Fort Myer in Arlington in Arlington County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Growing Season
Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial
| | George Washington Memorial Parkway, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior | |
The kitchen garden put food on the table at Arlington House. As blackberries and tomatoes ripened in the summer heat, squash and artichokes branched out leafy and green. Here enslaved gardeners turned the soil, digging for turnips, carrots, and potatoes in fall.
The Custis and Lee family, often joined by distinguished guests, ate produce fresh or canned for winter. To get enough to eat, enslaved workers also tended their own vegetable gardens near their cabins. They also fished and foraged in the forest.
Caption
Enslaved workers walked to farm fields farther away from the house to harvest cash crops such as corn, rye, and oats.
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Agriculture.
Location. 38° 52.887′ N, 77° 4.366′ W. Marker is in Arlington, Virginia, in Arlington County. It is in Fort Myer. It can be reached from Sherman Drive north of Sheridan Drive, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address:
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area and in Northern Virginia. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in the Mid-Atlantic, and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds 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 marker: Piecing the Past Together (a few steps from this marker); Division and Unification (a few steps from this marker); Paying Tribute (within shouting distance of this marker); Evolving Vision (within shouting distance of this marker); Pierre Charles LEnfant (within shouting distance of this marker); Long Haul (within shouting distance of this marker); Platforms of Power (within shouting distance of this marker); The Gray Family
Other markers no longer nearby. Kitchen Garden (was a few steps from this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); A Garden Sustains (was a few steps from this marker but has been permanently removed); Dependence on Slave Labor (was a few steps from this marker but has been permanently removed); Arlington Estate, 1860 (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been permanently removed); Selina Gray (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); Guardian of a Nation's Heritage (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been permanently removed).
Additional keywords. enslaved labor
Credits. This page was last revised on February 9, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 21, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 215 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 21, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
