! Join us as a new member, renew your 2024 membership, or become a Lifetime or Founding member.  We need to fill vacancies on our Board of Directors, and need volunteers to help man the Museum on Mon-Tues-Wed-Sat.
 
Annual dues $25.00        

Donation $______________      

Total Enclosed $_____________

      or  Lifetime Member…$350.00 (one time payment)
      or Founding Member…$1,000.00 (one time payment)
 
Name............................................................................................................................................
 
Address.......................................................................................................................................
 
 .......................................................................................................................................
 
Phone..................................................  

E-mail...........................................................................
 
Please complete application and mail with payment to
            Franconia Museum, 6121 Franconia Rd, Franconia, VA 22310
 
Open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Questions: Call Carl Sell at 703-971-4716 or email sellcarl@aol.com

The Franconia Museum expects to move into its new quarters in the rebuilt Franconia Government Center on Beulah Road featuring video displays with a mix of authentic firsthand connections with our past. Hands-on displays will be rotated every several months depending on volunteer participation.

The new video displays will require the purchase of expensive electronic equipment. We have the information and pictures and need the equipment necessary to display it. Again, the videos will no doubt change every so often, adding new material, to keep visitors entertained with the latest information available. We often are presented with new artifacts that will interest visitors.

All of this has a cost, and we are asking you to help. Please join for 2025 and consider making an extra donation to help cover the cost of the move and new displays. We have put aside funds to start the process, but it is not yet enough pay for both the move and the normal yearly expenses. The Museum will be part of the new Franconia Government Center on Beulah Street next to Lane Elementary School. The building is almost completed, so we expect to start moving by mid-year.

You can help by renewing your membership, joining for the first time, or making a contribution. Follow the information below to contact us either by mail or electronically. In the meantime, the Museum is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 6121 Franconia Road. Thanks for your support!

Carl Sell
President

Join or contribute to the Franconia Museum electronically by accessing FranconiaMuseum.org and clicking on Become A Friend. You can also join the old fashioned way by mailing a check made payable to the Franconia Museum at 6121 Franconia Road 22310.  We are a tax-exempt, volunteer organization. There are no fund-raising costs! Come see us and learn about our past, present and future! Join us as a new member, renew your 2025 membership, or become a Lifetime or Founding member. We need to fill vacancies on our Board of Directors, and need volunteers to help man the Museum on Mon-Tues-Wed-Sat.

Today, millions of drivers pass through the infamous "mixing bowl" - the intersection of the Capital Beltway and Interstates 95 and 395, renowned as a traffic bottleneck among Washington commuters. However, how many of those drivers know that this spot was once the location of an airport?

This year, the Franconia Museum celebrates the 80th anniversary of Springfield Airport! Beloved by locals, this small grassy airstrip operated for almost fifteen years from 1945 to 1959. It was often overshadowed by its larger cousins, Beacon Hill and Hybla Valley Airport located on Route 1, and completely forgotten as Washington-Dulles International Airport opened nearby in 1962. However, almost everyone who lived in the Franconia area during this time has a fond memory of the airport and the people who worked there.

Today, we look back 80 years to 1945 and the unconditional surrender of Germany on May 8, bringing World War II to a close in the European theater. Suddenly, millions of American servicemen and women were making plans to return home to the United States and build new families and new communities. One of those men was Major Carl Victor Allen of the U.S. Army Air Force Reserve, a predecessor of the modern-day USAF that consisted of civilian pilots who were called to active duty to bolster the ranks of the Army’s Air Force when needed. On his return home, Carl Allen spoke with a long-time family friend and Franconia Road resident, Herbert Ogden, about his plans to open an airport. He put him in touch with a neighbor, Snap Akins, who offered to lease his farm to Carl to start his airport where Lewis High School and the Springfield Estates neighborhood are located today. The Allen family would stay in the Ogden home (present-day Key Middle School) for a few months until they could purchase their own home in Springfield’s Leewood neighborhood.

Carl’s wife, Gretchen, was the airport’s first treasurer and secretary, keeping operations moving smoothly. The Allens received permission from Virginia’s State Corporation Commission in June 1945 to start operating Springfield Airport, and they quickly had the property cleared and open for business by September. They started out by constructing the airport office and hangar near the present-day intersection of Buckskin Street and Abilene Street. The first runway was a north/south 3,000-foot sod runway that ran from Lewis HS in the south to the intersection of Apache Street and Bowie Drive in the north. Within a year, he added a second 2,200-foot east/west runway which ran from the intersection of present-day Cimarron Street and Bowie Drive in the west to the intersection of Custer Street and Frontier Drive in the east.

Springfield Airport was known for doing a little bit of everything. Major Allen offered fuel and airplane maintenance services to the public, as well as operating a sales agency for new planes and an auction house to sell used planes. Carl would also give private flying lessons and guided tours of the Washington area by air. World War II veterans were offered their flying lessons free of charge.

In 1945, future Lee District Supervisor Joe Alexander, at only fifteen years of age, convinced Major Allen to let him start working at the airport for free in exchange for flying lessons. Joe’s parents weren’t thrilled with the idea, but acquiesced after it became apparent their son was determined to become a pilot. Joe rode his bike to work and helped build the new runways. He skipped school to complete his first solo flight and earned his pilot’s license in 1946 at age sixteen.

From 1947 to 1950, Charlie Kulp worked as an airframe and powerplant mechanic at Springfield Airport. Nicknamed the “Flying Farmer,” Charlie (1925-2021) later went on to earn international fame for performing a comedy aerobatic routine every Sunday at the Flying Circus Aerodrome in Bealeton, Virginia for 34 years up until his retirement in the year 2007. The Ogden family has many fond memories of dinners with Charlie Kulp and the Allen family on almost a nightly basis.

In April 1951, Major Carl Allen was recalled to active service by the Air Force and was tragically killed in a plane crash near Mexico City on June 21 along with his wife, Gretchen. Both were laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. Springfield Airport lay dormant for several months until Charlie Kulp decided to pick up the equipment in 1952 and help restart the airport in a new location, just south of Franconia Road, where the Springfield Town Center stands today. The new Springfield Airport operated a single 2,700-foot north/south runway on an unofficial basis until 1959 when it was permanently closed in favor of using the land for more profitable gravel pit mining. Gravel pits grew by the dozens throughout the neighborhood until Springfield Mall opened in 1973.

Even today, 80 years later, Carl Allen and Charlie Kulp are still fondly remembered by many who passed through Springfield Airport and were met by kind, welcoming smiles and a friendly, can-do attitude. This was still old Franconia, where everyone, stranger or friend, received a little of that classic Southern charm.

FRANCONIA REMEMBERS --
-- Major Carl Victor Allen (1904-1951)
-- Charles Allen “Charlie” Kulp (1925-2021)            

________________________________

FRANCONIA REMEMBERS
This is one of the Franconia Museum’s occasional articles highlighting the area history.  If you would like for a friend to receive these FREE articles, contact us at franconiamuseum@yahoo.com. Memberships also are encouraged so we can continue our work. The Museum is located in the Franconia Government Center, currently located at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22310. The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Museum is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization as approved by the Internal Revenue Service.

