ARLINGTON COUNTY, Va. – Arlington County is changing its logo to remove a stylized version of its namesake mansion because of its ties to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
The county announced Wednesday that its County Board voted unanimously to adopt a new logo. The current depicts the pillars of Arlington House, a mansion overlooking the Potomac River that was Lee’s home before the Civil War.
The home’s history dates back to George Washington’s adopted son, George Washington Parke Custis. Lee married into the Custis family and took over management of the plantation and its slaves.
County officials say they want a logo that better reflects the county’s values. A new logo will be chosen after a citizen-input process.
Rep. Don Beyer, the Democrat whose district includes Arlington, said he has buy-in from the Arlington Historical Society, too.
“Robert E. Lee himself opposed erecting Confederate monuments, and the site was chosen to punish his insurrection against the lawful government of the United States,” Mr. Beyer said.
He said having the mansion named after Lee distracts from the “larger history” of the place.
The home is administered by the National Park Service.
It was built by George Washington Parke Custis, son of Martha Custis Washington, wife of the first president. Lee would marry Martha Washington’s granddaughter and thus took ownership of the home.
“The impact of what she did as a young person is so compelling and it changed so many lives,” said Margaret Vanderhye, a former Democratic state lawmaker and one of the commissioners. “Sometimes the history finds the people.”
The commission’s vote was 6-1, with the lone dissent coming from Anne Richardson, chief of the Rappahannock Tribe, who cast her vote for Pocahontas, an iconic figure from the beginning of the first English colony who was one of the other five finalists the commission had in front of it.
“In the time period we’re in when we’re going back and trying to correct history, removing statues … the Native American people who have been left out of everything should have a place in history,” she said.