Greenway Heights Neighborhood Heritage, Current History & Notable Facts
- The land that makes up our neighborhood was once farmland originally owned by Thomas J. Carper, an avowed pro-Union, slaveholding farmer who lived here with his family – at least six children (two other children appear to have died prior to 1870), his wife Lydia and up to ten slaves.
- Union soldiers once camped out on Carper’s farmland leading the U.S. Government to reimburse Carper for $616 of $1485 in stolen goods and damages sustained to the farm by Union troops. He was reimbursed due to his confirmed loyalty to the Union during the Civil War.
- Thomas J. Carper’s grandson, George Wallace Carper, built a thriving dairy farm on the land from the 1920’s until the early 1960’s.
- In Carole L. Herrick’s book “Yesterday 100 Recollections of McLean and Great Falls, Virginia,” area resident Evelyn Shannon: “I recall that there were three huge cornfields. One field was for wheat. There was a big corncrib that attracted rats. I had a little Winchester rifle and used to shoot them.’
- Shannon also states that after Thomas J. Carper died in 1917, his widow Lydia Carper built a house facing the GF&OD railroad tracks at the Prospect Hill RR stop – on land that Carper once owned before selling parts of it to make way for the railroad. (Today this location is at 8354 Old Dominion Drive just past Kimberwicke Road.)
- Shannon states, “The house was built to her (Lydia’s) specification. It was actually “the Rock of Gibraltar.” Everything was put in with concrete blocks, not cinder blocks. They had to blast through rock for the basement. She (Lydia Carper) dictated everything. Two of the walls had writing indicating that they were finished in 1909. It was a substantial house. It was just as solid as it could be.”
- Dariel Kanuss Van Wagoner, also quoted in the Herrick’s book, stated, “I once found a spearhead in what is now Greenway Heights. This was after many years of the Carper’s farming the land.”
- Greenway was the name of Lord Fairfax’s manor in Clarke County. When Lucy Madeira Wing moved her school from Washington, D.C. to Virginia in 1934 she too named her new property “Greenway.”
- With declining health, G. Wallace Carper sold his farm property and structures to the Greenway Heights Land Corporation on March 7, 1962. The Greenway Heights neighborhood was then developed by the BF Saul Company out of Chevy Chase, Maryland using more than one builder and varying house plans. The first homes were built on Kimberwicke and Riding Ridge builder Gruver-Cooley with the first home selling in 1965.
- When the neighborhood was first developed, many of the new homeowners worked at the nearby CIA or other branches of government. Many were also lawyers, and others were in business, trade association work and stay-at-home parents. Ken Starr, the former Clinton prosecutor once lived in Carper’s Forge located on Bellview Road. Paul Laxalt, President Reagan’s former Chief of Staff, lives with his wife Carol off of Bellview Road.
- In 2009, a male body was found in Greenway Heights Park near Buttercup Field off of Hunting Hill Lane. Although a knife was found on the scene, the police determined the man died of natural causes. He was a homeless man who grew up in McLean and appeared to have been living in the woods for some months prior to his death.
Thanks to an engaged community led by the Greenway Heights Civic Association, GWH neighbors have had a 50+ year history of protecting our home values in Greenway Heights. Your efforts continue to make Greenway Heights a unique and special place to live and raise a family. These activities and successes include:
- Garden Club: For about 40 years, Greenway Heights had an active Garden Club that worked to beautify the neighborhood and encourage homeowners’ attention to landscaping efforts. Their first meeting was held on Tuesday, May 13, 1975 at the home of Marge Lubeley – 8406 Martingale Drive.
- Notable activities the Garden Club undertook included developing a tree planting design of Greenway along Georgetown Pike for the Fairfax County Park Authority, ridding the community of damaging Japanese Beetles, cleaning-up and maintaining the neighborhood entrances, installation of Bluebird nesting boxes along the Greenway, selling holiday luminaries and wreaths and sponsoring the annual Holiday party in December.
- According to Greenway Garden Club notes taken on February 25, 1976, GWH Civic Association President Carol Wray spoke about the Greenway parklands stating, “There are 36.1 acres of parkland in Greenway Heights, plus 10.4 acres of land belonging to the School Board. There will be $30,000 available to develop our parkland after July 1, 1976.” The meeting minutes continue with Wray presenting the Park Authority’s landscaping plans and saying the county welcomed suggestions from our community. She added that it cost $2400 annually (in 1976) for general maintenance of the parkland. Meeting notes also show that GWH neighbor Marge Lubeley stated, “The Park Authority has agreed to keep our entrance areas mowed and to repair the fencing in March.”