Join or contribute to the Franconia Museum electronically by accessing FranconiaMuseum.org and clicking on Become A Friend. You can also join the old-fashioned way by mailing a check made payable to the Franconia Museum at 6121 Franconia Road 22310. Levels of membership and giving are presented below.
The Museum will soon move into new quarters at the relocated Franconia Government Center on Beulah Street near its intersection with the Franconia-Springfield Parkway. We need your help to make the move, so please consider making a contribution or becoming a member for this year. Contributions more than the membership fee are encouraged and greatly appreciated.  The Museum is a volunteer effort, but there also are costs for insurance of our artifacts, printing and postage. Please help!

We are a tax-exempt, volunteer organization. There are no fund-raising costs! Come see us and learn about our past, present and future! Join us as a new member, renew your 2025 membership, or become a Lifetime or Founding member.  We need to fill vacancies on our Board of Directors, and need volunteers to help man the Museum on Mon-Tues-Wed-Sat.
 
Annual dues $25.00        
Donation $______________      
Total Enclosed $_____________
 
or Lifetime Member…$350.00 (one-time payment) ____________
 
or Founding Member…$1,000.00 (one-time payment) __________

During the holiday season, Christian churches celebrate the Birth of Christ, while other religious sects honor their founders and join fraternal and civic organizations reaching out to the less fortunate among us. A recent example was celebrated at Mount Calvary Community Church, “the little church by the side of the road” on Beulah Street, across from the intersection of Fleet Drive. Church members, friends and families gather on the second Sunday in December for a Christmas season celebration and the lighting of “Haddie’s Holly,” a thriving holly tree outside the front of the church, facing south on Beulah Street.

Daughters Teresa (left) and Lisa at Mt. Calvary Community Church, embrace “Haddie’s Holly” that is dedicated to the memory of their Mom, Haddie Higham. Haddie raised the two girls before she married Bob Higham, Jr. Haddie, who died in 2020, is shown at the lower left, and Bob Higham is shown at the lower right.

Haddie Higham passed away in November 2020, and the holly tree brings together family and friends in her memory each Christmas season. The tree is lit with a thousand small all white bulbs to emphasize its stature in the early darkness of the holiday season.

The connection to illuminate the tree is made by Robert Higham, Jr., who married Haddie in 2001. She raised two daughters, Lisa and Teresa, as a single mom in Maryland before moving to Franconia. After a career as a legal secretary, Haddie joined Mount Calvary, serving as church secretary and soon became a member of the Mount Calvary singers, a popular local group made up of church members under the leadership of Pastor Charlie Wood.

Bob’s father, Robert Higham, Sr., and his twin brother, Bill, grew up on the family farm on Franconia Road and Beulah Street. The family donated the land for the present Franconia Elementary School in the 1930s. Family members, including Bob, Jr., still occupy homes on what was once part of the Higham farm. The tree was donated by Teri Adams, owner of Dominion Landscapers, in honor of her friend, Haddie. Pastor Wood came up with the idea to light the tree and name it “Haddie’s Holly.” Charlie and his helpers have the task each year of checking the strands of lights and stringing them on the holly. Santa Clause often finds time to join the tribute to Haddie!

The display is an inspiration to all who knew Haddie, of her infectious joyful, funny, generous and caring personality. She and Bob enjoyed dancing, music, church and time with friends. Remember Haddie as you pass the Little White Church by the side of the road this holiday season. Rededicate yourself to her enduring principles.

________________________________________
For previous stories, go to franconiamuseum.org and click on history blog.

FRANCONIA REMEMBERS
This is one of the Franconia Museum’s occasional articles highlighting the area’s history. If you would like a friend to receive these FREE articles, contact us at franconia.museum.newsletter@gmail.com Membership is also encouraged, so that we can continue our work. The Museum is in the Franconia Government Center, currently located at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22310. The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Museum is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, as approved by the Internal Revenue Service.

Join or contribute to the Franconia Museum electronically by accessing FranconiaMuseum.org and clicking on Become a Friend. You can also join the old-fashioned way by mailing a check made payable to the Franconia Museum to 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, VA, 22310. Levels of membership and giving are presented below.

The Museum will soon move into new quarters at the relocated Franconia Government Center on Beulah Street, near its intersection with the Franconia-Springfield Parkway. We need your help to make the move, so please consider making a contribution or becoming a member for 2025. Contributions in excess of the membership fee are encouraged. The Museum is a volunteer effort, but there are also costs for insurance of our artifacts, printing and postage. Please help!

2024 MEMBERSHIP DRIVE – PLEASE JOIN OR RENEW
Join us in celebrating our 23rd year of preserving and protecting the history of our unique community. Our collections are growing, and we are starting to purchase electronic equipment for displays that will be available in the new Franconia Govt. Center coming in 2025 next to Lane Elementary and Beulah Park. Make the move with us by becoming a member! Additional donations are especially welcome! We are a tax-exempt, volunteer organization. There are no fund-raising costs! Come see us and learn about our past, present and future! Join us as a new member, renew your 2024 membership, or become a Lifetime or Founding member. We need to fill vacancies on our Board of Directors, and need volunteers to help man the Museum on Mon-Tues-Wed-Sat.
 
Annual dues $25.00
Donation $_____________
Total Enclosed $_____________
or Lifetime Member…$350.00 (one-time payment)
or Founding Member…$1,000.00 (one-time payment)

Name............................................................................................................................................
 
Address.......................................................................................................................................
 
              .......................................................................................................................................
 
Phone.................................................. E-mail...........................................................................
 
Please complete application and mail with payment to
Franconia Museum, 6121 Franconia Rd, Franconia, VA 22310
 
Open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Questions: Call Carl Sell at 703-971-4716 or email sellcarl@aol.com

After World War II, it became apparent that the United States faced another threat involving the expansion of the Soviet Union. In response, the U.S. began a system to defend against attack that involved a ring of large anti-aircraft guns designed to protect the Nation’s Capital. Two were located in Franconia, and a third nearby in Lorton.

Each of the sites included four 90-millimeter guns. One was part of today’s Huntley Meadows Park near the intersection of Telegraph Road and North Kings Highway. The other was located where Key Middle School stands today. The sites were manned by regular army personnel from Fort Belvoir from 1950 until 1954.  

The Virginia National Guard took over the operation of the guns in 1954, and maintained them until 1964.  The anti-aircraft guns were then replaced by Nike missile sites in Lorton and on Popes Head Road in Fairfax, near its current intersection with the Fairfax County Parkway. For a short time, there were Nikes at the Key site.  Today’s deterrent missiles are in silos in the upper northwest area of the United States.

The National Guard contingent at each of the three sites numbered 40 technicians,  with 80 guardsmen for protection. Each site also included machine gun emplacement as well as the big guns. The Virginia National Guard contingent was headed by Captain James Young, who grew up on Beulah Street. He retired as a colonel and continued to live in Franconia until his death in 2017.

Much of the memorabilia from Jim Young’s military career is housed at the Franconia Museum. Included is a shell casing from one of the 90-milimeter guns that were used at the Huntley Meadows and Key sites.

