Lake Barcroft History Book

Fifty Years of Lake Barcroft
1950 Colonel Joseph V. Barger and associates purchased Lake
Barcroft, a reservoir, from the Alexandria Water Works
for $1 million and started development.
1951 The first home was built and occupied by the Oshins
family on what is now Stanford Circle.
1952 In July, eleven of fifteen homeowners met for the
purpose of starting a community association, known
from that time as The Lake Barcroft Community
Association (LABARCA).
1954 Forty homeowners vote approval for LABARCA bylaws
thus making the organization official.
1955 The Lake Barcroft Woman’s Club was founded.
1958 There were now 650 homes in Lake Barcroft.
1960 The Lake Barcroft Newsletter changed from a
mimeographed sheet to a printed and bound
publication supported by advertisements.
1961 The first major dredging operation commenced and
continued for 18 months with expenditures of over
$200,000 shared by Fairfax County and Col. Barger.
The excess silt was used to create an island and a
peninsula at the Holmes Run end of the lake and a
peninsula at Tripps Run.
1962 An entity known as a Small Sanitary District was
established which taxed Lake Barcroft homeowners for
the purpose of dredging and installing curbs and sewers.
1964 Many street names were changed, and a new address
numbering system effected.
1965 Fifteen ladies who had recently moved to Lake Barcroft
met and formed the Newcomer’s Club.
1969 Colonel Barger and his partner, Charles Dockser, passed
away giving Lake Barcroft residents the opportunity to
purchase the lake.
A Chronology of Major Events
5
1970 Many Barcroft residents contributed $300 per
household to buy the lake for $300,000. A new
corporation, the Barcroft Lake Management
Association (BARLAMA), was established to take over
the lake, dam and beaches.
1971 The Lake Barcroft Recreation Corporation was
incorporated to build a recreation center on
Parcel A, a property purchased from the Barger and
Dockser estates.
1972 Hurricane Agnes washed out an earthen portion of the
dam. The lake drained and left a depressing mud hole.
1973 The residents voted to establish the Lake Barcroft
Watershed Improvement District (LBWID), a selftaxing
entity, to raise funds for restoring the dam. Work
began on the repairs, and dredging removed silt and
debris from the lake bottom. Decanting basins were
constructed at the ends of the lake
1974 The restored dam, outfitted with an automatic gate,
was certified and became operational. By mid-summer
the lake was filled.
1974 The Lake Barcroft Recreation Center opened.
1977 The Lake Barcroft Woman’s Club dedicated the
footbridge at Homes Run.
1992 LABARCA and BARLAMA joined and formed the
Lake Barcroft Association (LBA).
1995 The Lake Barcroft Woman’s Club dedicated the
Community Garden commemorating 40 years of
service to the community.
1999 The Lake Barcroft Foundation was established which
includes the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.
2000 The Community Garden waterfall was named for Ernie
Rauth in honor of his work on the garden.
2000 Lake Barcroft entered the electronic age with the
introduction of the Web Site and Listserve, called the
Lake Link.