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Chinquapin Village

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chinquapin Village or Chinquapin Village War Housing Project was a United States Military housing development located on King Street in Alexandria, Virginia.

History

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Built in 1941 by the United States Military, the village housed white workers from Alexandria's nearby torpedo factory.[1][2][3] Cameron Valley, another military housing development, also housed white war workers.[4] Ramsay Houses, located on North Patrick Street in Alexandria, housed African American war workers.[3][5]

Chinquapin Village consisted of 150 wooden duplexes that housed 300 families.[6] One, two, and three bedroom units were assigned by lottery based on family size.[7]

The village homes were demolished in 1958.[3]

Today

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The Chinquapin Park Recreation Center & Aquatics Facility and a community garden now occupy the land where the village once stood.[8]

References

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  1. ^ WETA. "The Torpedo Factory Art Center: Alexandria's World War II Landmark". Boundary Stones: WETA's Washington DC History Blog. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  2. ^ "A Chinquapin House Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  3. ^ a b c Kelly, John (2014-09-06). "Damn Alexandria's World War II torpedoes; plus: Khrushchev didn't shop at Giant, but his deputy did". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  4. ^ Moon, Krystyn (2016). "The African American Housing Crisis in Alexandria, Virginia, 1930s-1960s". Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. 124 (1).
  5. ^ "The Ramsey Homes: An Example of Early Public Housing in Alexandria". City of Alexandria, VA. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  6. ^ Kelly, John (2014-08-30). "From 'tin fish' to fine art: the story of Alexandria's Torpedo Factory". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  7. ^ "World War II Chinquapin Village - City of Alexandria, VA" (PDF). alexandria.gov.
  8. ^ Allen, Rick (1985-11-21). "Change of Name is Being Debated For Alexandria Recreation Facility". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
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