Before he passed away, Jim Young wrote an informative article about growing up in Franconia, and the operation of the anti-aircraft and Nike missile sites.  It is included in Volume VIII of Franconia Remembers, which is on sale for only $10.00 at the Franconia Museum, 6121 Franconia Road.  The Museum is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  You can also order online at franconiamuseum.org.  Click on e-store.  There is an extra $5 charge for mailing

Although the Cold War waned in the early 1970s, recent incidents remind us of the tenuous thread between war and peace.  The Cold War is a reminder of how scary the threat of war really is.

FRANCONIA REMEMBERS
This is one of the Franconia Museum’s occasional articles highlighting the area’s history.  If you would no longer like to receive these FREE articles, contact us at franconia.museum.newsletter@gmail.com.  Memberships are also encouraged, so that we can continue our work.  The Museum is located in the Franconia Government Center, currently located at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22310.  The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Museum is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, as approved by the Internal Revenue Service.

It took a series of major miracles to save the life of Navy Radio Technician First Class Anthony Joseph “Mark” Goodheart while serving aboard the USS Gunnell submarine in the Pacific Ocean off the Philippines in early 1944.  Later, it took good fortune to bring Goodheart to Franconia, where he lived the rest of his life with wife Marilyn.  Both of them were deeply involved in local community organizations.

The Franconia Museum presents this tribute to Mark, as he was known to all in his native Montana, the Navy and Franconia, as part of our nation’s observation of Veterans’ Day 2024. Veterans are a major part of our community’s history, and many of their stories are related in our Franconia Remembers book series. In fact, much of the information for this article came from our Volume II book which is on sale at the Museum for only $10. Copies can be ordered electronically by clicking our e-store at franconiamuseum.org.
 
The miracle in the Pacific occurred when the submarine Gunnell, which had surfaced at night to charge its batteries, was attacked by Japanese patrol boats disguised as native fishing vessels. The captain ordered a quick dive, leaving several sailors, including Goodheart, on deck. Mark later wrote that he didn’t remember much about the incident. Although injured by shrapnel, he floated in the water for three days before making it to a nearby island. He was searching for a fresh water stream when he was surrounded by natives, fortunately friendly ones. They hid him and treated his wounds with native remedies.

Mark was then transported on a bamboo dinghy to what was to be a rendezvous point with an American sub. The vessel failed to show up so the group returned to the island. After 60 days, contact was successful, and the transfer was made at sea. Mark was taken to Perth, Australia for treatment.

Before the war, Mark was a sheepherder. He met Marilyn in Denver, Colorado, shortly before enlisting on July 4, 1942, when his deferment expired. Marilyn wrote to him often, including sending a poem while he was recovering in Australia. The two were married March 17, 1945. The poem is included in the Franconia Remembers book.

Mark was returned stateside, and he and Marilyn were married on March 17, 1945 in Great Falls, Montana. He was first transferred by the Navy to San Francisco and then New London, Connecticut, before being discharged. They moved to Washington, D.C., after the war ended and Mark went to work for the Commerce Department.

One of his workmates was Red Woolhiser, who lived on Valley View Drive in Franconia, and was active with the fire department. Mark visited Red’s home, and he and Marilyn liked the area and the rest is history.

Mark and his new neighbor and fellow veteran, Donald Walker, were drivers for the fledgling emergency service, often buying the gas for the ambulance so it could make a run. Marilyn was involved in the Ladies’ Auxiliary, raising money for expenses. Both were part of the Springfield-Franconia Lions Club, with Mark serving as president.

Mark had an incredible career with the Commerce Department’s Coast and Geodetic Survey, rising to the Directorship of the Research and Development Laboratory at the National Oceanographic Astronautical Administration. Along the way he chased whales with the famous Jacques Cousteau and traveled the world placing buoys to measure tides, current and salinity of the oceans.

Mark and Marilyn lived at the Greenspring Retirement Village in Springfield before passing away within hours of each other in December, 2008. Read more about this amazing Franconia couple in Franconia Remembers.

________________________________

FRANCONIA REMEMBERS
This is one of the Franconia Museum’s occasional articles highlighting the area history.  If you would like for a friend to receive these FREE articles, contact us at franconiamuseum@yahoo.com. Memberships also are encouraged so we can continue our work. The Museum is located in the Franconia Government Center, currently located at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22310. The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Museum is a 501 (c) 3 tax exempt organization as approved by the Internal Revenue Service

Join or contribute to the Franconia Museum electronically by accessing FranconiaMuseum.org and clicking on Become A Friend. You can also join the old fashioned way by mailing a check made payable to the Franconia Museum at 6121 Franconia Road 22310. Levels of memberships and giving are presented below.

The Museum soon will move into new quarters at the relocated Franconia Government Center on Beulah Street near its intersection with the Franconia-Springfield Parkway. We need your help to make the move, so please consider making a contribution or becoming a member for this year. Contributions in excess of the membership fee are encouraged and greatly appreciated.  The Museum is a volunteer effort, but there also are costs for insurance of our artifacts, printing and postage. Please help!

We are a tax-exempt, volunteer organization.  There are no fund-raising costs! Come see us and learn about our past, present and future! Join us as a new member, renew your 2024 membership, or become a Lifetime or Founding member.  We need to fill vacancies on our Board of Directors, and need volunteers to help man the Museum on Mon-Tues-Wed-Sat.
 
Annual dues $25.00        
Donation $______________      
Total Enclosed $_____________
 
or Lifetime Member…$350.00 (one time payment) ____________
or Founding Member…$1,000.00 (one time payment)__________

As we enter autumn you can start to feel a chill in the air that’s not just from your iced pumpkin coffees. October is a spooky time of year when we pay homage to the spirit realm all around us. Franconia has its share of haunted historic houses and unexplainable ghost stories that we would share with you.
 
One of our favorite ghost stories comes from the Broders family, who during the 19th century owned vast tracts of land stretching from Edison High School all the way past Backlick Road and the Springfield Plaza shopping center. The family patriarch, John Broders, built the family manor house called “Oak Grove” in 1825 where the Sunrise Assisted Living facility now stands next to Springfield Mall. Family legend says that if you should be driving past the family cemetery, you might see the wraith of John Broders rolling a keg of flaming whiskey through the cemetery and down to the creek through the Springfield Forest neighborhood. Exactly how many whiskeys you need to drink before the barrel starts flaming remains up for debate.

The late Edith Sprouse, a pre-eminent local historian, worked to develop a register of ghost sightings by interviewing several Washington Post reporters. Edith was drawn to the story of the Stoneybrooke house on South Kings Highway that was built by Commodore Walter Brooke, leader of the Virginia Navy during the American Revolution. The man who was the resident caretaker there has said they hear doors that won’t stay closed or open and they’ve heard lots of strange noises. Before Stoneybrooke was turned into a community center, the people who lived there said that they saw a coach and a team of white horses going around the driveway when it was foggy, and park employees still say to this day that there are strange, ghostly noises emanating at night from Stoneybrooke.

