Community Corner

Photos of the Day: Huntley Meadows Park

Down Route 1 a spell

Today, Patch visited Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria. The park is a stone's throw from Route 1, and the peaceful quiet breeze that sifts through the corndog grass makes it seem like an oasis in a concrete jungle. 

Here's a good description from the Friends of Huntley Meadows Park website

"Huntley Meadows lies in a wet lowland that was carved out by an ancient meander of the Potomac River. The resulting freshwater wetland is one of the rarest habitats left in Fairfax County.

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In colonial times, this land was part of the extensive plantation holdings of George Mason IV. Mason family ownership lasted into the early 1900s, with sections of the land sold for family farms. In the late 1920s, entrepreneur and aeronautic enthusiast Henry Woodhouse reassembled the parcels, purchasing 1,500 acres from 10 landowners. But his dream of creating the nation's greatest air center failed, and the federal government then acquired the land. During the 1940s, the Bureau of Public Roads used the site to test asphalt road surfaces. In the 1950s, the Virginia National Guard's Battery D, 125th Gun Battalion provided anti-aircraft protection for the Nation's capital. Last, the Navy conducted highly classified radio communication research before declaring the land surplus around 1970.

"In 1975, President Gerald Ford signed papers authorizing the donation of 1,261 acres to the citizens of Fairfax County, 'exclusively for public park or public recreation purposes in perpetuity.' The Park Authority purchased an additional 163 acres in 1992." 

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