In Part Five, we looked at the Fort Belvoir Military Railroad. In our sixth and final part, we look at some of the growth of Newington from the 1940s up to present day.
In the late 1940s, readers of The Washington Post, some of whom were veterans of World War II, turned their eyes to more and more news coverage of the “Iron Curtain” the Soviets were building in Europe. This was the beginning of the Cold War, Civil Defense, air raid alarm tests, and the Nuclear Age.
No bombs were ever launched, but an explosion related to the Cold War did occur in Fairfax County. Fueled in part by the GI Bill and VA loans, the population soared from 40,000 in 1940 to 98,557 in 1950. On its way to hitting the 1M mark in 2010, the number lept to 275,000 in 1960. A tsunami-like wave of suburban growth was at hand.
Aerial views from the 1940s show about a dozen homes along Newington Road. This was the beginning of the residential portions of Newington as we know it today. Ads in the paper touted affordable, new single family homes with a yard. Servicemen returning from the war qualified for VA and FHA loans.
A 1953 aerial shows homes dotting the new streets of Catskill, Higham, Franklin and Buckley, Hamilton and Ona. The 1967 aerial shows Hunter Estates labeled for those homes and streets.
The Washington Post of September 27, 1953 showed an ad:
For Sale or Rent, Hunter Estates, VA. 3 bedroom brick ramblers, 1/2 acre lot, convenient to Fort Belvoir and Shirley Highway. Price $16,950. Edna B. Hunter, Builder and Developer.
These homes may have gone quickly, as no other ads for the Hunter Estates appeared until 1962. A bi-level home was priced starting at $27,750. Ads continued for Hunter Estates in Newington. In 1978, a 5 bedroom home was selling for $93,000.
As late as 1995, Hunter Estates builders were placing ads in the newspapers. A large one appeared on February 11, 1995. Convenience to the Springfield Mall and close to I-95 were touted. These were larger two story homes with wings and the locations shifted to west of Accotink Road. The price - from only $239,000.
The following year, more ads were seen - Hunter Estates, Alexandria Area. Bi-levels, split foyers, ramblers and 4 bedroom homes were for sale. Directions were given as South on US Route 1 to Penn Daw Hotel, right on S. King’s Highway, left on Telegraph Road to right on Newington Road.
In the 1920s and 1930s, residents of the area around Newington had seen road improvements such as the full paving of the Washington-Richmond Highway (Route One). Another game-changer arrived in 1949 with the construction of the Shirley Highway, the predecessor to I-395 and Interstate 95 south of the Beltway. It ran less than 2000 feet to the west of the railroad tracks in Newington. Six years earlier its first segment had become Virginia’s first limited-access freeway.
Before the Shirley Highway, residents of Newington had used Back Lick Road to get to points northward. Parts of Back Lick Road may have gone along the same way as the old Road to the Courthouse seen on Mitchell’s map.
The Shirley Highway spawned businesses such as the Hunter Motel and Restaurant, whose site is the Embassy Suites in Newington. The hotel pays homage to its forerunner with a set of photos near the lobby and a framed primer. It tells us the motel was built in 1954 by Herbert C. Hunter with the help from his mother Edna B. Hunter. Hunter came down from upstate New York and with his wife Shirley, managed the hotel and restaurant until his death in 1976.
What the highway gave, it took away. 1971 marked the end of an era in Newington when passenger service on the trains ended.
Nathaniel Lee covers this nicely in his book. In 1955, the train station there had been renamed Newington. Lee writes:
"the name change better reflected the neighborhood that grew up around the station in the past eighty years, becoming a distinct community from its neighbors."
But passenger service was on the decline as drivers rolled down their windows and rolled down the highway at speeds that thrilled and killed. Freight hauls dropped too when trucks could do it cheaper and faster. In 1970, Congress passed the "Rail Service Passenger Act." The National Railroad Passenger Corporation was born. The RF&P became a member. Its cars and tracks were used, but the new service became known as Amtrak. The sparse usage at Newington and Lorton stations ended their 99-year long service.
The wooden train station at Newington was demolished. A December 1971 article in The Washington Post included a photograph. One sees a basketball hoop nailed to the porch.
Once again, something was lost but something was gained. In 1971, an Auto Train service was established at the Lorton Station. Still in use today, the car-filled trains leave around 3 pm and arrive at Sanford, Florida as the Sunshine State wakes up. A new facility at Lorton was built in 2000. Lee writes the Auto Train wins awards for its top notch service.
In January of that year, residents of Newington were shocked by a news report published in the Washington Evening Star. A pair of robbers shot and critically wounded Hunter. Fred Tyler, a family friend and his sons took the helm and managed the operation until its closing in 2010. Embassy Suites demolished the hotel and built the current one, popular with travelers. The Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce gives an annual award in Tyler's name to an individual who has helped improve the quality of life in the area.
Like a lot of places in Fairfax County, Newington saw new buildings and infrastructure go up and old ones come down in the second half of the twentieth century. Perhaps the saddest lost for some was the old country store. At a website, the grandson of Samuel T. Pearson commented he holds great memories of the store and the people of Newington.
One of the biggest and most visible structures in Newington arrived in the late 60s when a tank farm was built in the sliver of land between I-95 and the Fairfax County Parkway. The tanks were fed by the Plantation Pipeline. Financed by Shell, Texaco, Chevron and Exxon, they transported the refined petroleum products from Louisiana.
According to Kinder/Morgan, the 25 tanks at Newington can store 1,348,000 barrels of commodities such as ethanol and jet fuel. After being blended with additives and ethanol, trucks deliver the product to gas stations.
The facility made the news in 1979 when Phil McCombs of The Washington Post visited the operations. Washington, he reported, received 90% of its gasoline, heating and commercial oil and aviation fuel through the Plantation Pipeline “tap point” and another near Fairfax City. R.K. Richmond ran the plant in Newington.
The plant was back in the news in 2000, after approximately 4200 gallons of jet fuel were discharged due to a failed gasket. Some of the fuel polluted Accotink Creek.
Photographs found at the Virginia Room in the Fairfax County Library shed some light on other buildings that were located in Newington in the 1960s and 1970s, but are no longer with us.
The industrial park on either side of Fullerton Road was a gravel pit in the 1960s. The neighborhoods on the other side of Rolling Road were built in the 1970s and 1980s and include Newington Forest.
In the 2000s, a new segment of the Fairfax County Parkway was laid out, a missing link that better connected the county with Fort Belvoir and perhaps pleased residents of Newington.
Back on the east side of the railroad tracks, the aerials show that the four buildings at 8178 Newington Road were the first built on that stretch, constructed sometime before 1979. The distinct look of school buses can also be seen in the 1979 aerial view. The 1990s brough much of the footprint seen today on both sides of the railroad tracks.
On September 17, 2005, the Fairfax County History Commission and the Franconia Museum, Inc. held a Dedication Ceremony for the historical marker for Newington. The marker is located at Dupell Park, 6812 Newington Road. Levelle W. Dupell passed away in May 2009. Her obituary told of her service as a registered nurse and long time community involvement. She was laid to rest at Arlington Cemetery, alongside her husband, Lt. Col. Alfred Dupell (USAF).
Concluding Thoughts
A drive through the oldest part of Newington today reveals the mix of suburban homes, town homes such as those at Newberry Station, and businesses located in industrial and office parks. The historical marker is a great addition and makes for a good start. Perhaps some interpretive markers will touch on the other stories made here and nearby.
For the newcomer, part of the learning process is the mailing addresses. Newington residents and business use Lorton or Springfield. But don't let that fool you. Newington is rich in history.
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