Ed Eichelberger, the first county caretaker for Stoneybrooke, reported that summer interns and one full landscaping crew stayed here about a year before the county remodeled this place. “I guess they had a rough time of it really. Mr. Queary, the foreman who was staying here, was using the library as a bedroom. The interns were staying in the basement where the big stone fireplace is located. Children’s toys would be thrown across the room. Things fall off the dresser, pick ‘em up, and put ‘em back on, and ten minutes later they’re back on the floor again.”
 
“Well, I understood that the interns after a while wouldn’t stay here, it spooked them too bad. Also, I guess these spirits or ghosts, whatever they may be, really gave Mr. Queary a hard time, because he finally had to give it up. He couldn’t stay here any longer.”
Belvale is another beautiful home on Telegraph Road, built in 1763 and still standing in the Lake Deveraux neighborhood. It belonged to George Johnston, who was George Washington’s attorney. So, of course, George Washington went there from time to time. George Johnston was also a close friend of Patrick Henry. They were political friends, and they discussed the situation during the upheaval of our nation’s birth. Belvale had its ghosts too. The ghost is supposed to be of George Washington sitting in the library, on a sofa reading a book.

Legend also has it that a duel took place on the property over an argument about seating at a formal dinner. One of the guests was killed in the duel and buried under a cedar tree. His ghost appears at the grave in the cedar grove on the second night of each month. Whatever the source of the spirits in the house, “everyone in the neighborhood knew of the ghost,” according to a 1964 newsletter in the Fairfax County Library. A little farther down the road toward the Hayfield neighborhood the Nevitt family reported several sightings, also in the fog, of a horseman with a beautiful girl riding behind him – only the horseman has no head. He was eloping with this girl, and in his great haste, he careened right into the fork of a tree. That decapitated him.

The most recent local sighting we could verify was the report of two jellyfish UFOs seen over the skies of Franconia in the summer of 2003. As reported in the Washington Post, “a husband and wife were traveling east on the Franconia-Springfield Parkway, and just passing the subway station. They noticed two strange cloud-like formations in the sky, and they were very noticeable, being that the sky was a rather cloudless blue. At first, they thought they were hot air balloons but then they noticed that the UFOs were somewhat thick in consistency since both were casting a shadow on the ground. The shape of these UFOs were identical to each other, their tops were circular in shape, as domes, and both had trails at their base, similar to tentacles from a jellyfish. They did not seem to move from their positions, static as they floated above.”

The Museum is looking for other scary, strange or bizarre stories about people and places in the Franconia Historical Area. Please send us a letter or an e-mail. We are also very interested in any stories, pictures, newspaper articles, documents and artifacts/items pertaining to Franconia History. We scan documents and pictures and return them to owners promptly. Artifacts/items do not have to be permanently donated to the museum but can be loaned for display. Please contact us and share what you know.            

                                                   ____________________

FRANCONIA REMEMBERS
This is one of the Franconia Museum’s occasional articles highlighting the area history.  If you would like for a friend to receive these FREE articles, contact us at franconiamuseum@yahoo.com. Memberships also are encouraged so we can continue our work. The Museum is located in the Franconia Government Center, currently located at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22310. The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Museum is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization as approved by the Internal Revenue Service

Join or contribute to the Franconia Museum electronically by accessing FranconiaMuseum.org and clicking on "Become A Friend". You can also join the old fashioned way by mailing a check made payable to the Franconia Museum at 6121 Franconia Road 22310. Levels of memberships and giving are presented below.
The Museum soon will move into new quarters at the relocated Franconia Government Center on Beulah Street near its intersection with the Franconia-Springfield Parkway. We need your help to make the move, so please consider making a contribution or becoming a member for this year. Contributions in excess of the membership fee are encouraged and greatly appreciated.  The Museum is a volunteer effort, but there also are costs for insurance of our artifacts, printing and postage. Please help!

We are a tax-exempt, volunteer organization.  There are no fund-raising costs! Come see us and learn about our past, present and future! Join us as a new member, renew your 2024 membership, or become a Lifetime or Founding member.  We need to fill vacancies on our Board of Directors, and  need volunteers to help man the Museum on Mon-Tues-Wed-Sat.
 
Annual dues $25.00        
Donation $______________      
Total Enclosed $_____________
 
or  Lifetime Member…$350.00 (one time payment) ____________
or Founding Member…$1,000.00 (one time payment)__________

The parents and grandparents of today’s older Franconia residents would scarcely recognize the area today. Almost every square foot of land has been built on, and the housing zealots are looking to maximize density on what little is left, and even on what has already been developed.

Back in the day, meaning from the World Wars and the Depression, Franconia was a farming community with a few railroad jobs. Poor people scratched out a living as farmers. That began to change with the coming of Fort Belvoir after World War I. Farmers made it through the 1930s and World War II, but it wasn’t easy.

That began to change in the late 1940s when people were attracted to the Washington region because of government jobs. Housing wasn’t plentiful, so the newcomers literally took things into their own hands.

The boarded-up little house pictured with this article will soon become part of a townhouse development. It is located on Beulah Street near the Franconia-Springfield Parkway, and across the street from the new government center. The house was built in the late 1940s by the Taylor family.

A man and his wife would buy a plot of land, say one-half acre for $800 in the late 1940s, and build a small house. There was no electricity, public water or sewer, so they hand dug wells and septic fields. As the family grew, so did the size of the house.

Among them were the Hakenson’s, who bought almost an acre, and the Wilsons, who each bought in Windsor Estates and set about building from scratch. Hakenson had his own hand-cranked cement mixer that no doubt was borrowed by many of his neighbors.  Much of the wood from the Hakenson home came from a house that was being razed to accommodate a ramp for the new Shirley Highway.

Harry and Mary Katherine Hakenson would raise eight children in the home-made house, expanding it as the family grew. Seven of the kids were boys, one of which, Don, is now a vice president of the Franconia Museum. Jim and Helen Wilson had an adopted daughter, Debbie, who as a youngster helped build the home. Either she or her mother ran the office for Joe Alexander in each of his 32 years as Lee District Supervisor. Debbie also served as a vice president of the Museum.

There were several small houses on the property when Cary Nalls’ grandparents bought what would become Nalls Produce. They remain today. Cary is a member of the Museum’s Board of Directors. Grandparents Carroll and Mattie Nalls built an even smaller house for Mattie’s father, Arthur, who was prone to break out with music on his fiddle at night when others wanted to sleep. That house still remains. Before she was married, Mattie’s family would move furniture out of their homestead nearby so  there would be room for musicians and dancing.

Judy Hutchinson still lives on the property near the Moose Lodge that belonged to her family. When her father came home from World War II, he built a small house there, and then went to work as a carpenter for the developers of Hybla Valley, Virginia Hills, and the new Rose Hill subdivision, which began in the early 1950s. Judy is the secretary of the Museum and is responsible for the organization and editing of its published articles, including this one!

