Youngs Village
Title
Youngs Village
Date
1940s-1956
Description
In the early 1940s the Army acquired the historic African American Community of Woodlawn. This land was located close to the present day Ft. Belvoir Elementary School. Woodlawn was a thriving African American Community of single-family homes, a church, school, and an Odd Fellows Hall. After acquiring Woodlawn and the surrounding area, the Army built Youngs Village as segregated housing for the African American soldiers and their families. The housing development was named after African American Officer Colonel Charles Young. The seven streets were named Coleman, Foreman, Ganby, Madison, Trescille, Rivers and Stack, all after African American Soldiers and pilots killed in World War II. The homes in Youngs Village were described as temporary housing.
The Engineer Replacement Training Center housed on the North side of the post was an integrated workplace, while facilities on the South side were not. Informally, both Black and White Soldiers referred to the side of Ft Belvoir North of Route 1 as the Union Army and the side South of Route 1 as the Confederate Army. President Truman in July 1948 signed an executive order to desegregate the military. The order was fully executed in the early 1950s and families in Youngs Village were relocated. The homes were demolished in the late 1950s.
The Engineer Replacement Training Center housed on the North side of the post was an integrated workplace, while facilities on the South side were not. Informally, both Black and White Soldiers referred to the side of Ft Belvoir North of Route 1 as the Union Army and the side South of Route 1 as the Confederate Army. President Truman in July 1948 signed an executive order to desegregate the military. The order was fully executed in the early 1950s and families in Youngs Village were relocated. The homes were demolished in the late 1950s.
Source
What’s in a name – Ft Belvoir Elementary School https://youtu.be/W2M_Jils2Gs
Ft Belvoir Housing History Youngs Village-Fort Belvoir Housing History
Youngs Village was named after African American Officer Colonel Charles Young
https://www.nps.gov/chyo/learn/historyculture/colonel-Charles-Young.htm
A century after his death, the first Black US Army colonel is promoted to brigadier general.
Charles Young, the first Black US Army colonel, whose groundbreaking military career was hampered a century ago by the racism of the era, was posthumously promoted to brigadier general.
By Chandelis Duster, CNN April 30, 2022
Repository: https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/29/politics/charles-young-brigadier-general-us-army/index.html
“JC at Ft Belvoir Harms School-Age Children Greatest: Separate Schools, Residential Areas Violate The Presidents Directive Ordering Integration “The Baltimore Afro-American, December 29, 1951
Location
5970 Meeres Road Fort Belvoir, VA
District
Mount Vernon
Collection
Citation
“Youngs Village,” Fairfax County African American History Inventory, accessed October 24, 2026, https://fairfaxaahi.centerformasonslegacies.com/items/show/173.