Murder at the Old Keene Mill, 1855

I first came across Jack Hiller's 1990's article about the Murder at the Old Keene Mill in a scholarly Virginia historical journal of some kind - I forget the name. The article is fascinating and very well-researched, however, and I've never forgotten it.

I recently made the acquaintance of Lynne Garvey-Hodge, a Fairfax County History Commissioner, who also knew of it. She was kind enough to send me a copy. I link to a .pdf copy here for your reading pleasure.

Murder at the Mill: My Search for William H. Keene by Jack Lewis Hiller

(33 MB .pdf, so be patient while it loads up.)

Summary: On October 27th, 1855, Lewis Q. Hall of the local Hall family was attacked by William H. Keene (owner of the Old Keene Mill which the street in Springfield and Burke is named after). Keene used a knife; alcohol was involved. Hall died, and Keene was tried and condemned to hang on 30 January 1857. Virginia's Governor Wise changed the punishment to ten years in prison in Richmond. We lose track of William H. Keene due to records being destroyed as a result of the Civil War.

The article is fascinating and gives an interesting account of some local 19th C. history most residents are unaware of these days.

Whenever I drive by the site of the Old Keene Mill - at the intersection of Old Keene Mill Road and the Pohick Creek, I think about the events that took place there in 1855!

Allie Guidry has found some interesting mentions of the case from the Alexandria Gazette:

From November 24th, 1855. 

From April 5th, 1856 - Keene was an escapee!

From November 10th, 1856.

From January 17, 1857. 

From 1857.

Sydenstricker Road and Pearl S. Buck

Pearl S. Buck

When I first moved into Springfield, a Burke resident told me that Sydenstricker Road was named after a family who represented the "S" in famous novelist Pearl S. Buck's family. I accepted this as true for a few years, then began to have doubt. When the Internet Age began, I looked up details about the Sydenstrickers that Pearl S. Buck was a part of. No... those seem to be from West Virginia. Must be a different family.

But lo and behold, I was told the truth.

Sydenstricker History 

Thanks to Mr. Marc Points,
Historian of Sydenstricker United Methodist Church
Researched and Compiled by Mr. Dick Pape 

Q: What does a street in Orange Hunt have in common with a Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winning author?

A: Its name - Sydenstricker 

Early in the 1900's, Reverend Christopher Sydenstricker and a pastor from Baltimore approached a local general storekeeper, John Quincy Hall, about the use of his picnic grove for an evangelistic camp meeting. The outgrowth of this became Sydenstricker Methodist Episcopal Church, South. 

Rev. Sydenstricker began to hold services in 1910 at Mr. Hall's wooden dance pavilion located on Gambrill Road, (later renamed Sydenstricker Road). 

When it was decided to build a church in the area Caleb Hall donated the land on which the chapel was to be built. While the chapel was being built, Fairfax County granted permission to Rev Sydenstricker to hold services in the Red Schoolhouse next to the building site.

Later when the schoolhouse burned down (in the 1920's), Sydenstricker Church gave permission to the county to hold school in the chapel. 

The chapel was completed in 1911, and was used regularly for Sunday services until 1981, when a new sanctuary was built across Hooes Road. 

The Rev. Christopher Sydenstricker was an uncle of the noted author Pearl S. (Sydenstricker) Buck. She was born in Hillsboro, IN, but grew up in China where her parents were missionaries. She received the Pulitzer Prize in 1932, for her book The Good Earth. In 1938, she received the Nobel Prize, the first American women to receive that award in literature. She graduated from Randolph-Macon Women's College in 1914. She has written more than 65 books. 

Note: I am indebted to Lisa Becker and Lynn Garvey Hodge, who pointed out that the original story I was told was, in fact, correct.

Odd Street Names

I remember, just after we moved into Springfield, reading a local newspaper article highlighting the oddball street names in town - and which, according to readers, was the oddest one? Bardu Ave. was one submission. And then there are the funny alphabet ones near Forrester and Carrleigh Parkway: F Dr., J Dr. Cc Dr. (why two "c's?"), S Dr., M Dr., N Dr., Gg Dr. (why two "g's?"), W Dr., Y Dr. and so on. Painted Daisy Dr. was another submission. Itte Ln. ("It?" "Ittee?") seems a bit odd. We're all used to Backlick Rd., but you must admit it paints a funny mental image. 

I've always gotten a kick out of Goins St.: "Doctor, my goins hurt. Is there anything you can do for it?" Is Laural Valley Way a misspelling? Isn't is "Laurel?" 