Before there was a Beltway, and even for a little while afterward, there was a small community on Las Vegas Street off Quaker Lane before you came to Cameron Run.  Marti Hall, now the wife of Museum President Carl Sell, spent her teenage years there in a house built by her grandfather. Nearby was the Cash family, also in a homemade house. After the Beltway was built, the enclave was reached via bridge. That lasted until Alexandria annexed the area and the houses were demolished for flood control and development. Residents previously reached Alexandria by fording Cameron Run.

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Join or contribute to the Franconia Museum electronically by accessing FranconiaMuseum.org and clicking on Become A Member. You can also join the old-fashioned way by mailing a check made payable to the Franconia Museum on 6121 Franconia Road 22310. Levels of memberships and giving are presented below.

The Museum soon will move into new quarters at the relocated Franconia Government Center on Beulah Street near its intersection with the Franconia-Springfield Parkway. We need your help to make the move, so please consider making a contribution or becoming a member for this year. Contributions in excess of the membership fee are encouraged and greatly appreciated.  The Museum is a volunteer effort, but there also are costs for insurance of our artifacts, printing and postage. Please help!

We are a tax-exempt, volunteer organization.  There are no fund-raising costs! Come see us and learn about our past, present and future! Join us as a new member, renew your 2024 membership, or become a Lifetime or Founding member.  We need to fill vacancies on our Board of Directors, and need volunteers to help man the Museum on Mon-Tues-Wed-Sat.
 
Annual dues $25.00        
Donation $______________      
Total Enclosed $_____________
 
or Lifetime Member…$350.00 (one-time payment) ____________
or Founding Member…$1,000.00 (one-time payment)__________

FRANCONIA REMEMBERS
This is one of the Franconia Museum’s occasional articles highlighting the area history.  If you would like for a friend to receive these FREE articles, contact us at FranconiaMuseum@yahoo.com. Memberships also are encouraged so we can continue our work. The Museum is located in the Franconia Government Center, currently located at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22310. The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Museum is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization as approved by the Internal Revenue Service.

The current Olivet Chapel is the fourth Chapel built by the Episcopalians in Franconia. Two that were built on part of the Bush Hill estate in the 1850s were dismantled by Union troops during the Civil War in order to obtain wood for shelter and firewood. A third was built on what is now Bush Hill Drive near Westchester Street after the war, but failed to survive during difficult economic times.

The current Chapel was built on land purchased for $5 from William W. Boyce and his wife, Mary Ellen, just before Boyce died in 1890. The Boyces had lived at nearby Ashland since the end of the Civil War. Ashland was built in 1820. Boyce was a member of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina before the Civil War, then resigned to represent his home state in the Confederate Congress in 1861, although he had opposed secession. After the war, the Boyces moved to Fairfax County where he practiced law, and was required to make appearances before the United States Supreme Court.

Services are held each Sunday at Olivet beginning at 8 a.m. Drop by the Chapel some Sunday and experience the history of Franconia in a religious setting. Conjure up thoughts of the members of the surrounding Franconia farming community taking a break in their daily lives to count their blessings! A later trip to the Museum will show and tell you how they lived their lives.

Join or contribute to the Franconia Museum electronically by accessing franconiamuseum.org and clicking on Become A Member. You can also join the old fashion way by mailing a check made payable to the Franconia Museum to 6121 Franconia Road, Franconia, VA 22310. Levels of memberships and giving are presented below. The Museum will soon move into new quarters at the relocated Franconia Government Center on Beulah Street near its intersection with the Franconia-Springfield Parkway. We need your help to make the move, so please consider making a contribution or becoming a member for this year. Contributions in excess of the membership fee are encouraged.  The Museum is a volunteer effort, but there are also costs for insurance of our artifacts, printing and postage. Please help!

FRANCONIA REMEMBERS:
This is one of the Franconia Museum’s occasional articles highlighting the area’s history. If you would like for a friend to receive these FREE articles, contact us at franconia.museum.newsletter@gmail.com. Memberships are also encouraged, so that we can continue our work. The Museum is located in the Franconia Government Center, currently located at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22310. The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Museum is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, as approved by the Internal Revenue Service.

The Franconia Museum is pleased to announce that Carolyn Banks Summers, a native of Franconia who grew up in Hayfield, has joined its Board of Directors.

Carolyn and her 14 fellow members of the Board will continue to work to preserve, protect and promote our cherished section of Fairfax County, Virginia.  Joining Carolyn on the Board are Carl Sell, President, Don Hakenson and Nathaniel Lee, Vice Presidents, Judy Hutchinson, Secretary and Jane Higham, Treasurer. Other members are Cary Nalls, Charlie Wood, Joyce and Bob Young, Carol Hakenson, Steve Sherman, Phyllis Walker Ford, Mary Smith and Jeff Langley.

“Carolyn brings another unique perspective to our Board,” President Sell said while announcing her appointment. The Banks Family will be remembered in perpetuity in Franconia and Hayfield now that the Banks Family Park, once a large gathering estate for the Banks family and their friends, is available for all as a “Special Place for Future Generations to Enjoy.”

The 10-acre property now belongs to the Fairfax County Park Authority through an acquisition arrangement that benefitted both the County and the family. The pastural setting in the midst of townhouse developments is already a favorite for those seeking nature’s quiet vibes.

Carolyn attended Browne Academy, Hayfield Elementary and Hayfield Secondary in Franconia. She spent a year at Bowie State University before transferring to the University of Maryland at College Park, where she earned a degree in African- American Studies and Photojournalism in 1983. Her career included work for MCI Telecommunications, and as administrator of a Christian School in Temple Hills, Maryland.

Carolyn’s parents, Olander and Margaret Lomax Banks, were married in 1941 and settled in Alexandria. Olander owned a cab company and Margaret worked at the Torpedo Factory on Alexandria’s waterfront. Olander also worked for Washington Gas before starting his own trucking company. That led to Banks Auto Repair and Banks Auto Parts, the latter of which became a highly successful Black-owned business that made Olander a multi-millionaire.

Olander and Margaret had nine children, all of whom have worked in the family business. Carolyn served as her father’s caretaker in the last years of his life and continues to help manage Banks Family Investment Properties. Olander and Margaret bought the Old Telegraph Road property in 1957 and lived in a small house there before a 27-room home was finished in 1963.

Carolyn and Hosea L. Summers were married in the large home on the occasion of her parents’ 50th wedding anniversary in 1991. They have two children, daughter Lindsay and son Robert, both graduates of Hayfield Secondary School. Both Hosea and Carolyn are retired, he after 27 years with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro). She is currently the Ambassador of Sales Supervisor for the McCormick and Schmick’s Restaurant location in National Harbor.

Join or contribute to the Franconia Museum electronically by accessing FranconiaMuseum.org and clicking on Become A Member.

FRANCONIA REMEMBERS:
This is one of the Franconia Museum’s occasional articles highlighting the area’s history. If you would like a friend to receive these FREE articles, contact us at franconia.museum.newsletter@gmail.com and membership is also encouraged, so that we can continue our work. The Museum is in the Franconia Government Center, currently located at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22310. The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Museum is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, as approved by the Internal Revenue Service.

