-ad 189-

Posted In Why Is It Named…?

Departure_from_the_old_Homestead_
Why Is It Named Centreville?
Centreville, VA was established in 1792 by local landowners with the intent of creating a center point between the more established towns: Alexandria, Colchester, Dumfries, Middleburg, Georgetown, Warrenton, and Leesburg. Learn more about its fascinating origin story here.
962hpr_cbb2193ad97bcbf
Why Is It Named Reston?
Robert E Simon purchased 6,750 acres of land in Fairfax in 1961 after his family sold Carnegie Hall in New York. He built a planned community with his initials RES and town as its name.
Major General Peter C. Haines, Retired
Hains Point: How Did It Get Its Name?
Hains point is named for Peter Conover Hains, a prominent Major General in the U.S. Army and served in the Civil War, Spanish-American War and World War I.
image_access_800
Why Is It Named Meridian Hill?
Pierre L'Enfant had originally planned the City of Washington around a right triangle, with the eastern portion at the Capitol, the northern portion at the White House and the 90 degree angle close to where the Washington Monument sits today. Thomas Jefferson marked this spot in 1793 with a wooden post, which was replaced in 1804 with the Jefferson Pier.
adams-morgan-color
Why Is It Named Adams Morgan?
The name Adams Morgan is from the names of two formerly segregated area elementary schools—the older, all-black Thomas P. Morgan Elementary School and the all-white John Quincy Adams Elementary School, which merged in 1955 following desegregation.
1921 map of Trinidad
Why Is It Named Trinidad?
Do you know why we have a neighborhood named after a Caribbean island? Find out how it's related to today's George Washington University too.
Looking eastward along the I-495 Capital Beltway in Virginia, east of Springfield, toward the Beltway bridge over the Richmond Fredericksburg and Potomac (RF&P) Railroad (today's CSX Railroad) in the distance. The highway was nearing completion but not yet open to traffic at this time. Notice that the roadway has three lanes, and that the roadway is paved with reinforced Portland cement concrete. When originally built, the Beltway in Virginia had six lanes (three each way) between I-95 at Springfield and across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and all the way through Maryland. This photo was taken in 1963 by the Virginia Department of Highways.
Origin of the Term "Beltway Bandit"
Career criminal Joseph Francis Fearon of Fairfax was the original ring leader of the “Beltway Bandits” of the late 1960s, robbing neighborhood homes neighboring the then-new Capital Beltway.
Eaton School children in the 1910s
Exploring the History of D.C. Public Elementary Schools: Janney, Gibbs, Eaton and Watkins
Learn about the history of D.C. public elementary schools Janney, Gibbs, Eaton and Watkins. We explore the background behind their names and the people they were named for.
Baist map of D.C
Washington DC Street Names Unveiled: From States to Letters and Numbers
Wonder what Washington DC diagonal roads are named after? Here's the history of DC's street names including states, letters, and numbers.
Langley Chapel in Shropshire, England
Why Is It Named Langley, VA?
Langley, VA is the headquarters for the CIA. What's the history behind the area's name?

Enjoy daily

Ghosts of DC stories.