Four Mile Run

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Four Mile Run is a stream in Northern Virginia that proceeds from Fairfax County southeast through Falls Church to Arlington County. Most of the stretch is parkland and is paralleled by two paved recreational trails, the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail and the Four Mile Run Trail.

While in Arlington, the stream passes from the Piedmont through the fall line to the Atlantic Coastal Plain in a deep wooded valley. The stream's eastern section forms the boundary of Arlington County and the City of Alexandria. The stream eventually empties out into the Potomac River immediately south of National Airport.

The name "Four Mile Run" reflects the distance upstream along the Potomac River shoreline from the mouth of Hunting Creek south of Alexandria to the mouth of the stream. "Four Mile Run" runs into the tidal "Four Mile Creek" within a mile of the mouth of the stream.

Contents 1 History 2 Tributaries 3 Parks 4 Trails 5 References

[edit] History

During the colonial period and the 1800s, several watermills existed in and near the fall line of the stream. Although none of these mills remain intact, the foundation of one is still in place (Arlington Mill; later rebuilt as Barcroft Mill after being destroyed by Union Army troops during the Civil War). Located west of the stream between Columbia Pike and 10th Street South in Arlington, the foundation presently supports an automobile repair shop.

General George Washington owned on the south side of the stream in the fall line a large parcel of wooded property which he surveyed several years after the Revolutionary War ended. As part of this survey, he made a cut in the trunk of an oak tree to mark a corner of his property where a tributary (Long Branch (upper)) entered the main stream. A portion of this trunk remains preserved in a neighborhood library (Glencarlyn Library), while a columnar monument marks the tree's original location.

From about 1860 to 1968, the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad and its predecessors traveled along most of the stream's length in Arlington. The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority's Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Trail now travels along the stream on the former railroad's route.

In 1972, rains from Hurricane Agnes caused the stream to overflow its banks, producing extensive flooding which was especially severe in a populated area on the coastal plain. As a result of this event, the Army Corps of Engineers channelized the stream in this and other areas, covering the stream's natural banks with rip-rap.

[edit] Tributaries

The major tributaries of Four Mile Run, from upstream to downstream, are:

• Lubber Run (enters northeast side of stream)
• Long Branch (upper) (enters southwest side of stream)
• Doctors Run (enters northeast side of stream)
• Lucky Run (enters southwest side of stream)
• Long Branch (lower) (enters north side of stream)

[edit] Parks

The parks through or adjacent to which Four Mile Run flows, from upstream to downstream, are:

• Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park, Arlington
• Isaac Crossman Park, Falls Church
• Benjamin Banneker Park, Arlington
• Madison Manor Park, Arlington
• Bon Air Park, Arlington
• Bluemont Junction Park, Arlington
• Bluemont Park, Arlington
• Glencarlyn Park, Arlington
• Barcroft Park, Arlington
• Shirlington Park, Arlington
• Jennie Dean Park, Arlington
• Four Mile Run Park, Alexandria

[edit] Trails

The paved trails that travel near Four Mile Run are:

• Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail, Arlington
• Four Mile Run Trail, Arlington
• Wayne F. Anderson Bikeway, Arlington and Alexandria

Connecting trails are:

• Mount Vernon Trail
• Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail, Arlington
• Custis Trail (along I-66), Arlington

It is possible to bicycle or hike a triangle route that passes along all three of these trails.

[edit] References

• Rose. C.B., Jr., Arlington County, Virginia: a history; Arlington Historical Society, Arlington, VA, 1976

• Glencarlyn Remembered: The First 100 Years; Glencarlyn Citizens Association, Arlington, VA, 1994

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