Here are a few updates from the Franconia Museum this summer:

Moose Lodge Supports Museum!
Franconia Lodge #1076, Loyal Order of Moose, has made a substantial contribution to the Franconia Museum. The Board of Directors of the Franconia Museum thanks the Moose for their support. The Moose has a long history in Franconia, and its members have contributed greatly to the area’s history. We will document the Moose Lodge’s Franconia history in an upcoming issue of our Museum newsletter!

Webmaster Needed!
The Museum has a website, the cost of which is underwritten by Rob Heittman. Rob is the son of Bob Heitman, one of the founders of the organization. We would like to better utilize the website with frequent updates about Franconia history news and continue to archive our newsletters. We are blessed to have our occasional e-mail history items disseminated by Bob and Kelly Hakenson. We want to augment that service with periodic announcements on the website. The item of business will be to update our current website, making it easier to become a member, buy a book or item, or communicate with the Board of Directors. If you can help, please contact Museum president Carl Sell at sellcarl@aol.com or 703-971-4716. Your help will be greatly appreciated.

Volunteers Needed:
We are seeking volunteers to serve as docents during the hours we are currently open (10-2 on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday). We will expand hours if we have more volunteers. Call Carl Sell, call Don Hakenson (703-971-4984), or e-mail Don at dhakenson@verizon.net. Knowledge about Franconia will make it easy! We will provide information on the artifacts.

Mary Smith Update:
Long-time resident and Museum committee member Mary Smith remains in Mount Vernon Rehabilitation Center, recovering from her second surgery since January. The Rehab Center is located behind Mount Vernon Hospital. Mary would love to see neighbors from Rose Hill and Franconia. Ask for Mary’s room at the front desk.

Previously Read Books Needed:
The Museum’s stock of previously read books is low. Please donate any books you no longer need. We will resell them for a fraction of the original cost and add the revenue to our treasury. Novels are particularly popular, including those of a historical nature. Drop your book donations by the Museum at your convenience. If the Museum is closed, leave them at the door, along with the name of the donor. Our previously read book collection is a popular item and a fund-raiser for the Museum!

Vacation at O. C., Support the Museum:
Carl Sell has a two bedroom, two bath condo at Ocean City, MD, that he is willing to rent to Museum members and supporters only. The condo is on the first floor of a two-story building that has plenty of parking and a pool. The complex is in North Ocean City near the Delaware line, only four short blocks from the Atlantic Ocean. The cost to Museum supporters is $600 per week (Sunday to Sunday), with $100 of that being donated to the Museum. The condo is perfect for small families, or adults who like a quiet vacation spot. Internet and TV Streaming are available. This offer is restricted to Franconia Museum members and supporters and is not transferable. Call or e-mail Carl for availability and/or more information.

Civil War Tours Raise Funds for Museum:
Over the years, the Both Sides Tours to nearby Civil War sites have raised more than $8,000 for the Franconia Museum. The next tour will be to Gettysburg on Saturday, October 26, 2024, and will cover the second day of the famous battle. The cost of $125.00 includes a seat on the bus and an all-you-can-eat lunch stop. Don Hakenson, Ben Trittipoe and Carl Sell serve as commentators on this popular tour. Contact Don for information and reserve a seat on the October 26 tour!

January marked the beginning of the Franconia Museum’s annual membership drive. We can’t do it without your support, so please consider becoming a member for this year. Contributions in excess of the membership fee are encouraged. The Museum is a volunteer, but there are costs for insurance of our artifacts, printing and postage. Please help! Join or Renew with the application below.

2024 MEMBERSHIP DRIVE – PLEASE JOIN OR RENEW:
Join us in celebrating our 23rd year of preserving and protecting the history of our unique community. Our collections are growing, and we are starting to purchase electronic equipment for displays that will be available in the new Franconia Govt. Center coming in 2024 next to Lane Elementary and Beulah Park. Make the move with us by becoming a member! Additional donations are especially welcome! We are a tax-exempt volunteer organization. There are no fund-raising costs! Come see us and learn about our past, present and future! Join us as a new member, renew your 2024 membership, or become a Lifetime or Founding member. We need to fill vacancies on our Board of Directors, and need volunteers to help man the Museum on Mon-Tues-Wed-Sat.

MUSEUM UPDATES:
This is an update on activities involving the Franconia Museum. If you would like for a friend to receive these FREE e-mail articles, please contact us at franconiamuseum@yahoo.com Membership is also encouraged so that we can continue our work. The Museum is located in the Franconia Government Center, currently located at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22310. The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Museum is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, as approved by the Internal Revenue Service.

(A Fairfax County Public Library in Rose Hill)

John Marshall Library first opened in 1963 as a storefront in the Rose Hill Shopping Center.  The current permanent site first opened in 1975 and has been upgraded twice. In 1987, the heating and air conditioning system was improved and changes were made to comply with accessibility requirements.  In early 2017, the library closed to accommodate a $6.3 million renovation and expansion. When it reopened on October 27, 2018, the building has an additional 1,400 square feet of space along with the reorganization of existing space for better efficiency and accommodation for public meeting space and new technology.  The new library consists of 14,700 square feet and will include 44,000 items.  Visitors have access to 12 computers, a Wi-fi Bar with charging stations and additional electrical sockets and USB ports.

Responding to an RHCA request and endorsed by then Supervisor Jeff McKay, the new building includes a roll-down security gate that separates the library from the meeting room area, allowing after-hours community use by permit.

John Marshall History:
Born the first of 15 children of Thomas Marshall and Mary Randolph Keith in rural Fauquier County in 1755, Marshall was home-schooled except for one year at Campbell Academy in Westmoreland Country where future President James Monroe was a classmate. When the Revolutionary War broke out, Marshall joined the Continental Army and was wounded leading a charge at the Battle of Brandywine.

In 1780, Marshall studied law by attending Judge George Wythe’s lectures at the College of William & Mary. It was the only formal education in law that Marshall received. He was admitted to the Virginia Bar that same year and later served in the Virginia General Assembly and the House of Delegates. After first turning down several federal appointments and an appointment to the United States Supreme Court, Marshall served briefly in the United States House of Representatives and was named Secretary of State under President John Adams in 1800. He was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by Adams in 1801. During his 34 years as Chief Justice, the Court delivered more than 1,000 decisions, several of which established the court as the ultimate authority in interpreting the Constitution.

John Marshall was married in 1783 and had seven children with his wife. He died in 1835 and is buried in Richmond with his wife, Mary Willis Ambler.

2024 MEMBERSHIP DRIVE – PLEASE JOIN OR RENEW:
Join us in celebrating our 23rd year of preserving and protecting the history of our unique community. Our collections are growing, and we are starting to purchase electronic equipment for displays that will be available in the new Franconia Govt. Center coming in 2024 next to Lane Elementary and Beulah Park. Make the move with us by becoming a member! Additional donations are especially welcome! We are a tax-exempt, volunteer organization. There are no fund-raising costs! Come see us and learn about our past, present and future! Join us as a new member, renew your 2024 membership, or become a Lifetime or Founding member. We need to fill vacancies on our Board of Directors, and need volunteers to help man the Museum on Mon-Tues-Wed-Sat.

