Preface
Few states in our nation have a history as rich as that of Virginia, and few localities in Virginia have a deeper, more meaningful historic background than that of Fairfax County. We can proudly proclaim that the first president of the United States (George Washington) and the framer of the United States Bill of Rights and author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights (George Mason) called our county home.
There are several well-known historic sites in southern Fairfax County, including Mount Vernon, Gunston Hall, Pohick Church, and Woodlawn Plantation. The northern part of the county has numerous historic sites, too, such as the Dranesville Tavern, Colvin Run Mill, Ox Hill Battlefield, and Sully Plantation, which was the 1794 home of Northern Virginia's first congressman, Richard Bland Lee.
Fairfax County was established in 1742. Back then, an estimated 4,125 inhabitants resided in the county, which at that time included what is now Loudoun County (separated in 1757) as well as the City of Alexandria and Alexandria County. The major commercial sites in 1742 were tobacco warehouses along the Occoquan River at Colchester, at the Little Falls on the Potomac River, and at the mouth of the Great Hunting Creek, where the City of Alexandria is today.
What a dramatic transformation Fairfax County has experienced since its formal establishment in 1742. The population is now approximately 1.1 million and growing. The fiscal year 2007 county budget is $3.21 billion. More than half of that money goes to educate the more than 164,000 students in Fairfax County Public Schools, which can proudly claim that all of its high schools rank among the best in the nation.
Governing magazine rated Fairfax County one of the best-managed local governments in the nation in 2002. Let us count our blessings that we have so many amenities in this county: outstanding public schools, superior public safety and human services programs, and nearly 10% of our land area in parks and open space. In addition, Fairfax County is among the wealthiest counties in the nation, thanks in large part to the number of top international and national companies located here, so conveniently close to the nation's capital and Dulles International Airport.
As we travel today on six- or eight-lane highways, let us reflect on how difficult it must have been for our Fairfax County ancestors of two and three centuries ago to travel any distance by boat or on rutted, muddy roads. Rather than shop for food at a supermarket or "get take-out" for dinner, they generally ate the food they grew themselves. Talking with a friend or neighbor meant traveling to speak in person, rather than telephoning or sending an electronic message on the Internet. How far we have progressed.
We, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, express our deep appreciation to the Fairfax County 2007 Community Citizen Planning Committee for undertaking publication of this anthology of history articles as its legacy project in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the New World.