Alexandria Historical Society

08/21/2026

Today is the anniversary of the Alexandria Library Sit-In Demonstration. On August 21, 1939, William Evans, Otto L. Tucker, Edward Gaddis, Morris Murray, and Clarence Strange walked into the Alexandria Library, which at the time was only open to white Alexandrians. After the librarian told them that library cards were not issued to African Americans, the five men selected books and began to read.

Library staff called the police.

To learn what happened next check out “A Seat at the Reading Table” at the Alexandria Digital History Museum: https://alexandria.ahs.yourcultureconnect.com/e/great-depression-and-world-war-ii/a-seat-at-the-reading-table. The exhibit page also includes a link to the Alexandria Historical Society’s two-part podcast about protest.

Credit: Alexandria Library Local History/Special Collections

08/19/2026

In 2015, archaeologists excavating a site along the Alexandria waterfront made a surprising discovery. Amid the dirt and rocks was the preserved hull of an 18th century ship. News of the find quickly spread. Hundreds of local residents came out to visit the hull and observe the archaeologists at work. In 2018, three more ships were discovered, once again bringing Alexandrian’s down to the waterfront to see archaeologists at work.

Want to learn more about the discovery of these ships and why they were buried in the first place? Check out “Banking Out Alexandria” and "New Discoveries at the Old Waterfront” in the Alexandria Digital History Museum: https://alexandria.ahs.yourcultureconnect.com/e/1970s-to-present/new-discoveries-at-the-old-waterfront and https://alexandria.ahs.yourcultureconnect.com/e/early-alexandria/banking-out-alexandria

After you’ve finished exploring the digital museum, head over to the Alexandria Archaeology Museum. The talented team there can answer all of your questions about the ship hulls.

The photos of the discoveries are cool, but nothing compares to seeing the real thing. The three ships discovered in 2018 are currently in underwater storage at Ben Brenman Park, while the hull discovered in 2015 is undergoing conservation and will return to the city in 2028. Fingers crossed that it will be put on display in Alexandria so that everyone can see it and learn about its history!

Credit: Alexandria Archaeology.

08/17/2026

Alexandria Historical Society members have completed many noteworthy projects over the years. They’ve published books, curated exhibits, designed the original DASH bus routes, and…

Wait, what?

Yep, William “Bill” Hurd, AHS’s president from 1977-1979, was also an accomplished transportation planner. When the City of Alexandria wanted to establish its own municipal bus system, they went to Hurd to help get the project off the ground. The William B. Hurd Maintenance & Operations Administration Facility on Business Center Drive is named in his honor.

Curious to learn more about Hurd and the history of the DASH bus system? Check out “DASHing Around Alexandria” in the Alexandria Digital History Museum: https://alexandria.ahs.yourcultureconnect.com/e/1970s-to-present/dashing-around-alexandria

Speaking of DASH, many Alexandria Historical Society events are located near DASH bus stops. Like learning about Alexandria’s history but hate parking in Old Town? Consider riding DASH, it’s free!

Credit: David Wilson/Flickr.

08/15/2026

While our social media content is free for everyone, the best way to stay up to date on the latest developments in the study of Alexandria’s history is to become a member of the Alexandria Historical Society. Not only will you receive first access to new issues of our journal, The Alexandria Chronicle, but you also get free admission to our lectures and discounted admission to our Behind the Scenes experiences.

Your membership dues also help support research into Alexandria’s history through our grant program and help us honor the best of public history in the Port City with our annual history awards. Dues also help support our new Alexandria Digital History Museum.

Memberships start at just $30 for a year.

Interested in becoming a member? Check out our website to learn more and sign up: https://www.alexandriahistoricalsociety.org/

Credit: National Archives and Records Administration

08/13/2026

“The Society for the Restoration of Historic Alexandria, recently organized will mark, restore and preserve places of historic interest in Alexandria, particularly the Carlyle House.” -Alexandria Gazette, July 16, 1903

“Wait a second, Alexandria Historical Society! NOVA Parks owns and operates Carlyle House. Who is this so-called ‘Society for the Restoration of Historic Alexandria’?”

Glad you asked, imaginary internet commenter! Way back in the early 20th century, several Alexandrians noticed that Carlyle House was falling into disrepair. There was no NOVA Parks back then, so these Alexandrians decided to start their own organization to save the building, the Society for the Restoration of Historic Alexandria. Their goal was to lease the Carlyle House, restore it, open it for tours, and eventually raise enough money to purchase the building outright. Once that was completed, the group would purchase and restore other buildings in Alexandria that were connected to George Washington.

So what happened to the Society for the Restoration of Historic Alexandria? Did their efforts to fix up and purchase Carlyle House succeed? Check out “Alexandria's First Historic Preservation Organization" at the Alexandria Digital History Museum for the full story: https://alexandria.ahs.yourcultureconnect.com/e/industrial-alexandria/alexandrias-first-historic-preservation-organization

Credit: Chronicling America/Brooklyn Public Library

08/13/2026

Thank you to The Zebra Press - GOOD News in Alexandria, VA for a great article about AHS's new Alexandria Digital History Museum! We completely agree that the best way to explore the museum "is the old-fashioned way: follow your curiosity. Start with a name you know, a neighborhood you love or a question that has been rattling around in your head for years. Then see where Alexandria takes you."

You may think you know Alexandria history.

Then you meet the boys in this photograph—young workers at an Alexandria glass factory in 1911, photographed during an era when children often traded school days for long shifts around dangerous machinery.