FRANCONIA REMEMBERS:
This is one of the Franconia Museum’s occasional articles highlighting the area’s history. If you would like a friend to receive these FREE articles, contact us at franconia.museum.newsletter@gmail.com Membership is also encouraged, so that we can continue our work. The Museum is in the Franconia Government Center, currently located at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22310. The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Museum is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, as approved by the Internal Revenue Service.

The recent passing of Roni Stoneman, long-time star performer on the nationally televised “Hee Haw” series, brought back memories of the difficulties of the Depression and World War II eras in Franconia for her family and neighbors. The Stoneman’s lived along the RF&P railroad tracks from the mid-1930s to the early 1940s.

Ernest (Pop) Stoneman, his wife, Hattie Elvina Frost Stoneman and a family that eventually included 13 children, moved here from Galax, in southwestern Virginia. They brought with them a form of mountain music called Bluegrass that became a hit that is still popular today.

Pop and Hattie were married in 1918, when they began playing music for the enjoyment of family, friends and neighbors. That led to notoriety, record contracts and a blossoming career. The Depression ended those dreams, and Pop headed to the Washington, D.C., area in search of work. Hattie and the children soon followed when Pop found work as a carpenter, and eventually regular employment at the Naval Gun factory.

Donna, who would later join Roni as female leads in a family band, was born in Alexandria in 1934. As of this writing, she is the lone remaining living family member. Roni was born in 1938 in Washington, D.C. The 1940 Census records show the Stoneman’s living in Franconia, then part of the Mount Vernon District. As the family grew, Pop made musical instruments for each of the kids, and they were all instant hits at local gatherings. Members of the family performed at local clubs, including Ward’s Corner on Franconia Road, sometimes playing for leftover food. There, they joined with such stars as Roy Clark, Jimmy Dean and Grandpa Jones to elevate Bluegrass to the top music charts.

Times were tough back then. Mom made clothes for the kids while Pop worked. Both played music in what little spare time they had. Houses were small in Franconia in those days, and Roni wrote that she remembered sleeping crossways on a bed with four or five of her siblings. The Stoneman’s and other neighbors picked up coal that had fallen off passing railroad cars to use as heating fuel. The family moved to suburban Maryland where Pop built them a house. They became popular entertainers in area clubs, especially The Famous at Twelfth Street and New York Avenue in the District. There they played for tips, asking fans to support the group by putting coins in what they called “The Pot to Pitch In.” One night, Roni recalled, they collected 56 dollars.

The Stoneman’s then appeared on national stages, including Disneyland in California. and the Grand Old Opry in Nashville. Roni then became a TV star while Donna concentrated on religious venues. They often appeared together with Roni on banjo and Donna playing the mandolin. Because of their musical popularity, the Stoneman’s were able to recover more quickly than others from the dark days in Franconia history. Others took longer, but hard work paid off, and our ancestors were able to leave behind a thriving community that we enjoy today. The Museum’s Franconia Remembers book series records those stories, as told by those who lived through them. The books are only $10 each and can be ordered online at franconiamuseum.org or by clicking on e-store.

January marked the beginning of the Franconia Museum’s annual membership drive. We can’t do it without your support, so please consider becoming a member for this year. Contributions more than the membership fee are encouraged. The Museum is a volunteer effort, but there are costs for insurance of our artifacts, printing and postage. Please help! Join or Renew with the application below.

2024 MEMBERSHIP DRIVE – PLEASE JOIN OR RENEW:
Join us in celebrating our 23rd year of preserving and protecting the history of our unique community. Our collections are growing, and we are starting to purchase electronic equipment for displays that will be available in the new Franconia Govt. Center coming in 2024 next to Lane Elementary and Beulah Park. Make the move with us by becoming a member! Additional donations are especially welcome! We are a tax-exempt volunteer organization. There are no fund-raising costs! Come see us and learn about our past, present and future! Join us as a new member, renew your 2024 membership, or become a Lifetime or Founding member. We need to fill vacancies on our Board of Directors, and need volunteers to help man the Museum on Mon-Tues-Wed-Sat.

FRANCONIA REMEMBERS:
This is one of the Franconia Museum’s occasional articles highlighting the area’s history. If you would like a friend to receive these FREE articles, contact us at franconia.museum.newsletter@gmail.com. Memberships are also encouraged, so that we can continue our work. The Museum is in the Franconia Government Center, currently located at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22310. The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Museum is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, as approved by the Internal Revenue Service.

During World War II, the United States authenticated Adolph Hitler’s voice on radio broadcasts at a clandestine spy operation headquartered at the Bush Hill estate in what was then part of Franconia. Bush Hill no longer exists, and the land it occupied is near Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria. The house was located on ground that was part of a land granted by Lord Fairfax in 1706.

Ernst (Putzi) Hanfstangz, former Counselor of Foreign Affairs for Hitler’s Nazi regime, lived under guard at the Bush Hill house, which had been leased from the Gunnell family. He was a graduate of Harvard University, and an accomplished pianist and art dealer who was born in Germany. He was part of Hitler’s movement in the 1930s that gained control of the government.

After falling out of favor and fearing assassination, Putzi escaped to Switzerland in 1937. He then went to Great Britain where he was arrested and jailed as a foreign spy. The British then sent him to Canada before he was transferred to the United States to provide information to President Franklin Roosevelt and the American government about Hitler and his fellow Nazi leaders. He listened to German broadcasts to authenticate Hitler’s voice, and wrote long reports describing the German leader and his fellow Nazi leaders. Included was Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s right-hand man whom Putzi had disparaged in public and feared retribution. Roosevelt reportedly was fascinated by the reports and brought Hanfstangz to the White House for consultations on several occasions.

While at Bush Hill, Hanfstangz was guarded by a contingent of soldiers from Fort Belvoir. The house was in a remote location, reachable only by a long road from Franconia Road that crossed the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad tracks. The mailbox was on Franconia Road. Bush Hill was equipped with a large antenna so German broadcasts could be intercepted.

Hanfstangz’ mother, Katherine Wilhemina Heine, was an American and a descendant of Civil War Union General John Sedgwick. Hanfstangz married Helene Elise Niemeyer from Long Island, NY, and they had two children before being divorced in 1936.

Ironically, a son, Eyon Ludwig, served as a member of the United States Air Corps during World War II, helping prepare plans for war-time missions. The elder Hanfstangz was released after the war and became an art dealer in New York City. He died in 1976.

The Bush Hill house was burned by vandals in 1977. The only remaining indication of its history is a marker along Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria. You can read more about the house by visiting Franconiamuseum.org. Click on newsletters and go to the Fall 2018 issue index.

January marked the beginning of the Franconia Museum’s annual membership drive. We can’t do it without your support, so please consider becoming a member for this year. Contributions in excess of the membership fee are encouraged. The Museum is a volunteer effort, but there are costs for insurance of our artifacts, printing and postage. Please help! Join or Renew with the application below.