- Later Garden Club notes from November 30, 1977 demonstrate the Fairfax County Park Authority was losing interest in mowing the Georgetown Park entrance, and one of the GWH neighbors was mowing it on his own to keep it looking attractive.
- Since the dissolution of the Garden Club, various neighbors like the Wilson’s, Lee’s, Burch’s, Welch’s and Lewis’s have generously given their time to keep our entrances looking fresh and beautiful.
- Saved Buttercup Field from becoming a new FCPS elementary school: In 2002, Greenway Heights residents and members of the Greenway Heights Citizens Association redirected county efforts to build an elementary school on property previously owned by the School Board – located off of Hunting Hill Lane. Imagine school buses and cars idling up and down Kimberwicke Road every morning and afternoon. Thanks to GWH neighbors like the Newberry’s and Burch’s, the county changed course and made Buttercup Field permanent county parkland.
- Prevented portions of the Greenway from becoming county soccer fields: Thanks to Mike Champness and other neighbors, a proposal to build soccer fields along the Greenway in our neighborhood was halted in 2002. Imagine weekend soccer crowds – and their vehicles – lining our neighborhood every weekend.
- Battled Cell Tower Monopole Placement: In 2002, the GWCA helped stop county efforts to build an unsightly and large cell phone tower at the intersection of Spring Hill Road and Old Dominion Drive.
- Mowing Privileges Restored: For the last decade, the GWCA has continued advocating with county and state officials to reinstate and continue mowing privileges of the Greenway parkland that runs through the neighborhood along Georgetown Pike. Residents have enjoyed this beautiful ribbon of green grass over the years for sledding, playing, walking pets and picking blackberries. Thanks to the efforts of engaged neighbors like Connie Beyer, Ann Spear and Helen Beckner, the county has committed to better maintenance of these areas
- Improvements to Power Connectivity: The once-frequent power outages in the neighborhood have greatly lessened over the years thanks to improvements by Dominion Power as initiated by neighbor Jon Spear.
- Continued Traffic Calming Efforts: Since 2001, the GWCA and Mike Selig have led the way on continued traffic calming efforts. The installation of cross walks and stop signs along Kimberwicke and safety measures at Bellview and Old Dominion Drive have both helped lower accident rates.
- Metro Expansion – In 2007, GWCA was extensively engaged in providing input to county officials regarding development of Metro’s Silver Line through Tyson’s Corner.
- Website & Directory: Several years ago, email communication among neighbors became much easier thanks to neighbor Joe Fitzgerald who designed, launched and maintains our neighborhood website and email list serve: greenwayheights.org. The neighborhood directory is carefully assembled, edited and updated each year by neighbor Stewart Lingley.
- Picnic, Halloween Parade, Holiday Party & Easter Egg Hunt: Our neighborhood stays connected to one another in part through the wonderful gatherings like the yearly picnic, the annual Halloween Parade for kids and families, the Holiday Party in December for adults and the Easter Egg Hunt in Buttercup Field every spring. Probably every neighbor has taken a turn at one time or another assisting with or chairing one of these wonderful events. In recent years, the Welch’s, Nolan’s Churchey’s, Fishers, Merson’s, Black’s and Weigle’s have taken the lead.
- GWHC Civic Association Leadership: So many neighbors have taken turns over the years to keep the Greenway Heights Civic Association strong including current and recent Presidents Jamie Loving, Sharon Keegan and Treasurer Howard Forman and Secretary Irene Lewis.
Sources:
- Louise C. Curran, McLean Remembers Again (The Sound Publications, 1976), 49
- Bill Elvin, “Brzezinski is Again Battling Monopole.” The Great Falls Times, January 23, 2002.
- Greenway Garden Club Minutes of Meetings, 1975-1981
- Greenway Heights Emails from GWCA MCA reps Jennifer Carley and Michelle Meehan, March 6, 2007 – Subject: Re: Metro at Tyson’s – input requested.
- Carole L. Herrick, Yesterday 100 Recollections of McLean and Great Falls, Virginia, Interview with Don Burns, July 19, 2006. pg. 375, 429.
- The McLean Connection, “Police Investigate Unattended Death”, Sept. 2-8, 2009.