Date: 7/16/2015
Time: 7:00 PM TO 8:00 PM

1015 N. Quincy Street
Arlington, VA 22201

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Event Description: The Arlington Historical Society (AHS) will host Martha Orth, who will present “A Love Affair with an Old House: The Ball-Sellers House Story” at its next public program on Thursday, July 16. The Ball-Sellers House is the oldest surviving building in Arlington County, built by John Ball in 1742. Martha Orth was active in AHS when Mrs. Marian Sellers donated the house to the society in 1975. Mrs. Orth was a member of the team that accepted the house, raised money to preserve it, and has been a steward of it for 40 years. Orth will recount stories about the house and the owners over its 273 years of Arlington history, including the builder and his family who were pioneers on what was then the frontier of colonial America. She will explain the Carlin namesake who had a small place in history as a tailor for George Washington, and the three generations of Carlins who helped build a community now known as Glencarlyn. Another family, the Powells, were veterans of World War I and taught their adopted niece, Marian Sellers, the value of a home and the house. Mrs. Orth will show photos of the Ball-Sellers House – some never before shown – and help commemorate our 40th anniversary of AHS receiving the house as a donation from Mrs. Sellers. Since then, a group of concerned AHS members have sought to preserve the house and honor the memory and contributions of the generations of Arlingtonians who lived there. Martha Orth has long been interested in historic houses and particularly about the people who lived in them. She is the author of "The House that John Built," a history of the Ball-Sellers House, an updated edition of which will be published this year. She is a past president of the Arlington Historical Society, has held several other posts, and served as past Chair of the Ball-Sellers House Committee. She is retired from the Federal Government, having worked at the FDIC and the Comptroller of the Currency. About AHS: The Arlington Historical Society, founded in 1956, is a non-profit organization under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The AHS mission is to help Arlingtonians better understand our community through its history. For more information, please visit www.arlingtonhistoricalsociety.org.


Directions:
The hour-long program will begin at 7:00pm at Arlington Central Library Auditorium (1015 N. Quincy Street). A question-and-answer session will follow. The program is free and open to the public. For additional Central Library information, please contact 703-228-5990.

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