Stumbling Stones ceremony, Arlington View/Johnson Hill

The Arlington Historical Society and the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington had an unveiling of “Stumbling Stones at the  Corner of S. Queen Street and S. 12th Street, Arlington VA 22204, in the Arlington View/Johnson Hill neighborhood off Columbia Pike. Speakers included Craig Syphax, Commonwealth Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, Jessica Kaplan, and others. Descendants of these formerly enslaved members of our community also were present.

From the Memorializing the Enslaved (MEA) website: "These bronze markers commemorate the lives of the enslaved people who helped build our county (and our country).  The markers are placed in the sidewalk at the last known location where these enslaved people lived. Memorializing the Enslaved in Arlington’s research has revealed over 2750 enslaved people and identified 1050 by name.

The people commemorated are: Ann Brooks Johnson: born circa 1830, Margaret Johnson: born circa 1849, and Frank W. Johnson: born November 1856, died 1916.

In the late 1850s, Ann Brooks Johnson and her children Margaret and Frank were enslaved by Sarah and John R. Johnston in what is now the Arlington View/Johnson’s Hill neighborhood. Before moving to Arlington, they labored on a farm in Fairfax County, enslaved by Sarah and her first husband, Mr. Stone (first name is unknown). Ann had 9 children, 8 of whom were born into enslavement, Margaret in 1849 and Frank in 1856. The name of Anne’s husband remains unclear, though in the 1870 census she was listed as married to Peter Johnson. All her children also had the surname Johnson.

According to the 1860 census, John R. Johnston enslaved 15 people just before the Civil War, at least half were Johnsons. The Emancipation Proclamation brought freedom to the clan and to the enslaved people living in Arlington on January 1, 1863. The family remained on the Johnston farm as sharecroppers to make ends meet. Ann and her husband Peter resided in the Johnson’s Hill area their entire lives as did Frank and his family. Margaret and many of her siblings lived in the District of Columbia.

Memorializing the Enslaved in Arlington seeks to shed light upon these early Americans who contributed so much to the economic, social, and cultural development of our county. 

For more information, please contact Jessica Kaplan from the Arlington Historical Society at ahsedlink@gmail.com."

Photography by Lloyd Wolf.