Brockwood Neighborhood History

The Brockwood neighborhood in Arlington, Virginia represents a small portion of surburbs in midwest Arlington. This neighborhood is located off Wilson Boulevard, across the boulevard from Bluemont Park, Ashlawn Elementary School, and the Bluemont / Boulevard Manor neighborhood. This neighborhood is located on the western boundary of Arlington and is in close proximity to Falls Church. The highlights of this neighborhood include Bon Air Park, the Bon Air Rose Garden, and the Custis and W & OD (Washington and Old Dominion) bike trails. This neighborhood is in the school districts of McKinley Elementary School, Swanson Middle School, and Washington-Lee High School.

The neighborhood used to be the land surrounding the W & OD Railroad, which spanded from Purcellville, Virginia to Shirlington, Arlington, Virginia. However, with the fall of electric trolley lines in the early 1900's houses began to be built around the railroad. A Mr. Brockwood, a very successful businessman in Arlington at the time, began to build houses in this neighborhood before going bankrupt. The reason many of the houses in this neighborhood are very similar to one another is because he basically put the exact same house over and over again next to each other. And the reason the neighborhood is named after him is because he started its roots by building such houses.

This neighborhood is sometimes referred to as the Bon Air Neighborhood because of its most intriguing feature, the Bon Air Rose Garden. The Bon Air Rose Garden is a tribute to the many Arlingtonians who served and died in World War II. The idea of such a tribute was about by Nell Broyhill, who combined her support for the war effort with her love for gardening to bring about the rose garden. Nell Broyhill invited 15 women who represented many of Arlington's churches, civic groups, and associations out to lunch to discuss her idea. Mrs. Broyhill persuaded the women to form the Arlington Rose Garden Foundation (now known as the Arlington Rose Foundation). The foundation was able to find a space next to the Arlington Hospital (now known as the Virginia Hospital Center) for the rose garden. Local businesses, churches, and individuals contributed to the foundation and supported their efforts. In 1951, the memorial rose garden was open for the public to see. However, due to the expansion of the hospital, the rose garden was forced to move to its current location on the corner of Wilson Boulevard and Lexington Street in 1964. Bon Air Park was Today the rose garden contains over 3500 rose plants with 123 different varieties of roses. The rose garden also contains a number of other horticultural collections other than roses, such as azalea, ornamental trees, and other wild flowers.

Sources:
"Arlington County: A Pictorial History" by Nan and Ross Netherton
"Arlington County, Virginia: A History" by C.B. Rose, Jr.
"The Washington and Old Dominion Trail: A History of the Trail" http://www.wodfriends.org/trail.html
Bon Air Memorial Rose Garden Brochure