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Oak Hill: Aerial Views 1966-1969

2011-08-08T14:50:21-04:00

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Oak Hill: Aerial Views 1966-1969

Description

These two aerial photographs, taken between 1966 and 1969, show Oak Hill as suburban development was encroaching close to its borders. Richard Fitzhugh built Oak Hill circa 1790 on his inherited portion (2524 acres) of the Ravensworth plantation. Washington lawyer Edward Howrey and his wife Jane bought Oak Hill in 1935 and renovated the house for a country home. They sold in 1968 to a development company, builder of the Oak Hill subdivision.

Aerial Photo 1. Queen Elizabeth Blvd runs horizontally in the foreground. Little River Turnpike (LRT) runs horizontally across the top of the photo, and its interchange with the Beltway I-495) is at top right. Northern Virginia Community College's Annandale campus is under construction: the large area of cleared land in the upper center adjacent to LRT.

Aerial Photo 2. Queen Elizabeth Blvd runs horizontally in the foreground, ending near Private Lake in the lower right corner. Braeburn Dr angles into and dead ends at the northwest corner of the cleared Oak Hill land.

By 1970, houses had been built or were under construction on all sides of Oak Hill, which was saved from development on its present reduced tract of less than three acres.

Source

Aerial photos courtesy of Amanda Scheetz

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Original Format

aerial photo

Oak Hill: Exterior View

2011-10-20T13:26:20-04:00

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Oak Hill: Exterior View

Description

Oak Hill mansion, built in 1790, is the only remaining home of the three manor houses of the Fitzhugh dynasty built on the Ravensworth plantation. Richard Fitzhugh, great grandson of the original Ravensworth owner, built Oak Hill in the late Georgian style.

The originial house was two stories with a center hall and four rooms - two upstairs and two down. It was remodeled in the Colonial Revival Style in the 1930s. A succession of owners expanded the house upward and outward, adding a third story and additional rooms on all floors.

The photo is of the house as it appeared in March 2006. It was taken from a position near the historic boxwood-lined walkway that has greeted visitors since 1790.

Source

Photo by Gil Donahue

Rights

Copyrighted material, not to be reproduced without permission of owner, Gilbert Donahue

Ravensworth Replacement House

2011-10-20T13:22:33-04:00

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Ravensworth Replacement House

Description

On August 1, 1926, the Ravensworth Mansion mysteriously burned down, though the adjacent outbuildings survived. Subsequently, Dr. George Bolling Lee built this smaller farm house on the property. In 1956, the property and buildings were considered as a possible location for the Northern Virginia University - the future George Mason University, which eventually was built near Fairfax City. The property was later sold and developed into the Ravensworth subdivision. The Lee farm house was demolished to make way for the Ravensworth shopping center and industrial area.

The original Ravensworth Mansion was built c. 1797 and became home to William Henry Fitzhugh and his wife Anna Maria. Henry had inherited the Ravensworth property in 1809, while still a minor, upon his father William Fitzhugh's death. Anna Maria's niece, Mary Lee and her husband, Robert E. Lee honeymooned at Ravensworth. During the Civil War, Mary Lee and her children briefly stayed at Ravensworth, but fearing for the safety of her relatives, they moved south to eventually settle in Richmond.

The Fitzhughs, who were childless, had willed the 8,000-acre Ravensworth property to their niece. Mary Lee's death in 1873 preceded Anna Maria's in 1874. Therefore, the estate was divided among the five surviving Lee children. William Henry Fitzhugh Lee inherited the mansion and 500 surrounding acres. By 1922, W. H. F. Lee's property had passed to his son Dr. George Bolling Lee, who used the residence as a summer home and hired overseers to operate the farm.

Source

Washington Star Photograph Collection, Washingtoniana Division, District of Columbia Public Library

Rights

Star Collection, reprinted by permission of the DC Public Library; Â© Washington Post.

Historic Marker: Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

2011-10-04T15:52:02-04:00

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Historic Marker: Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

Description

On April 5, 2008 at Lake Accotink Park, Fairfax County celebrated the CCC's 75th anniversary and unveiled an historic marker commemorating the CCC's contributions to the county.

In the photo on the right, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald E. Connolly (center), Vice Chairman and Braddock District Supervisor Sharon Bulova, and Bill Sheads unveil the marker. In the second photo, Park Director Tawny Hammond (left, partially obscured) and Mary Lipsey join the group.

Bill Sheads' memory of a CCC-built fire road provided the seed for Mary Lipsey's research and effort within the Fairfax County History Commission to approve the historic marker.

The marker stands beside the path of the former fire road, now entrance to the park headquarters building. It reads: "THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS - During the Depression, in 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration established the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to help unemployed men, ages 18 to 25. CCC men created state parks, improved soil conservation, conducted reforestation and constructed fire trails. The men received food, clothing, shelter, health care, education and were paid $30 monthly, of which $25 was sent home. Projects of the racially segregated Fort Belvoir CCC camp, Army 3 VA-2399 C ("Colored"), included building fire trails through forested areas of Fairfax County. One such trail started at Old Keene Mill Road, crossed nearby Accotink Creek, and ended at Backlick Road. The Fairfax County History Commission, 2007"

Source

Photos courtesy of John Browne

Oliver Farm, Annandale, Virginia

2012-09-27T18:09:37-04:00

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Oliver Farm, Annandale, Virginia

Description

On Christmas Eve 1931, Robert Stringfellow Oliver, his wife Charlene Byrd Oliver, seven children and 24 cattle moved from Shirlington to this farm house in Annandale, which stands on Gallows Road near Columbia Pike. The cattle drive and move were so well planned that Mrs. Oliver was able to entertain as usual on the very next day, Christmas. Before marrying his wife and becoming a farmer, Mr. Oliver had been a street car driver in D.C. Their original farm was in Shirlington, but when that area became too crowded, Mr. Oliver purchased 89 acres in Annandale in 1926. He spent the next five years clearing the land and building the house. In Annandale, Mr. Oliver was a dairy farmer. Each morning the dairy company would pick up the milk cans and also regularly return for unannounced inspections.

