e of the distinguished visitors to
Green Spring Farm during these years included scientists Julian
Huxley and Leo Szilard, authors Aldous Huxley and Saul Bellow, poet
Dylan Thomas, Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, and political
leader Hubert Humphrey. The farm also was a visiting place for
distinguished journalists from all parts of the United States and
many foreign countries, including Soviet Russia, when they came to
Washington. An account of one of these visits, written by one of the
foreign journalists, is set forth in appendix G.[81]

The farm became well known in the community of which it was a part as
it was the scene of numerous festive community gatherings when the
neighbors from the immediate area joined the Straights and their
guests to celebrate such special events and holidays as the Fourth of
July and to enjoy dinner, games, and discussions under the trees.

With the departure of the Straights, active farming operations ceased.
During their occupancy, fundamental changes in the character of
Northern Virginia's development brought the era of farming to an end
and ushered in an era in which this region became part of the social
and economic system centered in Washington. Intensive subdivision and
establishment of commercial service facilities became the highest and
best uses of the land as population growth in the National Capital
area rose at a rate which led other parts of the United States.
Outsiders moving into Northern Virginia and Washington residents
seeking to move from the central city into the outskirts filled up the
open spaces of Fairfax County at a rate of over 1,000 new residents
per month.[82]

Along with the temptation of high land prices, rising taxes added to
the pressure on the farmer to "sell out" to the land developer. It was
said, with much truth, that one could not afford to be a farmer in
Fairfax County as the 1950's ended and the 1960's began. For the 33
acres and buildings on Green Spring Farm, as for many other
residences, taxes rose sharply. In 1943, the farm was evaluated at
$7,819, and the tax bill was $194.69; by 1960, the evaluation was
$36,050, and the taxes $1,351.88.[83]

So, gradually, Green Spring Farm became an island of open space in a
sea of houses and highways. The Little River Turnpike (Route 236) was
widened and modernized in 1959. In 1948, this road had been an
18-foot-wide, two lane black-top roadway. Twenty years later, it had
been transformed into a 106-f