Lake Barcroft History Book

Before WID initiated the idea of leaf pickup and convinced the Fairfax
County Board of Supervisors to collect leaves every fall, folks used to burn
their leaves creating air pollution and damaging asphalt roadways.
Street Names
In 1964, Fairfax County adopted a grid pattern numbering
system, which renumbered all of the county’s streets and also
allowed changes to street names. This opened the door for the
residents of Lake Barcroft to rid themselves of less-imaginative
addresses and to choose street names that were better suited to
their surroundings. Colonel Barger’s original plan to retain the
rustic flavor of the area included “giving streets quaint names
such as Tollgate Terrace, Bridge Circle and Grasshopper
Drive.” In the end, however, he succumbed to rewarding some
friends and associates by naming streets after them. For
example, Dockser Terrace and Mansfield Road have survived
to acknowledge a partner, Charles Dockser, and an associate,
Richard Mansfield, respectively. Barger honored Ellen Oshins,
the first resident of Lake Barcroft, by naming Stanford Circle
after her alma mater.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, LABARCA sent
questionnaires to Lake Barcroft residents, soliciting their views
on renaming their streets. The idea met with both relish and
reluctance. Although most people indicated a general
satisfaction with the status quo, there were some exceptions
and even some amusing inputs. For example, Reuben
Fleischbein wanted his street—Pinetree Terrace—changed to
R. Richard vonFleischbein Strasse, and another resident
expressed a desire to change Tollgate Terrace to Barry
Goldwater Place. A tongue-in-cheek editorial in the
Newsletter, admonished the Board, “LABARCA officials,
showing their lack of vision and imagination ruled against
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both names on the specious grounds that they are too long to
fit on a street sign.” In the end, the community held a
referendum on all the proposed changes, the results of which
are listed below.
Fairfax Parkway, as Barger had christened the entrance into
Lake Barcroft, was renamed Aqua Terrace, a name chosen by
Barger for the street’s proximity to the water. Fairfax Parkway
still exists across Columbia Pike from the entrance, not to be
confused with the Fairfax County Parkway in Springfield.
Joallen Drive and Joallen Court, which had been named after
Joe Allen, a popular salesman for Colonel Barger, was changed
to Beachway Drive. The memory of another salesman, Jay
Miller, lives on as Jay Miller Drive.
Tallwood Terrace had been Allan Sturgis Drive, named in
honor of a salesman who left Barger’s employment to seek
greener pastures.
Relee Road was renamed Edgewater Drive, another defeat for
Robert E. Lee who had been memorialized in the original
street name.
General Duff Drive, honoring one of the first Lake Barcroft
residents and an active community member, was changed by
retiring the title and calling the street simply Duff Drive.
Crosswoods Circle replaced DeLashmutt Circle, which had
been named for Basil DeLashmutt, the surveyor who had laid
out the streets and lots for Colonel Barger.
Farm Hill Circle, never an actual circle, was divided into two
names: the eastern portion was changed to Farm Hill Drive
and the western leg to Old Farm Road.
Lakeview Drive and Dearborn Drive were changed to reflect
their actual routes. Early maps show plans for Lakeview
crossing over Holmes Run (where the footbridge is today),
intersecting with Dearborn and extending to Crosswoods
Drive. Because the causeway was never built, however,
Lakeview now ends at the foot of Whispering Lane, and
Dearborn continues to Crosswoods Drive.
Malbrook Drive was replaced by extending the western end of
Crosswoods Drive to Dearborn Drive.
As LABARCA took over more and more control of the
community, Colonel Barger turned his attention to the
development of Tantallon, a lake community in Fort
Washington, Maryland. His corporation, Barcroft Beach, Inc.,
still owned the lake and the dam in the 1960s. The colonel
wanted to sell BBI to the residents, but his price was too high.
Negotiations for the sale came to a standstill. Eventually,
circumstances arose that made the purchase possible, and the
lake became the property of the homeowners. As events would
soon prove, this victory was not without its liabilities.