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| Honoring Jamestown's 400th Anniversary- Fairfax County Stories 1607-2007 Set to be Released Jamestown was established on the Atlantic Coast in 1607, but were those colonists the first Europeans in colonial Stafford County? Who participated in Fairfax County's most famous duel of 1826 that involved a Virginia senator and a secretary of state fighting over a matter of foreign policy? And how has the Fairfax County demographic picture changed over the 400 years since the Jamestown settlement? (Answers at end of story.)
The full stories are available in Fairfax County Stories 1607-2007, which will be published in June 2007. The book includes 34 unique perspectives on the development of Fairfax County over four centuries, along with remarkable photographs from earlier years. It starts with the story of Stafford County, which was founded in 1730 and included the counties of Fairfax, Alexandria, Arlington, Loudoun, Fauquier and Stafford.
Narratives about the histories of Lincolnia, Franconia, Herndon, Mount Zephyr and Fort Belvoir describe the county's strengths and dynamism. Hard-working farmers in the 1800s and 1900s found time to enjoy themselves with skating parties on the Potomac, horse and buggy expeditions and debating societies. Fairfax County has certainly come a long way since the early 1900s when road conditions were so poor that automobiles were not considered a viable alternative to horse-drawn transportation. Back then, Little River Turnpike had a cobblestone surface.
Stories about colorful and generous characters flesh out how complex social and economic issues have been addressed in Fairfax County. Wakefield Park was named in honor of Elhanan Winchester Wakefield-adventurer, soldier, circuit-riding Methodist minister and family man-for whom "the night was never so dark or the roads too rough for him to go to those who were sick or in trouble." And the county's tumultuous growth from 1975 to 1987 was led by Jack Herrity, whose "virtues as a leader outweigh his vices."
Gentleman Jim Robinson and Robert Gunnell were freed slaves who used their assets to help other blacks find work and a place to worship in Fairfax County. Gentleman Jim bought the freedom of his two sons. Until 1967, Virginia was able to deny marriage licenses to interracial couples and punish them with fines, imprisonment and hard labor.
Women certainly played their part in the history of Fairfax County. The first picketing of the White House was by suffragists who were then jailed in DC and at Lorton. Several women banded together to rescue Mount Vernon from decay. In Fairfax, Antonia Ford may have been a spy during the Civil War. Dr. Kate Waller Barrett started Ivakota Farm to give "lost" women and girls a second chance at life. Judy Street took part in the March on Selma, Alabama. Martha Pennino served on the Board of Supervisors and was "a force to be reckoned with."
A story about Camp Andrew A. Humphreys, later Fort Bevoir, tells of the beginnings of that installation. "Homeland Security, Cold War Style" explains what it was like to live in Fairfax County during the Cold War. The three Nike Missile sites, built in the mid-1950s, are covered in another story.
There is a fictional, historical ghost story for the kids and lots of stories recount the day-to-day life of county residents.
Fairfax County Stories 1607-2007 was produced by the Fairfax County's Virginia 2007 Community Citizen Planning Committee, which promotes and publicizes events in Fairfax County that commemorate Jamestown's 400th anniversary. Fairfax County is an official Virginia 2007 Community, participating in year-long, statewide celebrations of the founding of Jamestown.
(Answers: The story "Fairfax County at the Very Beginning: Colonial Stafford County and the Northern Neck of Virginia" lists the Europeans who arrived before 1607 in Virginia. "Fairfax County's Most Famous Duel" narrates the 1826 duel between Secretary of State Henry Clay and Virginia Sen. John Randolph that was triggered by heated congressional debates over the U.S. delegation to that year's Panama Congress of Latin American Republics. "It Began with the 1898 Spanish-American War" describes the experiences of Filipino Americans and other Asian Americans in Fairfax County and Virginia, explaining that 400 years after Jamestown, Asian Americans constitute the largest minority group with more than 15 percent of the population of Fairfax County.)
The author contributed to Fairfax County Stories 1607-2007. More information is available at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/opa/va2007/legacybook.htm.
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