Gravelly Point

Airplane taking off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport as seen looking south from the Mount Vernon Trail at Gravelly Point.

Gravelly Point is an area within the National Park Service's George Washington Memorial Parkway in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States.[1] It is located on the west side of the Potomac River, north of Roaches Run and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.[1] The paved Mount Vernon Trail travels through the area.[2]

A couple at Gravelly Point watching an airplane approach Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport from the north.
Airplane passing over Gravelly Point while approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport from the north.

Aircraft spotters and others use the area to see planes landing at the nearby airport.[3] The area also has a boat launch.[4]

In 1746, a house, on a plantation later named Abingdon, existed near Gravelly Point on property that Gerrard Alexander owned. The name of Alexandria, Virginia, commemorates Alexander's family.[5][6] In 1778, John Parke Custis, the son of Martha Washington and stepson of George Washington, purchased the plantation.[5] Martha Washington’s granddaughter Eleanor Parke Custis was later born on the plantation.[5] A house at Abingdon was destroyed by fire in 1930 and its ruins stabilized.[5]

In 2016, a bill was introduced in the United States House of Representatives to rename the site as Nancy Reagan Memorial Park.[7] The bill is not expected to pass.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gravelly Point.

References

  1. 1 2 "Map of George Washington Memorial Parkway" (PDF). George Washington Memorial Parkway: Plan Your Visit. National Park Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-01. Retrieved 2015-02-01. External link in |work= (help)
  2. ↑ "Exploring the Mount Vernon Trail". George Washington Memorial Parkway: Plan Your Visit. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2015-02-01. External link in |work= (help)
  3. ↑ (1) Ripley, Amanda (2015). "9. Gravelly Point". Washington: 10 Things to Do. Time, Inc. Retrieved 2015-02-01. External link in |work= (help)
    (2) Ahmad, Zach (2005-10-10). "Plane-spotting: At Gravelly Point park, people stop to spot". The GW Hatchet. Hatchet Publications, Inc. Archived from the original on 2013-10-13. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  4. ↑ "Public Boating Access: Potomac River: Gravelly Point". Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. 2013-12-13. Archived from the original on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Rose, C.B., Jr. (1976). Arlington County, Virginia: A History. Arlington Historical Society, Inc. pp. 26–32.
  6. ↑ Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. ""The Alexander Family" marker". in W., Kevin, Stafford, Virginia (2008-06-17). The Alexander Family: Abingdon Plantation. HMdb.org The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved 2011-03-18.
  7. ↑ H.R. 5457

Coordinates: 38°51′54″N 77°02′21″W / 38.8651°N 77.0391°W / 38.8651; -77.0391


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