Gulf Branch Nature Center
The Center, located in a 1920s fieldstone-and-quartz bungalow, is nestled into the 38-acre Gulf Branch stream valley.
Gulf Branch Nature Center and Natural Area was established in 1966, the first facility in Arlington County dedicated to studying and conserving nature. Since then, generations of Arlingtonians have visited the nature center, participated in its education programs and Pioneer Day events, and hiked along its trails. It is a prominent manifestation of the County's early and ongoing concern for preserving the natural environment.
The Center, located in a 1920s fieldstone-and-quartz bungalow, is nestled into the 38-acre Gulf Branch stream valley. In addition to being one of the neighborhood's few remaining houses from that period, the Nature Center building is an excellent example of the Craftsman bungalow style that characterized many inner-ring suburbs such as Arlington in the 1920s.
The Center has been widely associated with silent film star Pola Negri, who is thought to have spent some time at the house in the early 1930s. Although the evidence is still inconclusive, the story points to the cottage's likely origins as a summer retreat in a rural Arlington County enclave.
The property's rich history spans several eras: from Native American use to early twentieth-century woodland retreat to the symbol of the 1960s conservation movement. Native American sites have been documented throughout Arlington County, particularly in areas along or near the Potomac River and its stream valleys. Gulf Branch was once the site of a Native American fishing camp, and arrowheads and other artifacts have been found in the park.
Gulf Branch Nature Center offers an excellent exhibit on Woodland Indians in the Arlington area. The Nature Center is the only site in urban Northern Virginia included in the Virginia Indian Heritage Trail, a series of 22 museums and interpretive sites throughout the Commonwealth that are considered both culturally sensitive and accurate regarding Virginia Indian history.
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