Evening star., 1927-05-29

Heights which appealed to him be-
cause of the splendid scenic possibili-
ties it offered. He purchased 1t at a
price that seemed exorbitant in those
days, although it would be extremely
cheap today.
Admiral Rixey clung to the property
through discouraging years. The
longer he lived there the more dis
tinct became his vision of an Arling-
ton County which would constitute an
He was obliged to ride horseback to
and from Washington through a coun-
try infested with bad men" as pic
turesque as those of the middle border.
There was, for instance, the appro-
priately named valley just below the
present Lyon Village toward Wash
ington on the Lee Highway-"Dead
Mans Hollow" 1t was a place Of
hold-ups and murders.
40 Years Ago.
This was 40 years ago. There was
no means of communication with the
Capital. DR.. Rixey, who had fire.
quent night calls to the bedsides of
patients in Washington. constructed
his own telephone line with poles cut
from his farm. How he got his wire
across Highway Bridge, he says, still
is a secret. 1t was accomplished as
a personal favor by patient familiar
with the construction of the bridge.
The first concrete fruit of Admiral
Rixey's vision came in 1908, when the
Washington Golf and Country Club
was located in what had been his COW
pasture. This in the intervening
cd
most pretentious home development
in the country, the great growth Of
which has come since the World War.
Admiral Rixey now is enjoying the
elimination of his vision. His home,
topping the hill above the country
club and surrounded with spacious
lawns and gardens. is one of the most
beautiful in nearby Virginia. But he
looks ahead to greater days. He is
one of the most enthusiastic hackers
of the "City of Arlington" project. and
is anxious to see a city plan, with pro-
vision for spacious parks, to guide
the real estate development.
Men Of Vision.
From the repelling desolation first
seen by Mr.. Douglas has evolved the
garden spot which now crowns the
J.
ton. For more than 80 years 1t had
made barely noticeable progress. The
National Capital, in so far as 1t ex-
panded at all, was moving in other d.
rections. But the desolated land was
not without its men Of vision who
looked down upon the great dome
across the river and foresaw the day
when the tides of the city would
sweep I'D TO them.
Credit for the evolution Of Arlington
County must be accorded the much
abused real estate developer The
present thriving communities are al
most entirely the products of subdi-
vision operations, without which the
earlier settlers hardly could have been
induced to leave the city. The first of
these developments was Ballston,
whose foundations were laid in 1895.
The first subdivision was created by
James l.. Clemence, who had come
into the county as country school
teacher and later was admitted to the
bar in Alexandria.
The subdivision was located at
Balls Crossroads. at the junction of
the present Wilson boulevard and
Glebe road, where there were three
houses, a blacksmith's shop and a
Presbyterian church. Probably the
church was the chief attraction for
the settlement. It's communicates
were northerners who had taken up
farms in the county after the war.
This was the second church in
Arlington County. The first, Mount
Olivet Methodist Church, had been de.
stroyed by Union soldiers. The
damage afterward was made good to
the parish by the Government. Mount
Ill
of Ballston and off all routes of
settlement.
Railroad Was Built.
The name Rallston was selected at
q meeting of the Ladies' Mite So
ciety of the church after q spirited
debate. Some wanted to preserve the
name Balls Crossroads, thus honor
ing the Ball family, which was one OF
the oldes. and most respected In the
vicinity. Others wanted a more ell
phonious name The two factions
suggested by Ballston Spa, New York.
In the same year the town was
established, the Rosslyn.Falls Church
Railroad was built. A few Govern
ment clerks began to settle In the sub
division. Among the earliest were
Eugene Payne and Frank Thompson.
Ballston continued to grow slowly un.
til the World War, when. with the rest
of Arlington County, It experienced
it's great boom.
1t now has four churches, volun.
teer fire department, bank and
high school, as well as many charm
ing homes.
When BallstQn,was laid out the
site OF its present thriving next-doar
neighbor. Clarendon. was cernfield
on the NesmitA farm. During the
Civil War IL hsd been q target range.
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