This history of the neighborhood plays a vital part in the identity of its residents. If you have lived in the neighborhood for many years, the neighborhood history is a heartfelt reminder of days gone by. If you have just come to call the neighborhood home, it is a way to learn more about the new community you have joined. We would love nothing more than to be able to share the history of neighborhood name with all who reside there. If you are interested in writing a brief history of the neighborhood to share with the community, please contact us! |
- City of Fairfax HistoryThe area that now comprises the City of Fairfax was first settled in the early 1700s by farmers migrating from Virginia's Tidewater region for religious and economic reasons. Fairfax County was established in 1742, when Alexandria, where the county court was located, temporarily became a part of the District of Columbia. The county court was established at the corner of what was then called Little River Turnpike (Main Street) and Ox Road, a major regional crossroads both then and now. The little town surrounding the court was then known as Earp's Corner and in 1805, by an act of the state legislature, named the Town of Providence. However, for years it was commonly called 'Fairfax Court House' and was officially renamed the Town of Fairfax in 1874.
Fairfax was the scene of several noteworthy events during the Civil War. Captain John Quincy Marr, the first officer casualty of the Confederacy, was killed at Fairfax Courthouse on June 1, 1861. By late 1862, Union forces under the command of Brigadier General Edwin H. Stoughton occupied the town. In an audacious raid led by Confederate Colonel John S. Mosby in March of 1863, Stoughton was captured while he slept in a house belonging to Truro Episcopal Church.
Also in 1863, Antonia Ford, whose girlhood home was the Ford Building on Chain Bridge Road, was imprisoned as a Southern spy after being accused of aiding Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart. She fell in love with her jailer, Major Joseph C. Willard, who secured her release from prison after seven months. They were married, and their son Joseph built Old Town Hall in 1900. The story of Antonia Ford is told in a special exhibit in Antonia's childhood home, now called the Ford Building, at 3977 Chain Bridge Road. The exhibit is a gift to the city from The Woman's Club of Fairfax.
Two other formerly private residences played a part in Fairfax history. The Ratcliffe-Allison House, the oldest residence in the city at 10386 Main Street, is a historic house museum open during walking tours and City special events. The residence on the city-owned Blenheim estate (3610 Old Lee Highway) housed Union soldiers during the Civil War, and graffiti written by soldiers survives in Blenheim's attic. Blenheim currently is closed to the public during the early stages of restoration and stabilization.
Through the early 20th century, the Town of Fairfax remained a community of farms and small estates, with a tiny core of commerce, government and society in the few blocks surrounding the courthouse. But in the 1950s and 1960s, Fairfax grew rapidly (including an almost 700 percent increase in population during the '50s). In 1961, the town was incorporated as the City of Fairfax. The city's boundaries expanded in three directions as it grew to its present 6.4 square-miles. After an early-'70s peak of 22,700, the population has stabilized at around 21,000. However, new home construction is increasing the population yet again.
Fairfax's residents offer only part of the picture. Incredible growth and activity in and around the city, thriving local businesses, the development in neighboring Fairfax County near the city's border, and the expansion of George Mason University expand the total population of the city during business and school hours to about 100,000. Though this creates a need for more city services, the mix of commercial and residential property means city homeowners generate less than half of the city's revenues. City residents enjoy many advantages that people in neighboring jurisdictions do not, including refuse collection and snow removal by the local government at no additional cost and tax rates as much as 30 percent lower. The residents of the city's 7,824 households have a median age of 33.5 years and an estimated median household income of $59,453 (more than 20 percent higher than the state median). A third of the adult population has a college degree. As of 1998, the average single-family detached home was assessed at $170,100.
