This 19th-century farm house, originally called Springhill Farm, was improved by State Senator Joseph C. Byars in 1915. At that time, he named the house Alcova, an acronym for Alexandria County, Virginia (as Arlington was then called). Senator Byars later subdivided the farm into a residential development named Alcova Heights.The Alcova Improvement Company, headed by Byars, set about to transform the fields and orchards into a grid of streets and alleyways. The original street names were Alcova Avenue (now 7th Street), Azalea Street (now Quincy Street), Brook Dell Avenue (now 6th Street), Deepwood Avenue (now 9th Street), Linden Avenue (now Oakland Street), Marconi Avenue (now 8th Street), Springhill Street (now Lincoln Street), and Virginia Avenue (now Monroe Street). Alcova Heights in 1921 was regarded as a very accessible community. It was bordered by two surfaced highways, Columbia Pike and Glebe Road. Trolley service to Washington, Rosslyn, and Alexandria was available less than a mile down Columbia Pike, at the intersection with what is now Walter Reed Drive. Most of the single family homes in Alcova Heights were built between 1921 and 1950. Over the past 50 years, a number of additional single family homes have been added through infill development. A Historic Landmark in the Alcova Heights, and the whole of Arlington County, is a home known as Alcova House, most likely built before the Civil War. Union soldiers occupied the Young farm, (then known as Spring Hill Farm) during the war and tore down the fences and burned the main house. The Gibson property, which became a part of the Young’s property, is the present Alcova House. It is reported to have formerly been a tenant farm house, a barn, a carriage house and maybe even a dairy shed. Having undergone many renovations and additions, it remains a family residence today. With the onset of World War II, the War Department took over Arlington Hall, as Swidells Junior College had gone bankrupt. It was used to house the Army Signal’s Intelligence Service where enemy messages were decoded. According to Wendell Bloomingburg, who grew up on this street, sixth street got paved around this time to accommodate the heavy equipment rumbling down the street going in and out of Arlington Hall. During the Cold War, the focus activity at Arlington Hall became decoding Soviet messages. It was turned over to the Army Intelligence Center in 1977. In 1989, Arlington Hall became the State Department’s National Foreign Affairs Training Center. Languages, foreign affairs and other subjects relating to carrying out the U.S foreign policy missions are studied here. Throughout its history, Alcova Heights has been a popular place to live, because of its relatively inexpensive homes, large lots, easy access and recreational amenities such as Alcova Heights Park, and these same factors remain today. Alcova Heights is a very diverse and friendly neighborhood. The neighborhood hosts special events and gatherings a few times a year, that way people get the chance to get to know each other better and share good times.
Then & Now
One of the many Alcova Heights newsletters:
http://www.aquasinc.com/ahca/docs/NL-AHCA-2009-05.pdf
Sources:
http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Alcova-Heights-Arlington-VA.html
http://arlington22204.wordpress.com/
http://www.aquasinc.com/ahca/maps.html
http://www.aquasinc.com/ahca/docs/alcova_heights_conserve_plan.pdf
http://www.jankennemer.com/alcova-heights-hist.asp
http://www.civfed.org/historys.htm
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