Ball-Carlin Cemetery

About

Date: 1785

Historic Designation: Local Historic District, Oct. 3, 1978

Current Use of Property: Cemetery

Members of two of Arlington’s earliest families – the Ball and Carlin families — were buried at this site between 1766 and 1908. The cemetery is located in Arlington’s Glencarlyn neighborhood, where John Ball became one of the first settlers after receiving a 166-acre land grant from Lord Fairfax in 1742.

In 1748 Moses Ball, his friend and possibly distant cousin, was granted 91 adjoining acres. They also acquired an adjoining tract along Four Mile Run in 1785.

After John Ball’s death in 1766, his estate was sold to William Carlin, one of George Washington’s tailors. The original Ball-Carlin log house is now enclosed within the walls of a modern house at 5620 3rd St. South. About 1800, Carlin built a log house that still stands at 5512 N. Carlin Springs Rd.  Mr. Carlin’s granddaughter, Mary Alexander Carlin, a school teacher, was born in this house and lived there until her death in 1905.  Hers was the last burial in the Ball-Carlin Cemetery. In what is now Glencarlyn Park, his descendants operated “Carlin Springs”, a popular resort between 1872 and 1884.

More Information

Location

300 S. Kensington St., Arlington, VA 22204  View Map

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