Virginia Theological Seminary
&
FAIRLINGTON WAR HOUSING
Also named after the Virginia Theological Seminary was an area close by called Seminary Heights, located around I-395 (Shirley Highway) and Leesburg Pike.
Because of the growing number of features being tagged “Seminary” the name was changed to “Fairlington” a combination of Fairfax (my county), and Arlington.
During the Civil War, Seminary Heights became what amounted to a front line between the Confederate Army and Union defenses protecting Washington. It held throughout the war.
Eighty years later during World War II, Washington was growing so fast with new employees of the War Department that between 1942 and 1944 the government’s Defense Homes Corporation built 3,439 housing units for military and civilian workers employed at the newly constructed Pentagon (3 miles away) and temporary buildings on the National Mall, all described in David Brinkley’s book, Washington Goes to War.
Fairlington Village, World War II War Department housing
Temporary War Department buildings near the Lincoln Memorial during World War II
