Fairfax, Virginia: The Crossroads of History for Two Hundred Years

By: Melody Moser

Stroll the tranquil tree-lined streets of the historic city of Fairfax, and you'll forget you're in congested northern Virginia. This charming town offers visitors an array of unique attractions — both inside and outside the city limits. And with a location just fifteen miles southwest of the nation's capital, it's a great base for exploring not only northern Virginia but Washington, D.C., as well.

I suggest you begin your sightseeing as I did — with a walk through Old Town Fairfax. Though only six blocks long, the Old Town covers considerable ground in American history, and the best way to explore it is on foot.

Stop first at the Fairfax Museum and Visitor's Center, located in a restored, two-story 19th century schoolhouse. Here, visitors learn about the area's history and attractions through detailed exhibits.

One exhibit, called "The Fairfax Story"�, showed me that this area was nothing more than a remote crossroads in the late 1700s, home only to a General Store called Caleb Earp's. However, in 1790, George Mason, a statesman and political thinker, petitioned the Virginia General Assembly to relocate the County Court from Alexandria to Fairfax. This made it more accessible to Fairfax County's rural inhabitants. The court was moved to Earp's Corner, the center of Fairfax County and today's city of Fairfax.

Another exhibit I enjoyed, "Raids, Romance and Writing"�, tells the enchanting Romeo and Juliet-like story of beautiful Fairfax resident Antonia Julia Ford. Ford allegedly rode out behind enemy lines to warn Confederate forces of troop movements toward Manassas. The tale of Ford's imprisonment as a spy and her romance with Union Army Major Joseph C. Willard is one of the great love stories of the 19th century.

From the Visitors Center, I walked to Fairfax Courthouse, where George and Martha Washington's wills were probated and still remain. The Courthouse lawn was the scene of one of the earliest skirmishes of the Civil War — Confederate Captain John Quincy Marr, the first Confederate officer to be killed in action, was shot on the Courthouse lawn on June 1, 1861.

Next I strolled to the Ratcliffe-Allison House and Pozer Gardens. Built in 1812, it's the oldest historic residence remaining in the city. It served many functions, including that of a cobbler shop, and was occupied until the 1950s; the house was home to famed gardener and writer Kitty Pozer.

Fairfax's Old-Town Hall, which was once the city's social center, was next on my list. Joseph E. Willard, the only son of Confederate spy Antonia Ford and her Union captor, Joseph C. Willard, built this Classical-Revival building in 1900 as a gift to the city.

Another Fairfax site to visit is historic Blenheim. This 12-acre estate was once part of a 360-acre farm owned by several generations of the locally prominent Willcoxon family. What made my visit to Blenheim so interesting was the Civil War soldier graffiti in the attic. Blenheim contains the most voluminous and best-preserved Civil War graffiti in the nation. The art, signatures and poetry written by Union soldiers during their occupation in 1862-1863 gave me insight into typical soldier life during the Civil War.

Venturing further out from the city of Fairfax, there is much to do. You'll find historic sites, nature, and museums of science, history and the arts. Here are some suggestions from the places I chose to visit:

Sully Plantation — This Chantilly, Virginia home is the late 18th century abode of Richard Bland Lee, Robert E. Lee's nephew (and Northern Virginia's first congressman). Take a tour of the house, then explore the plantation to see the kitchen, smokehouse, stone dairy, and slave quarters. The formal and kitchen gardens are interesting as well, as is the early 19th century log cabin schoolhouse. www.fairfaxcounty.gov

Mount Vernon — "No estate in United America is more pleasantly situated than this"  wrote George Washington, and I have to agree with him — Mount Vernon is lovely. At this plantation where George Washington really did sleep, you'll find two new buildings: an orientation center where visitors learn about the history of Washington and his home, and an extensive museum and education center. After passing through these buildings, tour the mansion, which features original furnishings and items owned by the Washington family, then explore the estate. You'll find gorgeous gardens, a pioneer farmer site, a working gristmill, a wharf, Washington's tomb and two museums: one housing Washington's personal possessions and one dedicated to the archaeology and restoration of the estate. Nature lovers will enjoy the Forest Trail. mountvernon.org.

Manassas National Battlefield Park — This park in Manassas, Virginia, interprets the First (1861) and Second (1862) Battles of Manassas, also known as the Battles of Bull Run. Living history demonstrations bring these dramatic events to life; you can also enjoy an equestrian, walking or driving tour. www.nps.gov/mana.

Gunston Hall — Built in 1755, Gunston Hall was the colonial home of George Mason, author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, model of the Bill of Rights. It's a superb example of Georgian Architecture located on 550 acres. Guided tours of the house discuss the 18th century plantation household.  

The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center — This companion facility to the National Air and Space Museum's building on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. is located on the property of Washington Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Virginia. The Center's mission is to inspire the next generation of aviators and astronauts, and they're doing a great job. The exhibits and the open, hangar-like setting contain more than 141 aircraft and some 148 large space artifacts, including a Concorde, the Boeing B-29 superfortress Enola Gay and space shuttle Enterprise. It's enough to encourage even the most hesitant flyer to take to the air.

Since Fairfax is just a few stops on the metro from Washington, D.C., it's easy to see the sites there as well. I chose to visit the National Museum of the American Indian, the eighteenth of the Smithsonian Institution's world-renowned museums. The museum, located on the National Mall, celebrates the history, art, language and culture of Native Americans. It features more than 800,000 works of aesthetic, cultural, historical and spiritual significance that span more than 10,000 years of Native heritage.

Whether your aim is to visit historical sites, explore museums or see the nation's capital, all the above sites can be reached within a 30-minute drive from Fairfax — where travelers have been rediscovering the past and savoring the present for two hundred years.

If You Go:

For more information about Fairfax call the Fairfax County Convention & Visitors Bureau at (703) 790-0643