(Civil War-era scene of one of the old intra-city trains that ran along what is now the Washington & Old Dominion Boulevard and Bike Trail. The terrain is similar to that near the NW2 District Boundary Stone).
This is all way too easy, I thought to myself, and one of the reasons I got started on all this Stones nonsense was the one I saw every day driving up from my condo in the Ballston neighborhood to the campus at Langley, when I was finishing out my government career. A friend- a very good friend- had mapped out a cool way to get to the Agency, all back roads, and none of the aggravation of the commute from out in Fairfax County, everyone competing for a little bit of I-66 or 395, clawing in to the Pentagon or the Hill itself.
From Big Pink, the route was nice. I would jump on George Mason right by he Building and head north. For some reason best known to the Country Supervisors, George Mason T-bones into Yorktown Street. There is Rock Spring Park and a bike trail that goes through, but I have no clue as to why the street doesn’t. The modest little houses from the 1950s all cost a million buck. The neighborhoods are serene and well kept.
Accordingly, I would hang a left on Yorktown and take the quick jog north on Edison to connect with a right on Little Falls Rd and a left back onto the continuation of George Mason and a few blocks north to a left turn on Old Dominion. To get there you have to cross Williamsburg Boulevard, and a left there would take you about three quarters of a mile southwest to North Powhatan Street, where a right hand turn will deliver you in short order to the house that guards NW1, the first of the suburban NW Virginia markers.
(NW1, or what should be called the Vest- not West- Stone, since it is the Vest family that owns it).
This stone is in great shape but there is a bit of a problem: this stone is on private property, about 200 feet back from the street. The choice is fairly stark. You can trespass, or ring the doorbell and ask to see it.
The day I saw it, I trespassed. Nice Stone. If you wanted to do the right thing, you might call the Vest family that lives there and ask to see if you can see their Stone. I am sure they are used to it by now.
But the commute normally would have me drive on past Williamsburg and on to a left turn onto Old Dominion Drive, which follows the course of the old trolley tracks that ran from Rosslyn on the Potomac to Great Falls. It was an intra-urban line, and it is exactly what the sustainable living crowd would like to have back these days, but now would cost billions and the residents would not approve anyway.
Cruising up Old Dominion you can tell that the modern pavement was contoured to keep the rails level, and the cuts through the rolling terrain are deep. I am pretty sure that NW2 has been moved from its original placement, since it sits near the edge of the cut at 5298 Old Dominion. The bank is so steep that it did not look approachable from the road, though it would be a cinch to walk up the driveway and around the house at the east end of the hill. The house was a modest one of 1950s vintage- a rambler, as I recall- and the Small family was not living there at the time. I made a mental note to stop sometime, but familiarity and daily viewing of the stone, albeit at a distance made me nonchalant about it.
(NW2, or what should properly be called the Small Stone, after its current owners).
Then, after about a year, the house was gutted and torn down and another began to take its place. I was pleased that there was no one to both, and went up the next Saturday when I had nothing else to do but look at old Stones. It was a breeze, and the stone is in remarkably good shape.
These days you could call the Smalls to see if they mind you looking, or talk to the lady who owns the house on the other side of the hill at 5145 N. 38th Street. It is worth it to see the quality of the inscription that remains.
Normally, I would keep going to the ramp that takes you from the old track level to the overpass where Kirby crosses Old Dominion and then take Kirby as it winds tightly along the creek bed. It is an exhilarating drive, and when I had the convertible and the top down it was a grand way to go.
If you were going to make it a Stones day and see the last of the Virginia Boundary Stones, it would be a simple matter of taking Kirby north a quarter of a mile and the right turn on Chesterbrook. It is an interesting intersection, since as late as 2002 there was an old man who continued to farm the land, amid the million dollar properties, horse-drawn plow and all.
Continuing generally eastward on Chesterborook, cross the Little Pimmit Run, and take a left on N. 41st street, following it as it turns right into N. Upland Street for a block before taking a left on 40th street and a final left at Tazewell Court, following it up to the house at 4013. You could ask the Domidios if they mind you looking, but the day I was there it did not appear that anyone was home, and I went around the back and looked at the NW3 as it sits alone at the back of the property line.
(NW3, the Domidio Stone).
I strongly urge you to do the right thing and contact the owners before trespassing, since it is the right thing to do. With these three Stones in Virginia, we are done with the territory that was given back to the Old Dominion in 1847. All can be viewed in one afternoon, if you lay out the itinerary with a little preparation, and take a lunch. Or stop at the taverns along the way, which is what Major Ellicott’s men would have done after swinging axes all day.
You might even be forgiven the idea that this is just a bit of a lark that can be accomplished in the comfort and privacy of your own automobile. That is certainly what I thought at the time, and I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
The rest of the Stones are in Maryland and the District, and that is where things are going to get interesting.
I will tell you more about them tomorrow.
Copyright 2016 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com
Twitter: @jayare303