History Hunters International

Arlington was the 17th-century ancestral plantation of the Custis family located in Northampton County on Virginia's Eastern Shore and is the namesake for Arlington National Cemetery. It was established by John Custis II (1628/29 -1696), one of the most influential planters of his day. Custis left his plantation to grandson John Custis IV, who is known as one of Williamsburg's leading horticulturalists and father-in-law of Martha Custis who eventually married George Washington. John Custis II built an elaborate mansion house c. 1670-1676 that has been described as the most sophisticated 17th-century house in the Chesapeake. The report describes the historical background, initial field survey of the 7 acre site, and subsequent test excavations into the Arlington mansion cellars that produced a variety of architectural information that has been used to produce a conjectural rendering of the mansion.