Long Bridge Park in Arlington in Arlington County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Long Bridge Park: A Community Space
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), June 7, 2019
1. Long Bridge Park: A Community Space Marker
Arlington House is a majestic estate overlooking the Potomac River. The mansion's property originally stretched for 1,100 acres and was the home of General Robert E. Lee. During the Civil War, the grounds were selected as the site of Arlington National Cemetery.
Infamous for its racetrack, saloons, brothels and gambling houses, Jackson City developed at the foot of the Long Bridge in the mid-nineteenth century. In 1904, a mob of disapproving local citizens destroyed most of the establishments in the area.
Many of the first African Americans in the Arlington community were forced to work on plantations as slaves. After the outbreak of the Civil War, Union officials set up Freedmen's Village on the former Lee estate to shelter ex-slaves. When the community was dispersed in the late 1800s, many families settled in Arlington nearby.
Arlington Population:
1800: 5,949
1850: 10,008
1900: 6,430
1950:
this page online
2010: 207,627
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1904.
Location. This marker has been replaced by another marker nearby. It was located near 38° 52.068′ N, 77° 2.689′ W. Marker was in Arlington, Virginia, in Arlington County. It was in Long Bridge Park. It could be reached from Long Bridge Drive east of 6th Street South, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: 385 Long Bridge Drive, Arlington VA 22202, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker was in the Washington Metropolitan Area and in Northern Virginia. It was also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it was in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it found itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location: Long Bridge Park: A Legacy of Recreation (here, next to this marker); Looking Beyond the Park (within shouting distance of this marker); A Historic Junction (within shouting distance of this marker); From Brownfield to Playing Fields (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Arlington's Natural Side (about 700 feet away); Fort Runyon (about 700 feet away); Bridging the Past (approx. 0.2 miles away); A Roadside Respite (approx. Ό mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Arlington.
Another marker is no longer nearby.
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), June 7, 2019
2. Long Bridge Park: A Community Space Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on March 13, 2025. It was originally submitted on June 7, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 512 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 7, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