2024 MEMBERSHIP DRIVE – PLEASE JOIN OR RENEW:
Join us in celebrating our 23rd year of preserving and protecting the history of our unique community. Our collections are growing, and we are starting to purchase electronic equipment for displays that will be available in the new Franconia Govt. Center coming in 2024 next to Lane Elementary and Beulah Park. Make the move with us by becoming a member! Additional donations are especially welcome! We are a tax-exempt volunteer organization. There are no fund-raising costs! Come see us and learn about our past, present and future! Join us as a new member, renew your 2024 membership, or become a Lifetime or Founding member. We need to fill vacancies on our Board of Directors, and need volunteers to help man the Museum on Mon-Tues-Wed-Sat.

FRANCONIA REMEMBERS:
This is one of the Franconia Museum’s occasional articles highlighting the area’s history. If you would like a friend to receive these FREE articles, contact us at franconia.museum.newsletter@gmail.com. Membership is also encouraged, so that we can continue our work. The Museum is located in the Franconia Government Center, currently located at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22310. The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Museum is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, as approved by the Internal Revenue Service.

An Amazing Local Story for Black History Month -

The obituary was unusual in that Negro Tom, who was otherwise known as Tom Fuller, had never been anywhere near Boston.  He died almost 500 miles away in Fairfax County, Virginia, near Alexandria, where he had lived out his entire adult life.  A search through the Alexandria newspaper of the time yields no mention of a Tom Fuller.  One must look elsewhere (to county tax and probate records first) for the story of this man with the remarkable mind -- an arithmetical prodigy in any century.

Tom Fuller was born in Africa in 1710 near the present-day border between Benin and Liberia.  At the age of 14, he was brought to Alexandria, then a small town in His Majesty's Colony of Virginia and sold into a lifetime of slavery.  He worked his entire life as a field hand.  For most of these years he was owned by Presley and Elizabeth Cox, a childless couple who presided over a 232-acre farm, four miles from Old Town Alexandria, spanning what is today the Burgundy neighborhood of Franconia and the Eisenhower West neighborhood of Alexandria.

Very early in his adult life, Fuller taught himself calculation -- first counting to ten, then to one hundred.  In the limited world of a field slave, he sought some way to use his new discovery, and began by investigating a cow's tail.  He counted the hairs -- exactly 2872, as he recalled years later.  He then amused himself by counting a bushel of wheat and a bushel of flax seed, grain by grain.  In some fashion, short of genius, he developed a new technique of multiplication for the number of poles, yards, feet, inches for any given distance, including the diameter of the earth's orbit!

Mrs. Cox, herself illiterate, realized that Tom, the slave, possessed a talent which ought to be put to practical use, and she eventually employed him in all aspects of plantation life. How many shingles for the new roof?  How many poles and rails to enclose the meadow? How much corn is it to seed a designated field?  The answers were immediate, and always correct.

As the years passed, rumors of this remarkable slave moved throughout the countryside, and many offers were made to the Cox family to purchase Tom.  But his owners always declined these offers, and Tom Fuller acknowledged his gratitude for their refusal to sell him.

In December 1782, Presley Cox died.  His death is of interest here because the inventory of his estate lists just one of the 16 slaves for which he was taxed in 1782.  "Negro Tom" heads the list of personal property, with a value of bolster, and well above the numerous lesser items such as a looking glass, a pewter teapot and assorted furniture.  Tom Fuller, as well as most of the other slaves, remained on the land with Elizabeth Cox.

In 1777, a Philadelphia Quaker and businessman, William Hartshorne, moved his large family from Philadelphia to Alexandria.  What has William Hartshorne to do with Tom Fuller?  Much, as it turns out.  From the scattered references, we can infer that William Hartshorne was, at the very least, a closet abolitionist.  He and three fellow Quakers traveled from Philadelphia to meet the slave known for his arithmetic feats.  One of the visitors took notes and made calculations on paper, and the others fired questions at the gray-haired old slave. First question: How many seconds are there in a year and a half?  In about two minutes came Tom Fuller's reply -- 47,304,000.  Next question: How many seconds has a man lived who is seventy years, seventeen days and twelve hours old?  Fuller's answer -- 2,210,500,800 -- came in a minute and a half.  "Objection," called the recorder, who was busily multiplying on paper.  He challenged Fuller's answer as being too large.  But Fuller retorted promptly, "massa, you forget de leap years." By adding the seconds of the leap years, the recorder finally acknowledged the correctness of Fuller's result.

The final question was proposed to Fuller: Suppose a farmer has six sows and each sow has six female pigs the first year, and they all increase in the same proportion each year.  At the end of the eighth year, how many sows will the farmer have? The question was stated in such a way that Fuller misinterpreted it.  As soon as the statement was clarified, his lightning mind responded: 34,588,806.  (No wonder that Fuller misinterpreted the question. The use of "proportion" in this context is ambiguous.)

Filled with awe before this modest old man, the Philadelphians picked up their notes and took their leave.  As they departed, one of the visitors remarked what a pity it was that this man had been denied an education.  Perhaps demeaning himself too much, old Tom Fuller disagreed: "No, massa -- it is best I got no learning, for many learned men be great fools."

William Hartshorne's colleagues returned to Philadelphia and immediately called on Dr. Benjamin Rush, one of the leading abolitionists of the day, who presently turned their report into a letter to the Abolitionist Society of Pennsylvania, from whence it was transmitted to the London Abolitionist Society.  For a moment late in his life, this modest black man became a cause celebre on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

In 1790, he died at the age of 80 years, having never learned to read or write, despite his extraordinary power of calculation.  So, when Tom Fuller's epitaph came out of Boston, this elegy was included:  "Thus died Negro Tom, this self-taught arithmetician, this untutored Scholar! -- Had his opportunities of improvement been equal to those of thousands of his fellowmen, neither the Royal Society of London, the Academy of Science at Paris, nor even Newton himself, need have been ashamed to acknowledge him a Brother in Science."

January marked the beginning of the Franconia Museum’s annual membership drive. We can’t do it without your support, so please consider becoming a member for this year. Contributions of more than the membership fee would be greatly appreciated. The Museum is a volunteer effort, but there are costs for insurance of our artifacts, printing and postage. Please help! Join or Renew with the application below.

2024 MEMBERSHIP DRIVE – PLEASE JOIN OR RENEW:
Join us in celebrating our 23rd year of preserving and protecting the history of our unique community. Our collections are growing, and we are starting to purchase electronic equipment for displays that will be available in the new Franconia Govt. Center coming in 2024 next to Lane Elementary and Beulah Park. Make the move with us by becoming a member! Additional donations are especially welcome! We are a tax-exempt volunteer organization. There are no fund-raising costs! Come see us and learn about our past, present and future! Join us as a new member, renew your 2024 membership, or become a Lifetime or Founding member. We need to fill vacancies on our Board of Directors, and need volunteers to help man the Museum on Mon-Tues-Wed-Sat.

FRANCONIA REMEMBERS:
This is one of the Franconia Museum’s occasional articles highlighting the area’s history. If you would like a friend to receive these FREE articles, contact us at franconia.museum.newsletter@gmail.com. Membership is also encouraged, so that we can continue our work. The Museum is in the Franconia Government Center, currently located at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22310. The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Museum is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, as approved by the Internal Revenue Service.