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Article: The Wrong History--In the Right Place; Chapel Hill Boasts A Faulty Legend, Secluded Charm
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- August 19, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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The Chapel Hill neighborhood of Annandale, tucked between Braddock
Road and Little River Turnpike just outside the Capital Beltway, is a
secluded community made to order for raising children or gardens.
It's also a place where residents, developers and real estate agents
inadvertently have fostered a historical myth.
The area has plenty of legitimate history. Chapel Hill is part of
a large tract once known as Ravensworth. The original 24,000 acres,
bought in 1685 by William H. Fitzhugh, encompassed all of present-
day Annandale and then some. The Fitzhughs were eventually related by
marriage to one of Virginia's most prominent families, that of
Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
For years one ...