Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Personal Papers of Warren D. Clardy, Collection # RG 71, Arlington Public Library, Center for Local History

Acquisition Information

Donated by Elisabeth Clardy in May 2003.

Biographical Information

Warren Davenport Clardy was a native Washingtonian and long-time resident of Arlington County. He graduated from Western High School and attended both the University of Maryland and George Washington University. After serving in the US Navy during World War II, Clardy was employed with various federal agencies. He started in 1946 with the Civil Aeronautics Administration dealing with personnel issues and later moved to the Federal Civil Defense Administration in 1951. He spent a large part of his career with the US Postal Service, from 1954 to his retirement in 1973.

During the 1970s, Clardy worked with Arlington County government in a job development program designed to help senior citizens find employment. He also served the senior community through his membership of the Arlington Steering Committee for Services to Older Persons. Clardy was also very active in several other civic organizations, including the Committee of 100, the Arlington Historical Society, and the Arlington-East Falls Church Civic Association.

In 1996, Clardy and his wife moved to Concord, New Hampshire, and he remained there until his death in 2002 at the age of 88.

Scope and Content

RG 71 reflects Warren Clardy's research for an article he wrote in October 2001 for the Arlington Historical Magazine (Vol. 12, No. 1), which delved into the origins of Arlington County's name. This 2001 article is a follow-up to an earlier piece he penned in October 1989, also for the Arlington Historical Magazine (Vol. 9, No. 1). Most of the materials in this record group come from his research for the latter essay, but there also appears to be some background documents related to his 1989 article.

The collection is primarily made up of textual materials. The bulk of these records consist of research notes, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and magazine and book articles. There is also a small amount of visual materials, including photographs, slides, maps, brochures, and pamphlets. RG 71 is .63 linear feet and ranges in date from 1900-2001. Most of Clardy's research took place between 1980 and 2001, but his files contain items dating as early as 1900.

Arrangement

Record Group 71 is divided into two series. Series 1, Research Files , is further subdivided into three subseries: History of Arlington County, Virginia; Other Arlington Place Names; and Miscellaneous Research Files. Each subseries is arranged alphabetically according to folder title.

Series 2: Administrative Files , is arranged alphabetically according to folder title.

Every effort was made to retain the original folder titles given by Clardy. However, brackets [ ] that appear in folder titles have been added by the processing archivist to explain a file's contents more fully. Folders containing photographs or slides have an asterisk [*] after the file name. Folders with oversized materials have a double asterisk [**] to denote where material was removed and separation sheets added. Oversized material from this collection has been rehoused in General Oversize Box 2.

Related Material

More material on the Arlington Historical Society can be found in RG 162, Records of the Arlington County Historical Society . Other collections of research material on Arlington History can be found in RG 91, Personal Papers of Dorothea Abbott , and RG 23, Personal Papers of Eleanor Templeman .

Index Terms

Subjects:

• Arlington (Va.)
• Arlington County (Va.)
• Arlington County (Va.) -- History.

Adjunct Descriptive Data