Gladys Oliver McElwee, next to the youngest of the eight children remembers that the house had electricity and one bathroom for the ten members of the household. Her five brothers shared one large room. There was also an outhouse in the fields. Besides cows, the family had pigs, chickens, work horses and a vegetable garden. Gladys remembers that one of her brothers while milking a cow got mad at her and sprayed the cow's milk in Gladys' face. Mrs. McElwee also recalls her father leasing land during World War II for an Army radar station. One of her fondest memories was going to D.C. for dance lessons. She would catch the bus on Columbia Pike and ride into Washington for a quarter. She also remembers that her family avoided the local general store and would ride into Alexandria to shop, because her father said that the local store was too expensive. To this day, Gladys said she does not consider herself a farm girl although she grew up on this farm in Annandale.

Source

Undated photograph courtesy of Gladys Oliver McElwee

Rebel Hill, Artist's Drawing

2011-10-20T16:20:09-04:00

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Rebel Hill, Artist's Drawing

Description

On March 29, 1962, The Washington Post reported testimony by Mrs. Z. C. Zefteris of Kings Park West about Rebel Hill on Braddock Road to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Describing cars sliding off the steep road in icy conditions and the inability of women to walk up the hill to call for help, she is quoted: "They had to go up that hill on their hands and knees..."

Artist Chris Lipsey depicts what it might have been like for drivers in winter.

Source

Courtesy Chris Lipsey

Rights

Copyrighted material, not to be reproduced without permission of owner

Slide Show: Burke Historical Society Slide Presentation

2012-09-27T18:21:37-04:00

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Slide Show: Burke Historical Society Slide Presentation

Description

The history of Burke, Virginia is told in 80 captioned images, from the village's start in the 1850's as a railroad depot to the early 1990's. The slide set was originally put together by the Burke Jaycees for the U. S. Bicentennial Celebration. The slides were taken and organized originally during 1974-76. The slide set was given to the Burke Historical Society in 1978. From 1988 to 1990, the slides were updated and more were taken in the early 1990's. The slides subsequently were archived and organized by Tom Giska. The slides were digitally scanned, edited and "recreated" by Gil Donahue in 2005-2006, and some of them were used in Braddock's True Gold: 20th-Century Life in the Heart of Fairfax County, which was published by the County of Fairfax in June 2006.

The slide show has been divided into six numbered parts to keep file sizes low for faster download and viewing. They are best viewed in sequence from part one to six.

Tom Giska was a member and president of the Burke Historical Society. The Society, which was inactive for many years, resumed operations under a new charter and leadership in May 2010.

Source

Courtesy Tom Giska

Ravensworth Mansion

2011-09-15T23:20:43-04:00

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Ravensworth Mansion

Description

Circa 1920 photographs show the exterior rear and parlor of Ravensworth mansion. William Fitzhugh, great grandson and namesake of the original buyer of the 22,000 acre Ravensworth tract, built the mansion circa 1796. It burned in 1926 in a suspicious fire. The mansion's former site is in the industrial area on Port Royal Road, a short distance southeast of Ravensworth Shopping Center.

Source

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Historic American Buildings Survey or Historic American Engineering Record: exterior rear view, Reproduction Number HABS VA,30-RAV.V,1-2; parlor, Reproduction Number HABS VA,30-RAV.V,1-4.

Ravensworth Mansion

2011-10-20T13:32:22-04:00

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Title

Ravensworth Mansion

Description

Circa 1920 photographs show the exterior front and front entrance hall of Ravensworth mansion. William Fitzhugh, great grandson and namesake of the original buyer of the 22,000 acre Ravensworth tract, built the mansion circa 1796. It burned in 1926 in a suspicious fire. The mansion's former site is in the industrial area on Port Royal Road, a short distance southeast of Ravensworth Shopping Center.

Source

Photos courtesy Herb Beard, who obtained them from the U.S. National Park Service circa 1968. Original sources: exterior front view, Leet Bros., Washington, D.C; front entrance hall, not determined.

Jerusalem Baptist Church

2011-08-10T09:23:40-04:00

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Jerusalem Baptist Church

Description

The Jerusalem Baptist congregation of Fairfax Station formed on May 17, 1840. Charter members worshiped every third Sunday at the Upper Church (Payne's Church), an original colonial Anglican church, which was located south of the courthouse on Ox Road. During the Civil War, Confederates used the church building as a hospital. Later Union troops dismantled the church and used the bricks to build chimneys for their winter quarters. This white frame church opened on Ox Road in January 1867, and its membership of blacks and whites remained steady through the years. Baptisms were held in local streams or ponds.

Source

Courtesy Lee Hubbard