Oral History, Part 1: Delbert (Bill) Sheads and Elsie Sisson(1921 - 2008)

In Part 1 of two interview sessions, Bill and Elsie (Sheads) Sisson, brother and sister, reminisce about their family, which came to the Braddock District from Culpepper, Virginia, in 1903. They talk about people and places, schools, lumbering and saw mills, and church life.

Oral History: Howard Marshall

Howard Marshall came to Northern Virginia in 1948 after serving in the Army in World War II. He describes how the Annandale area looked before homes and shops filled the landscape. He remembers starting his own business and family activities.

Oral History, Part 1: Lee Hubbard

Part 1 of two parts. Lee Hubbard's family can trace its roots in Fairfax County to the 1700s. He discusses his childhood and milestone events. Lee Hubbard became a member of the police department and he talks about criminal cases, traffic, and the growth, administration, and operation of the police department.

Oral History: Wes Hatfield

Wes Hatfield moved to Fairfax County in 1968 after a tour of military duty in Vietnam with the U.S. Air Force. After military retirement, he entered the real estate business. He discusses housing development and transportation in the region.

Oral History: Aubrey Chason

Aubrey Chason's family moved to Annandale in 1931 when he was three years old. He remembers childhood activities, going to school, the area's rural character before development, the home front in World War II, and working for local companies. Aubrey's wife, Ann Chason, joins the discussion near the end of the interview.

Oral History: Stewart Lynn and Becky Bryce

The Bryce family represents four generations of Fairfax County residents. They discuss daily life growing up in the country from the time of dirt roads to present-day development.

Oral History: Paul Brown (Jul. 25, 1929 - Sep. 16, 2005)

Paul Brown grew up in Fairfax County. He remembers childhood activities, pickup neighborhood baseball, long bus rides to school, and neighborhood grocery stores. He reminisces about family history and about the days when the Braddock District had no electricity and telephones were party lines. Paul Brown's family lived in Brimstone Hill, whose construction dates to the 1820s.

Oral History: Ernest (Buddy) Belote

Ernest (Buddy) Belote can trace his family roots in Northern Virginia to pre-Revolutionary days. His ancestor, Colonel William Fitzhugh of Bedfordshire, England, purchased about 22,000 acres of land in Northern Virginia and began cultivating what would become one of the largest tobacco plantations in Northern Virginia. The property encompassed the current Ravensworth neighborhood in the Braddock District. After discussing the Fitzhughs, Buddy Belote talks about his career in radio and television news, his daughter's Olympic swimming achievements, and Braddock District development.

A Look Back at Braddock Oral History Project

Farm, Fairfax County, circa 1910

Fairfax County farmer harvesting a wheat field, circa 1910.

Photograph from Fairfax County Public Library, Virginia Room, Photographic Archive

Sawmill, Fairfax County, circa 1920

Portable sawmill is shown operating in Fairfax County, circa 1920. Many acres in the county were devoted to forestry and lumbering. Companies milled wood for furniture companies, fence rails and posts, and pilings for road construction.

Photograph from Fairfax County Public Library, Virginia Room, Photographic Archive