By vote, however, the winner was Atteentee Rd. There was some question as to how it's pronounced: AT-ten-tee? Aay-tee-an-tee? (AT&T?) At-E'EeN-tee? The consensus was that it's pronounced the same as the company, AT&T. 

I live on Shepherd Ridge Ct. Nothing unusual there, except that I have to spell "shepherd" lest it become "shephard."

Springfield Golf and Country Club

How are you assured that you're in a more affluent than average community? You see a golf course - and a privately-owned one, not a municipal one. Such is the case with the Springfield Golf and Country Club.

This is a street view from Old Keene Mill Road. Looks pretty, bucolic, green and... well... like a golf course.

I am not a member. Number one, I don't like golf. Number two, I probably couldn't afford it.

This is the Clubhouse. As a guest of a fanatical golfer friend who is a member, I've eaten here one Friday night. Pretty good food! And thanks to the same friend we were sponsored to obtain the place for my daughter's wedding reception. It was very nice.

I'd like to be able to tell some more stories about this Springfield Thing, but, as I said, I don't golf.

FORE!

Website.

Calamo House

 

This is a street view of what is known in some local circles as "the Calamo House" (as the name suggests, on Calamo St. in Springfield) - almost as if there were no others. Why?

 

I first moved to town in 1987, and I believe at the time this house was under construction - that is, the framing was in place, but the siding was not and most of this house was sheathed in bare plywood. Some windows were fitted, some were not. It remained that way for years - a decade or more, perhaps. I don't recall - I wasn't keeping track - but the house quickly gained the reputation as "that perennially unfinished house on Calamo." It was an especial source of amusement to a friend of mine who is a local building contractor.

 

At some point - after 2000? - the house was finally sided and painted.

 

 

You can see from this close up that, technically, the house still isn't finished. There's a ladder on the front porch and some siding has yet to be installed.

But the long and painful road to completion is not what sets this house apart - it has other angles.

Circa 2001 I used to know a fellow who rented out the basement, which was reachable via a door in the back yard. One time I had occasion to visit him when he wasn't home, so I walked around to the front door to knock to see if anyone knew where he might be. What I saw though the front door really surprised me: a smaller, older home, within the newer home, apparently fully intact. Well, as far as I could see. (I wasn't invited in.) In other words the Calamo House was a house within a house!

I forget the conversation I had with the people in the home, but I was too polite to ask, "Excuse me, but... what's going on, here?" I made a mental note instead to ask my friend about the situation.

Eventually I caught up with my friend who assured me that the fellow who owned the place was in actuality quite nice, but that it wasn't just a home within a home. No. In fact, and he told me this with a sincere look on his face, family members lived within a trailer within the house within the house. Honest. That's what he told me. "No," I said. "Get out." "Yes," he replied. "Really."

Years have passed since I had this conversation, and doubts have crept into place. How does one fit a trailer within a house? I can see building a newer, larger home outside of and encompassing a previous house, but... how...?

Gentle Reader, that's all I can say.

You can see Calamo House and its environs on google maps, here.

Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's is my favorite grocery store. Why? Because it makes me think of the beach stores one goes to when on vacation... so when I'm in Joe's I feel like I'm on vacation picking up a few fun items, not in the workaday world doing dreary food shopping.

That plus it looks so un-corporate. 

I also appreciate the lengths they go to with interior decoration. The following photographs describe what I mean...

 

Springfield! Flying the colors proudly!

 

I believe that's supposed to be Lake Accotink!

 

My favorite sign in the store: Springfield is at the 6 o'clock point on the Washington Beltway, where 95, 495 and 395 meet.

 

Each cashier station has the name of a prominent street in town.  Backlick, Amherst...

..and, of course, Old Keene Mill Road.

 

Hahahaha! That loopy road depiction is the Springfield Interchange - the other places are about 13 miles north up I-395. 

 

The Orange and Alexandria railroad trestle is at Lake Accotink; another street sign. 

 

A commendable show of support for the local schools. (My kids went to Lee, at left. Go Lancers!) 

 

The carousel at Lake Accotink, I think.

Trees

Trees? Yes, trees.

See, the thing is I'm from Los Angeles. We have trees in Southern California, of course, but not the amazing year round deciduous display we get here in Northern Virginia. So, at certain times of the year, even the crappy parts of Springfield look nice. I suspect we take the beauty of them for granted. (We certainly grouse about them when it's time to pick up the leaves.)

Here are some examples.
 

 

The trees here actually do get this amazing. A sunburst finish on a tree...wow.

 

Seen while walking the dog!

 

Seen at the Franconia-Springfield Metro Station.