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UER Forum > Archived US: Mid-Atlantic > Daingerfield Island (Viewed 126 times)
fritzflohr 


Location: NOVA/DC/MD




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Daingerfield Island
< on 2/14/2007 6:59 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Daingerfield Island is a park along the Potomac River in Arlington Virginia. At first appearance there is not much to look at, a well maintained Marina and restaurant dominate the area visible from the road, and the single official trail, popular with joggers and cyclists, does not reveal the presence of any ruins.

However, there is an unpaved road which leads from the southernmost edge of the parking lot, past an unusually tall stand of magnolia trees littered with the remains of yellow police line tape, past several signs barring the entry of unauthorized persons, into the wooded section of the park, but far closer to the river than the official trail. Here there are some small buildings which appear to be in use. It is not clear if these signs are meant to indicate merely that the compound of buildings itself is off limits, or that the entire expanse of parkland that lies beyond them is also forbidden. Presumably the buildings are for the purpose of park maintenance, nearby are many large piles of the expected materials such as mulch. However, the area is unkempt, and there is a large pile of what appears to be household trash, and the sort of large debris such as mattresses, a shopping cart, broken furniture, and a few Christmas trees that could be expected from an illegal dump site, except that there are also some crunched up highway signs, and this is presumably a park maintenance area? What other than the pile of mulch serves to indicate this? I don't know, but this area dominates a significant portion of the park, which is largely wooded/overgrown and does not seem to have been developed much for use as a park, which is exactly why I like it.

Spreading southwards through the wooded section of the park from the dumping/maintenance area, the forest has a dominant overstory and there are not many brambles to get in your way, the groundcover is largely invasive ivys. The ground is hard packed, and gives the impression of being a many layer landfill job, which is probably why "Daingerfield Island" is no longer an island. There are several large steep mounds, covered with vegetation, as well as the ivy covered foundation of a small building, a large rusted metal tank, segments of rusted metal grills, and many long raised burms which are composed of large chunks of rubble, like from demolished buildings, concrete rebar with exposed rusted metal, and redbricks held together by mortar, which look as if they could have been from a rather old structure. In some cases these burms have caught a great deal of sediment and it appears that their purpose may be erosion control, but they are really strange looking, and create the appearance of an overgrown war zone.

If you keep heading south you will approach an inlet with the typical debris to be found elsewhere in floodplains along the Potomac, a mixture of small colorful garbage, and pieces of driftwood mingled with Styrofoam. You could cut through the woods to reach the official trail here, but stagnant water and thicker brambles don't really make it worth the effort. For many people this site would prove a disappointment, as there are no fences to climb, or intact structures to explore, it's a public park, for christssake, but my subtler tastes found the overgrown rubblefield sufficiently entertaining. I noted several crows, cardinals, and mourning doves, also raccoon tracks in fresh mud.

Towards the river are many small foottrails where flotsam from periodic floodings mixes with litter indicating the use of the area for drinking alcohol, and hooking up for outdoor sex. Along the water's edge are tiny pebble beaches where many of the "pebbles" are actually worn down pieces of orange brick. There are some old, heavy, ornate, metal lampposts rusting out here, as well as a piece of a statue (looks to be a small pedestal of some kind) which appears old and has been submerged partially in sand. There is also a metal wire garbage can out here, of the kind that used to be found in parks, (1950s-80s?) the bottom is rusted out, could this be evidence that the area was once maintained for public use? Or was it brought here from elsewhere?

Daingerfield Island provides an excellent view of the Potomac river, insulated from traffic and away from the children and dog walkers that plague many other similar spots. I went on a warmish winter day and this area was totally deserted, I don't know how it will be come spring, but it doesn't look like it gets much use, very peaceful.

I would be interested in learning more about the recent history of Daingerfield Island. Apparently the first permanent settlement that became Alexandria was established there in 1696, but prior settlements had been decimated by disease or killed by Powhatans and Susquehannocks in defense of their homeland. There is undoubtedly a lot of old history, ruins and bones buried under the more recent landfill layers, but I couldn't find any information about these more recent layers, for instance, is the large quantity of rubble used in construction of the burms left over from large buildings which were demolished on site, or was it trucked in from elsewhere? Lots of questions. Not many answers. Not much to explore, but still an interesting marginal urban waterfront space in my opinion.

I didnt take any pictures, because I don't have a camera. Additionally, in the Marina area, there is a sign that says if you see a suspicious person taking pictures to call Homeland Security. This is the policy in many places now, and it is one of the reasons that I choose not to carry a camera in general. I don't think that this area is very high security though. If you want to check this place out, check it out, it is probablly only worthwhile if you live in the area though.
[last edit 2/14/2007 7:12 PM by fritzflohr - edited 2 times]

UER Forum > Archived US: Mid-Atlantic > Daingerfield Island (Viewed 126 times)



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