High View Park Neighborhood Day 2026- WE ARE OUR ANCESTORS' WILDEST DREAMS!

Halls Hill/High View Park Neighborhood Day 2026: A Celebration of Legacy & Community Saturday, May 30, 2025 · High View Park · Arlington, Virginia Presented by the John M. Langston Citizens Association of Halls Hill/High View Park

In 1866, newly freed men and women planted roots on the highest ground in Arlington County and built a community that would endure for generations. That community — Halls Hill/High View Park — raised families, established churches, organized fire brigades, fought Jim Crow laws, and sent children to schools they built with their own hands and community fundraising dollars. Today, 160 years later, their descendants and neighbors gather in their honor.

Neighborhood Day 2026 is a celebration of heritage, and Black joy, organized by the John M. Langston Citizens Association. Saturday, May 30 — opens at 10 AM with the Stumbling Stone Unveiling, a solemn and powerful ceremony honoring the formerly enslaved people whose labor shaped this land. At 12pm, the community gathers for the VHC Park Dedication, recognizing the legacy of African American physicians Dr. Morton and Dr. Harold Johnson, who served this community with distinction. At 1 PM, guided Historic Walking Tours bring the neighborhood's Hidden Gems to life — from Moore's Barber Shop and Calloway United Methodist Church to the Hall's Hill Volunteer Fire Station No. 8, the county's first African American-manned fire station, established in 1918.

From 2 PM to 6 PM, High View Park transforms into a full community celebration featuring live bands, DJ, classic card games , a Children's Zone, community giveaways, and FREE FOOD!!

This is more than an event. It is a homecoming. It is a testimony. It is proof that we are, indeed, our ANCESTORS' WILDEST DREAMS.

Free and open to all. [email protected]

Info: The Arlington Historical Society will unveil 8 stumbling stones honoring the lives of those enslaved by Hall.

Info: During the planning of Virginia Hospital Center’s new campus, hospital staff identified a small parcel of park space situated near our historic community. Recognizing the deep ties between this institution and the neighborhood, the Association expressed interest in naming this park and placing within it a permanent commemorative plaque. After thoughtful deliberation, the Association chose to name this space in honor of two extraordinary men whose lives were defined by service, courage, and an unshakeable commitment to the well-being of this community:
Dr. Edward T. Morton — a long-time resident of Halls Hill who served as the community’s physician for more than twenty years; and
Dr. Harold Johnson — the first Black physician admitted to the staff of Arlington Hospital (now VHC).

Info: Self-guided walking tours through the neighborhood's historic markers.

Tour Stops (rotating, multiple tours running simultaneously):
• Calloway United Methodist Church (5000 Langston Blvd) — Est. 1866/1904, anchor of the community
• Mount Salvation Baptist Church (1961 N. Culpeper St.) — Est. 1872, and historic cemetery
• Hall's Hill Volunteer Fire Station No. 8 (4845 Langston Blvd) Tour Station— Renovated 2024
• The Segregation Wall (17th Street North) — Physical remnant of Jim Crow–era racial exclusion
• Moore's Barber Shop (4807 Langston Blvd) — Social institution since 1960
• Site of CVS/People's Drug Store sit-ins — 1960 civil rights action by NAG students
• John M. Langston School Site (2121 N. Culpeper St.) — Rosenwald School, est. 1924
• E. Leslie Hamm House (1900 N. Cameron St.) — Civil rights architect and community leader
• Gateway Park & Sculpture — Commissioned 2004 as a neighborhood anchor

Info: Location: High View Park (Alfred Forman Sr. Field), 1945 N. Dinwiddie Street

The afternoon celebration is a joyful expression of Black cultural life rooted in the Halls Hill tradition. It reflects how this community has always come together—with music, games, food, laughter, and love—as an act of communal affirmation. ALL activities are FREE

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Host or Publisher John M. Langston Citizens Association