Local History

Local History: “Cat Man” and Other Tales From the Quarry

Nestled in the woods behind 81st Street are the remnants of Bucolston Quarry. A brief stroll along the path leads to the mossy outline of a shallow pond and ruins of a stone cottage, its graffiti-covered chimney still precariously standing. Some rusted metal bits, both large and small, litter the woods amongst decaying leaves. A …

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Local History: Does Mysterious “Female Stranger” have ties to Cabin John?

Across the Potomac River, the grave of a mysterious young woman who died over 200 years ago rests in an Alexandria cemetery. The legend of the female stranger has been a part of Old Town’s lore for centuries. One hundred years after her death, a romance novel attempted to sprinkle some of the legend’s fairy …

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Local History: Alex J. Yowell, Self-Proclaimed “Successor to John of the Cabin”

While we’ve all become armchair travelers this past year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many of us take daily strolls across what was once a must-see tourist destination, the subject of postcards, photographs, and letters. At the turn of the 20th century, the Cabin John Bridge was on the itinerary of the capital’s visitors and …

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Local History: Backyard Farms

This past spring, as Covid-19 lockdowns began and people worried about the availability of fresh food, victory gardens and backyard chickens became a growing trend. In Cabin John, raised beds and deer-proof fencing became more common. But what many of Cabin John’s backyard farmers may not have known is that their newly cultivated gardens revisited …

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Local History: A Piece of Cabin John’s Post Office History

The slightly yellowed paper is about the size of a diploma. Folded into eighths, Post Office Department is authoritatively spelled out in Old English font. Swirling cursive proclaims the appointment of Joseph Bobinger to Postmaster on the 18th day of March, 1878 by the Postmaster General of the United States, David M. Key. “Now know …

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Local History: Gibson Grove Church and Moses Hall Cemetery – Preservation of the Past

Heading up Seven Locks Road towards River Road, the woods behind the Evergreen development hide a significant piece of Cabin John history. That history continues, albeit in a near dilapidated state, just a few steps away. Moses Hall lodge and cemetery and the Gibson Grove A.M.E. Zion Church, both established around the turn of the …

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Local History: Girl Wants Ball Job – Evelyn Lynch, Girl Baseball Star

Long before A League of Their Own, we had the girl who was the “Leader in Cabin John Triumph,” the girl who “Shows Boys How.” As the excitement of the Nationals’ 2019 World Series Championship slowly wanes, some baseball stories go unnoticed. This includes one baseball star right in our backyard. Not Walter Johnson, but …

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