Arlington, Virginia

General, History, Historic House, Historical Society

Donated to the Arlington Historical Society in 1975, this is Arlington's oldest residence. It was built around 1742. It is a rare example of the homes where the working class people of the time lived. It is occupied by a caretaker for the Society and the interior may be seen by calling ahead. The small house - with its original logs, clapboard roof and pegged floorboards - is one room with a loft and an attached lean-to room at the rear. The house was built by John Ball on a 166-acre land grant from Lord Thomas Fairfax and later owned by William Carlin, tailor to George Washington. Three generations of the Carlin family owned the property for more than 100 years. The third generation, brother and sister Andrew and Anne, ran a dairy farm and built the 1880 house that adjoins the Ball cabin.