Arlington Experimental Farm was a former federal agricultural research farm in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

that opened in 1900. It was established by an Act of Congress, moving the Department of Agriculture's main research from the

National Mall The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institu ...

to Arlington. It grew

hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a plant in the botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial and consumable use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest ...

beginning in 1903 (under the cultivation of Lyster Dewey), or 1914. In 1928, it was the largest United States Department of Agriculture experiment station in the Washington, D.C. area. USDA researcher Vera Charles also worked at the station, collecting ''Cannabis'' seeds from across America and studying pests and pathogens that could diminish hemp crop productivity. Cultivars developed at Arlington include Arlington, Chington, Ferramington, Kymington and Arlington; Chington and Kymington were adopted "extensively" by seed farmers producing

hemp in Kentucky Kentucky was the greatest producer of hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a plant in the botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial and consumable use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. ...

. The seeds were probably destroyed by the government in the 1980s. In the 1930s, research was transferred to

Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center The Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC), also known as the National Agricultural Research Center, is a unit of the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service. It is located in unincorpora ...

in Beltsville, Maryland. The land the farm had occupied became Arlington Farms temporary housing during World War II and was developed for the site of

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

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