Evening star., 1917-10-21

ridge. but because Arlington stands on
a part of 1t. and by calling 1t that
is meant. And just a mile from where
the old road reaches the crest OF the
ridge It crosses road which leads from
Balls cross roads, out of which the
town of Ballston has developed, to the
Leesburg and Alexandria pike, which 1t
enters about half a mile north OF the
Episcopal Theological Seminary. This
road is one of the old ways In the
Washington region. and one may travel
over 1t from the Georgetown and Lees
burg pike. from which it branches at
the ancient Faulkner forge, about two
miles west of Chain bridge. 1t crosses
Pimmit run where Nelson's mill stood
during the British sack Of Washington
in August, 1914 and in which certain
government records were concealed.
After leaving the site of Nelson's mill
it crosses the Great Falls electric rail-
way at Rixey. passes through Living
ston Heights, leaves Halls hill on the
north hand, leads in front of Olivet
Chapel. called in modern times Mount
Olivet Church. and intersects the Alex
andria and Leesburg pike. Near this
junction of the roads-that is. about 200
yards west of it-a road leads south
one land a quarter miles to the Little
River turnpike, which. if followed, Will
carry pilgrims from Alexandria west by
way of Annandale, Fairfax. Chantilly
to Aldie, gap in the Bull Run noun
tains. and on through the Blue Ridge
to the Valley OF Virginia.
The Columbia pike. after crossing the
road here sketched. leads west another
mile to Bancroft, station on what is
now the Bluemont division of the Old
Dominion railway, but which was built
as the Loudoun and Hampshire railroad.
In other days the town of Bancroft was
called Arlington Mills. That was the
civil war name of the place, but long
before that 1t was called Custis Mill. 1t
having been the property of George
Washington Parke Custis. builder OF
Arlington House, and the man who gave
to the tract which his father, John
Parke Custis, bought from Gerard Alex
ander at about the year of the begin
ming of the American revolution. the
name of Arlington, III memory or an
other Arlington House in Northampton
county Virginia, which was the first
home of the Custis family in Virginia
Bancroft is an old family name in that
part of the environs OF Washington ana
during the civil war this family owned
an extensive tract of land along the head
waters of Holmes run. south of Munsons
hill and northeast of Masons hin. The
Barcrofts had a mill close to the point
where the Columbia turnpike crossed
Holmes run 1t was the damming of
Holmes run and its easterly branch.
Trips run, at this point. which created
rhe Alexandria city reservoir. Acres of
the old Bancroft land lie at the
bottom of that reservoir. This is about
two miles southwest of the present town
of Bancroft. which was called Arlington
Mills At Baileys Cross Roads the Co
lumbia pike bsects the Leesburg and
Alexandria pike, and three miles west and
south of that point il enters the Little
River turnpike. seven miles west of Alex
andria at the point where Padgett's
tavern stood during the civil war. and
for many years before. Thus. the Co
lunbia turnpike, though a short road. is
important in that in its southwesterly
course it intersects those main east and