Their story is one of more than 140 now waiting to be discovered in the Alexandria Historical Society’s brand-new, free Digital History Museum.

From the Indigenous communities who first called this place home to George Washington, Cass Elliot, Gadsby’s Tavern, Jones Point and the neighborhoods that make Alexandria what it is, the new online museum is a wonderful rabbit hole for anyone who loves this town—or thinks they already know all its stories.

The best part? You can explore from your couch, your classroom or while sitting at your favorite Alexandria coffee shop. And then, when a story catches you, the museum helps point you toward the real places where history happened.

Read our story, then take a little wander through Alexandria’s past. Link in comments.

08/10/2026

In the 1960s, historic preservationists and the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Association realized that the old building at 201 Prince Street could be put to a new use. Thanks to their efforts, the Athenaeum opened to the public as an art gallery in 1964 and since that time has hosted many exhibitions, performances, special events, and even the occasional digital history museum launch party.

Before it became a hub of the arts, the building served many different roles over the years, including as a bank and as a church. To learn more about 201 Prince Street’s history, the effort to save it, and why it’s an excellent example of the power of adaptive reuse, check out “The Many Lives of the Athenaeum” in the Alexandria Digital History Museum: https://alexandria.ahs.yourcultureconnect.com/e/post-war-to-the-bicentennial/the-many-lives-of-the-athenaeum

The Athenaeum has hosted several Alexandria Historical Society events over the past few years, and we look forward to continuing to collaborate with their talented staff in the future.

Credit: Northern Virginia Fine Arts Association

08/08/2026

Today the Alexandria Historical Society remembers the life of Benjamin Thomas.

On August 8, 1899, a white mob murdered Thomas, a Black Alexandrian. He was sixteen years old. Thomas grew up in Alexandria, and his family lived at 700 North Patrick Street. Two years earlier he had been baptized at Shiloh Baptist Church.

On August 7, his next-door neighbor accused him of assault. The police took him into custody as he protested his innocence. After his murder, the mother of Thomas’s accuser admitted that her daughter had lied. Thomas had committed no crime.

Representatives of the city’s Black community offered their services to the mayor and the chief of police to help keep Thomas safe. Rather than accept that help, city officials accused them of fomenting disorder and arrested some of them.

On the evening of August 8, a mob gathered around the jailhouse. They stormed the building, overwhelmed the officers inside, and seized Thomas. At the corner of King and Fairfax streets, in sight of City Hall, the mob lynched Thomas from a lamppost and then shot him repeatedly.

Thomas was laid to rest at Penny Hill Cemetery. On August 28, a large memorial service was held at Shiloh Baptist Church, where Reverend Henry H. Warring gave an address affirming Thomas’s innocence. Warring asked the congregation, “Who can tell how this poor innocent boy felt as he crouched in the cellar at the jail and listened to the howling mob crying for his life’s blood; when the rope was placed about his neck and into his mouth; when he was dragged mercilessly through the streets and bullets were being poured into his body by his heartless persecutors, as he cried in vain for his mother? The blood of Ben Thomas will be forever upon this city and upon the hands of those who participated in the crime.”

No one was ever convicted of Thomas’s murder.

Credit: Office of Historic Alexandria

08/05/2026

“I’ve heard everything there is to hear about Alexandria’s history.”
“Really? So, you can tell me all about the scam artist who owned a shipyard at Jones Point, the community activist who worked to address Four Mile Run’s flooding issues, and the monarchy-loving Englishman who decided to move to Alexandria at the worst possible time?”
“…Okay, maybe there are still some stories I don’t know.”

There’s always something new to discover about Alexandria’s history, and our new digital history museum is a great place to learn more about the Port City’s past! From George Washington to Cass Elliot and from Old Town to the West End, the Alexandria Digital History Museum features the stories of the people, places, and events that shaped the city into what it is today. As a digital experience, the museum is open 24/7 and is free to access. Head over to the website to start exploring: https://alexandria.ahs.yourcultureconnect.com/bottom-nav-bar/e/home

For anyone interested in learning more about the stories referenced at the beginning of this post, check out “From Shipyard to Salvage,” “We Can All Be Pioneers,” and “This Country Turned Topsy Turvey.”

08/03/2026

"Every day after school she'd head down to the tracks / Waiting for the train that was never comin' back"

All aboard today's post on Mount Jefferson Park and Greenway! For decades, this section of Alexandria was part of a major rail line. The trains of the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad traveled along this route that connected Alexandria to points west. A massive bridge carried the trains above the Washington and Alexandria Turnpike (Route 1) and Potomac Yard. Both freight and passenger services were offered. However, transportation preferences and the economics of rail shifted over the years, which eventually meant the end of the W&OD line in Alexandria. Passenger service stopped in 1951 and the last freight train passed through in 1968. By 1971, the bridge across Route 1 was no more.

Today, Mount Jefferson Park and Greenway encompasses part of the old W&OD route. A trail stretches from the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Ashby Street all the way to the intersection of Route 1 and East Custis Avenue. In addition to a trail with interpretive signage, the park also includes a playground for kids. Most of the park is well-shaded, making it a great place to get some exercise and discover Alexandria's past while staying cool on warmer days.

While the trains no longer travel this route, railfans can take heart that Alexandria still boasts its fair share of railroads. Both Union Station in Old Town and the Potomac Yard Trail are great places for railfans to watch the trains pass by.

Interested in submitting your own feature? Simply send a photograph of a historic structure, site, or marker in Alexandria along with a 3 to 5-sentence description to [email protected]. If you have any sources, please share those with us as well.

Credit: Fairfax Public Library