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Office of
Heritage Arts
Up On The Hill
An Oral History of the Halls Hill Neighborhood in Arlington, VA.
Written by folklorist Thomas D. Carroll, from interviews with residents.
 The
High View Oral History Project has logged a wealth of memories that help to
broaden our understanding of life in Arlington County during the 20th
century. Once known as Halls Hill, High View Park is one of Arlington's
historic African American neighborhoods. Situated on land that was an
antebellum estate, a number of current residents are descended from the
estate's slave families while others joined the community in the early
1900's. Until recently the neighborhood has persisted as a close-knit,
stable community with continuing traditions and a strong self-identity. The
collective memories of elders who endured the era of segregation and the
struggle for civil rights comprise an important but largely unknown aspect
of Arlington's history. Themes that have emerged from their stories include
not only the formation of the community, but also the pivotal role of social
institutions in sustaining families and building community. Stories also
chronicle the development, during and after integration, of relationships
that traversed such territories as the public school system and the cement
block wall that segregated Halls Hill from the adjacent white neighborhood.
Today, factors have placed the community on the brink of profound change: an
aging population, encroaching gentrification and the demolition and
rebuilding of the Langston Brown Community Center, long a focal point of the
area's social activities. The gathering of oral history and artifacts and
the establishment of a neighborhood archive in which to house them are an
attempt to preserve the spirit of Halls Hill/High View as the old
neighborhood becomes cloaked by the passage of time and inevitable change.
The field research and booklet were
funded in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the
Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and the Virginia Commission for the
Arts.
Copies of "Up on the Hill" are
available to the public. To obtain a copy, email
Chris Williams, Heritage Arts.
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