James Maynard Magruder (February 9, 1900 – May 9, 1969) was an American real estate and insurance executive, as well as an attorney who served as a
Democratic member of the
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...
representing
Arlington County
Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...
from 1944 to 1956.
Early and family life
Magruder was born in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, on February 9, 1900. Educated in the Washington, D.C., public schools, Magruder graduated from the
Business High School
Theodore Roosevelt High School is a public high school operated by the District of Columbia Public Schools in the Petworth neighborhood of Ward 4 neighborhood of Northwest Washington, D.C. Roosevelt enrolls 698 students (2017–2018) in ninth thr ...
in 1918. He then entered Dowd's Army and Navy prep school in his hometown, then served in the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Magruder later served in the District National Guard and was commissioned a first lieutenant in the 121st Engineers, where he served until 1934. Magruder attended the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
, and later the
Georgetown University Law School
Georgetown University Law Center is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment, with over ...
. He married Elizabeth Rita St. John, and after her death Dolores, who survived him.
Career
In 1925, Magruder moved to
Arlington, Virginia
Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...
, and became involved in the real estate and insurance business through his own company. He was active in the Arlington County Democratic Committee and served as its chairman. He also became president of his local Lyon Village Civic Association and was that group's delegate to the Arlington Civic Federation. Magruder was also active in the local Chamber of Commerce (serving on its board of directors, and in 1963 on its national affairs committee), Lions Club, and in the
Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic Church, Catholic Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney, Blessed Michael J. McGivney. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. ...
. He was chairman of the county Ration Board and of the Arlington County Utilities Commission, as well as a director of the Shirlington Trust Company.
In 1943 Magruder became a candidate for the
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...
as growing Arlington received an additional delegate after the 1940 census. He was re-elected to the part-time position five additional times, and eventually served as chairman of the House Counties, Cities and Towns committee, as well as on the federal relations, interstate cooperation, House expenses and banking and insurance committees.
During his first term, Magruder served alongside fellow
Byrd Organization
The Byrd machine, or Byrd Organization, was a political machine of the Democratic Party led by former Governor and U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd (1887–1966) that dominated Virginia politics for much of the 20th century. From the 1890s until the ...
loyalist
Charles R. Fenwick, and after Fenwick's elevation to the state senate, for several terms alongside Republican
George Damm (who declined to seek re-election in 1953).
Magruder and a group of investors started Arlington radio station WEAM, whose first sign-on was April 7, 1947; among the talent they recruited to WEAM was bandleader
Jack Little.
The Magruder group sold the station in 1948, and the station retained its call letters until 1984; since 1996 it has been
WZHF
WZHF (1390 AM) is a radio station licensed to Capitol Heights, Maryland, serving the Washington, D.C. area with a regional Mexican format. It is owned by Multicultural Broadcasting and operated by RM Broadcasting.
The station went on air on ...
.
In 1952, Magruder ran for the new
10th U.S. Congressional District seat, but was defeated in the Democratic primary by attorney and former county board chairman
Edmund D. Campbell, who with his wife and school board chairwoman
Elizabeth Campbell were known as opposing racial segregation. However, Campbell was narrowly defeated in the general election (by 322 votes in the Eisenhower landslide) by Republican real estate developer
Joel Broyhill
Joel Thomas Broyhill (November 4, 1919 – September 24, 2006) was an American politician aligned with the Republican Party who served as a Congressman from Virginia for 11 terms, from 1953 to 1974. He represented Virginia's 10th congress ...
, who supported racial segregation and would be re-elected many times.
After the 1950 census reapportionment, growing Arlington received another additional delegate in the Virginia General Assembly, effective in 1953. Magruder polled highest in that election, and was joined by fellow Democrats
C. Harrison Mann and
Kathryn H. Stone
Kathryn Haesler Stone (October 5, 1906 – May 18, 1995) was an American teacher, housewife, writer, civic activist and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician who represented Arlington, Virginia part-time in the Virginia House o ...
, who outpolled all three Republican candidates.
Magruder declined to seek re-election in 1955 in order to run for Treasurer of Arlington County (one of 3 elected offices in the county), as the
Massive Resistance crisis escalated. He and Arlington's state senator
Charles R. Fenwick had been appointed to the
Gray Commission, nominally designed to evaluate Virginia's response to the
Brown v. Board of Education
''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the ...
decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court, but Magruder was no longer a legislator by the time the commission's report was published. He was narrowly defeated (by 55 votes) for the treasurer position by the incumbent, Republican Colin C. MacPherson (who ended up serving another 4 terms). However, Democrats retained Magruder's legislative seat as
William L. Winston was elected to serve alongside Mann and Stone (as again all Republican delegate candidates were outpolled).
In 1957, as the Byrd Organization tried to close Arlington's schools rather than allow their integration, Magruder unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the Arlington County Board (on which his wife Elizabeth had served in the 1940s). He lost to Herbert L. Brown Jr. by nearly 2500 votes, after which he stopped running for elective office.
Earlier, Magruder served on the board of managers (and once served as chairman) of the Council of State Governments, and in 1958 was appointed to a seven-member Virginia advisory committee to the Civil Rights Commission.
Death and legacy

Magruger died on May 9, 1969, in a hospital in Norfolk, Virginia, where he had suffered a heart attack while attending a meeting of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce.
["J.M. Magruder Dies Was Del. of Arlington", Northern Virginia Sun, May 10, 1969] He is interred in the
Columbia Gardens Cemetery
The Columbia Gardens Cemetery is a cemetery located in the Ashton Heights Historic District of Arlington, Virginia.
Cemetery
The Columbia Gardens Cemetery is located at the southern boundary of the Ashton Heights Historic District and is one ...
in Arlington.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magruder, J. Maynard
1900 births
1969 deaths
Virginia lawyers
Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates
Politicians from Arlington County, Virginia
20th-century American lawyers
Business High School (Washington, D.C.) alumni
20th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly