THE STORY

More Than a Neighborhood

Halls Hill is where the story lives.

One of the most significant historic Black communities in the Washington metro area, Halls Hill has been home to Wilma Jones's family for four generations. This is not a neighborhood that was studied from the outside. It was built, defended, and loved from within, and Wilma Jones is the only guide who can tell that story from the inside.

The Halls Hill Scholars Tour moves through ten stops with eight disembark locations, giving students the opportunity to step off the motorcoach and stand inside the history they are learning. Curated historical artifacts are presented at select stops, tangible connections to the people and events that shaped this community.

Students will encounter the story of Fire Station 8, the first all-African American staffed fire station below the Mason-Dixon Line. They will stand near the school where four twelve-year-olds — including Wilma's brother Michael Jones, walked through the doors and changed Virginia history on February 2, 1959.

This is the kind of history that doesn't appear in textbooks. It appears when you show up.

What Students Will Experience

• Ten stops through Halls Hill, one of the DC region's most historically significant Black communities

• Eight disembark locations where students step into the history, not just past it

• Curated historical artifacts with direct connections to the community's story

• The story of Fire Station 8, the first all-African American staffed fire station below the Mason-Dixon Line established in 1918

• The desegregation of Arlington public schools told by the sister of one of the Stratford Four

• Generations of Black community life, resistance, and achievement in a single neighborhood

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Buy the books

My Halls Hill Family: More Than a Neighborhood
Little Michael Visits Fire Station 8

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Operational Standards

ABHE meets the operational standards required by DMCs, luxury tour organizations, corporate incentive and procurement teams. We carry $1,000,000 in general liability coverage and maintain absolute client privacy - no guest photography, no social media, and no disclosure of client or attendee information. Certificates of insurance available upon request.