Crandal Mackey (December 15, 1865 – March 31, 1957), sometimes spelled Crandall, was an American lawyer and newspaper publisher. He served as the

commonwealth attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

Alexandria County, Virginia Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

from 1904 to 1916, and led raids in

Rosslyn, Virginia Rosslyn ( ) is a heavily urbanized unincorporated area in Northern Virginia located in the northeastern corner of Arlington County, Virginia, north of Arlington National Cemetery and directly across the Potomac River from Georgetown and Foggy Bo ...

of gambling dens in 1904.

Early life

Crandal Mackey was born on December 15, 1865, in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

to Thomas Jefferson Mackey. His father was a lawyer, captain of engineers during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

and judge of a circuit court. Later, the family moved to

Chester, South Carolina Chester is a small rural city in Chester County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 5,607 at the 2010 census, down from 6,476 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Chester County, South Carolina, Chester County. History Whil ...

. Mackey attended the

North Carolina Military Institute North Carolina Military Institute was established in 1858. Daniel Harvey Hill was made superintendent of the school in 1859 and James H. Lane taught natural philosophy (physics) at the Institute until the start of the U.S. Civil War.Eicher, p. 33 ...

. Mackey occasionally worked in cotton fields while growing up in South Carolina. The family moved to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

when he turned 18. He attended Randolph Macon College and participated in football and boxing sports while there. He graduated from the

Georgetown University Law School The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and t ...

with a law degree in 1889.

Career

In 1885, Mackey was appointed a clerk in the

U.S. Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, a ...

. He then became an examiner of pensions and started to practice law. On June 21, 1898, Mackey was appointed a captain of the 10th U.S. Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

. After the war, he returned to practicing law in Washington, D.C. Mackey was elected as the

by one vote in 1904. He ran as the anti-gambling candidate against Dick Johnson. He assumed office in January 1904 and served until 1916, replaced by Frank L. Ball. While commonwealth attorney, he led raids on gambling dens and houses in Rosslyn, Jackson City and St. Asaph's in May 1904.

Frank Lyon Frank Lyon (December 30, 1867 – November 29, 1955) was an American lawyer, newspaper publisher and land developer in Arlington County, Virginia. He developed the land in modern-day Clarendon, Virginia, Lyon Park and Lyon Village. Early life ...

was also a member of the raids. The raids caused gambling houses in Rosslyn and Jackson City to shutter, including the poolroom at St. Asaph Racetrack. Mackey was opposed to the county manager style of government that Arlington County imposed in 1930. He later ran for the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

in 1930, on a platform of

states' rights In American political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments rather than the federal government according to the United States Constitution, reflecting especially the enumerated powers of Congress and the ...

and calling for the repeal of the 18th Amendment in favor of statewide control of liquor. He lost the Democratic primary to

Howard W. Smith Howard Worth Smith (February 2, 1883 – October 3, 1976) was an American politician. A Democratic U.S. Representative from Virginia, he was a leader of the informal but powerful conservative coalition. Early life and education Howard W ...

. Mackey was an editor and publisher of a newspaper in Arlington called ''The Chronicle''. He was one of the charter members of the Arlington County Bar Association. He was also a director of the Arlington National Bank and the National Mortgage and Investment Company. He was one of the organizers of the Arlington Trust Company and was a member of the Board of Trustees of

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

Personal life

Mackey married Mary, and had seven children, including Argyle, Joseph, Darlington, Thomas, Alice and Virginia. Mackey lived on a hill above Rosslyn called "Mackey's Hill". Mackey moved to Alexandria County around 1896. Mackey and his family were in an automobile accident in 1912. Mackey jumped out of his car before it fell over an embankment. He later broke his hip in an automobile accident in 1951.

Death

Mackey died on March 31, 1957. He was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

Legacy

Virginia would later assume statewide control over liquor, a stance that Mackey supported later in his career. Arlington County named a 70,000 square foot park after Mackey on the block where Mackey shut down gambling houses. In 2014, Crandal Mackey Park was replaced by the

Central Place Central Place is a mixed-use development in Arlington, Virginia, consisting primarily of Central Place Tower (headquarters of Gartner) to the south, and a residential tower to the north, with a plaza between them. The office tower is home to Vir ...

housing development.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackey, Crandal 1865 births 1957 deaths People from Shreveport, Louisiana People from Arlington County, Virginia Georgetown University Law Center alumni United States Department of War officials American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Virginia Democrats County and city Commonwealth's Attorneys in Virginia Virginia lawyers 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American newspaper publishers (people) American temperance activists