Tinner Hill
Tinner Hill is an historic area of Falls Church, Virginia, named after Charles and Mary Tinner, an African-American couple who bought land there in the late 19th century.
The first rural branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in the United States was inaugurated at a house in Tinner Hill by Joseph Tinner and Edwin Bancroft Henderson in 1915.
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History of NAACP at Tinner Hill
Joseph Tinner and Dr. Edwin B. Henderson organized the Colored Citizens Protective League (CCPL) in 1915, in response to a local law mandating residential segregation. Citizens from the African-American community filed a lawsuit against the city, seeking to block the ordinance, and successfully prevented the town council from implementing the law. In 1917 the U.S. Supreme Court case of Buchanan vs. Worley, nullified state laws making residential segregation legal.
Dr. Henderson requested a charter for a local branch of the NAACP and was allowed to operate a standing committee, under the authority of the NAACP. In 1918, a charter was granted to which allowed the CCPL to form the Falls Church and Vicinity NAACP. Tinner became the first president, and Henderson became the secretary.
Over the next 50 years the group spearheaded civil rights activities that established precedents for the nation: fighting for public utilities, a larger elementary school, and an effective postal service.
NAACP memorial
Erected by the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation in 1999, a fifteen-foot monument constructed of pink granite (trondhjemite) honors the men and women of Tinner Hill who formed the first rural branch of the NAACP. The arch symbolizes the strength magnified when two pillars join through a keystone at the tip. Those pillars were Joseph Tinner and E.B. Henderson, and the keystone for them was civil rights. The stone used in the arch was retrieved from demolished buildings built with the granite that Joseph Tinner personally quarried, cut and masoned in Falls Church prior to 1922. Project Manager Dave Eckert proposed that the monument be constructed in the manner of Joseph Tinner's greatest stonework, a large stand-alone arch at Seven Corners. That arch was demolished many decades ago to prepare for the building of a car dealership. John Ballou, a local high school art teacher drew the concept design. Marc Coupard was the architect. Structural Engineer Guy Razzi developed the professional drawings that displayed the structural support that allows the arch to withstand the vibrations of nearby traffic and a possible direct hit. The monument was designed in a manner so that it can not be disassembled without destruction. In addition, the rock is now irreplaceable, as all remaining local trondhjemite is too friable to use in a stand-alone arch. The highly specialized stone masonry for the monument was crafted by Roy Morgan of Washington, D.C. and James Ware of Virginia. The commemoration ceremony for the unveiling of the monument was highlighted with a performance by Piedmont Blues legend, John Jackson. Multiple plaques imbedded in stone around the monument tell some of the story of Joseph Tinner and E.B. Henderson. A thirty-minute film "The Making of a Monument" by Dave Eckert shows how the arch was made. Another short film "Tinner Hill" by Bob Burnett provides a more in-depth story about the history and people of Tinner Hill.
Tinner Blues Festival
The Annual Tinner Blues Festival takes place the second Saturday of June in Cherry Hill Park in the City of Falls Church. Many national and area blues musicians play at the event which began in 1993. It is a tribute to the memory of Piedmont Blues guitarist/singer John Jackson, who made his home in Northern Virginia.
References
African American Heritage site "The Making of a Monument" video by Dave Eckert
