The Reception
At 5:00 p.m., we gathered at the Hendry House in Fort C.F. Smith Park for food, music, and merriment.
Fort C.F. Smith was the site of a Union fort from 1863 to 1865, guarding the nation's capitol from the Rebs. It did not see any action, and there are no ghosts on the property (we asked). The fort was abandoned after the war and the property was restored as farmland.
The Hendry House was built in 1901-- a classic Arts and Crafts style house, elegant in its simplicity. It was expanded and remodeled by various owners over the years. Dr. Ernest S. Hendry bought the property in 1927, and his family owned it until 1994 when Arlington County acquired it for use as a park and meeting space.