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Other Sites of Interest - Arlington Cemetery |
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Arlington National Cemetery
Across from the Memorial Bridge
Arlington, Virginia
Metro Stop: Arlington Cemetery
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| Officially designated a military cemetery June 15, 1864 more than 260,000 people are buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Veterans from all of our nation’s wars are buried in the cemetery, starting from the American Revolution. Pre-Civil War dead were reinterred after 1900. |
Arlington Mansion and the cemetery grounds surrounding it that are now part of Arlington Cemetery were once owned by a relative of President George Washington, Mary Anna Randolph Custis, who in 1831 married then Lt. Robert E. Lee. The Lee’s lived on the plantation for 30 years until Lee resigned his commission in the U.S. Army in 1861 rather than take up arms against his native state following Virginia’s secession from the Union. Federal troops took over the estate not long after that and turned the home into the Army of the Potomac’s headquarters.
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Arlington House and the estate were confiscated in May 1864 and sold to the federal government when the Lee’s failed to pay $92.07 in property taxes in person. The Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, designated Arlington House and the surrounding 200 acres a military cemetery. Arlington House is now a memorial to Lee, and the spot of one of the best views of Washington.
Visitors tour the house with a self-guiding brochure. Park Guides are available to answer visitor’s questions. Robert E. Lee’s birthday is recognized in January and the Lee’s wedding anniversary is observed June 30 as well as other frequent special events. There is no admission fee.
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| The most visited site in Arlington Cemetery is the gravesite, of our 35th President, John F. Kennedy, marked by an eternal flame. President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963 while on a campaign trip to Dallas, Texas. Nearby, is the grave of the President’s brother and Attorney General, Robert Kennedy, assassinated in 1968. A simple white cross and plaque mark this site. |
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Other notables buried in Arlington include U.S. President and Supreme Court Justice Howard Taft, Civil War veteran and Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., boxing champion Joe Louis, and Pierre L’Enfant, who designed Washington, D.C.
The Visitors Center, near the cemetery’s entrance, is open during normal cemetery hours. The Center provides historic information, grave-site locations, maps and brochures, and other information. Visitors can do a self-guided tour or take a Tourmobile tour bus that allow patrons unlimited reboarding for a single daily rate.
Times of Operation
Arlington National Cemetery is open to the public 365 days of the year at 8:00 a.m. From April 1 to September 30 the cemetery closes at 7:00 p.m.; the other six months it closes at 5:00 p.m. Arlington House, located within the cemetery, is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Arlington House is closed December 25 and January 1.
Arlington National Cemetery Links
Places of Interest Nearby
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