Historic Sites

 

Civil War Trails

Explore the Civil War trails.

Download the Map here (PDF).

Blenheim Estate and
Interpretive Center (Opening 2008)

Old Lee Highway, Fairfax

The City of Fairfax purchased the historic Blenheim estate in early 1999 to preserve and develop into a Civil War house museum and open-air park. Blenheim is a c.1855 central-hall-plan brick farmhouse on 12 acres located at 3610 Old Lee Highway. Blenheim is currently closed to the public during a multi-stage restoration, and open once a year during the Fairfax Civil War Weekendheld on its grounds. The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in early 2001. It is nationally significant for the 100+ signatures, art, and poetry created by Union soldiers, a "diary on walls" providing insight into typical soldier life, during the Civil War. Another historic property, the c.1840 Grandma's Cottage, was moved to the Blenheim complex in early 2001. Both buildings are associated with the Willcoxon family, instrumental in the early-19th-century history of Fairfax.

Fairfax Museum and Visitors Center

10209 Main Street

Built in 1873, this is the oldest brick two-story school remaining in Fairfax County. Its bricks were made at the Farr property across the street. Taxpayers may have shaken their heads at the exorbitant $2750 fee paid for its construction. The schoolhouse now welcomes visitors and houses the Fairfax Museum

Ratcliffe-Alison House and Pozer Gardens

10386 Main Street

The oldest surviving house in the city was built in 1812. It served a variety of purposes including as a cobbler shop. Occupied until the 1950s, the house was home to famed gardener and writer Kitty Pozer.

Old Fairfax Jail (1891)

10475 Main Street

Not open to the public.

The original jail (1802) burned down in 1884. The Alexandria Jail was used until this building was completed. The jailer and his family lived in quarters in the front until the early 1950s.

Old Town Hall

3999 University Drive

Built as a gift to the city by Joseph E. Willard in 1900, Old Town Hall is the heart of the city and the venue for an art gallery, concerts, lectures and special events. Willard was the only son of Confederate spy Antonia Ford and her Union captor, Joseph C. Willard. Joseph went on to serve as Virginia’s lieutenant governor and minister to Spain. The elegant building with its grand Doric columns is worthy of its historic past.

Marr Monument (dedicated 1904)

4000 Chain Bridge Road

Dedicated to the memory of Captain John Quincy Marr, the first Confederate officer to be killed in the Civil War. Union cavalry attacked the City at 3:00 a.m. on June 1, 1861. The Warrenton rifles commanded by Marr defended the city.

Joshua Gunnell House (built 1830)

Now the site of the elegant Bailiwick Inn and Christina’s Restaurant, the Joshua Gunnell House holds a series of secrets. When Captain Marr fell, former Virginia Governor “Extra Billy” Smith ran from the Gunnell house to command the Warrenton Rifles. Later, this house grew infamous when Union Colonel Johnstone escaped capture by Mosby’s Rangers in March of 1863. Johnstone hid under the outhouse in his nightshirt to elude the Gray Ghost of the Confederacy. Current guests are far more comfortable!

Fairfax Court House (Built 1800)

4000 Chain Bridge Road
Open by appointment.

The Fairfax Courthouse is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. George Mason petitioned the General Assembly in 1790 to move the courthouse to "such a place as should be found most convenient near the center of the County." Designed by James Wren and centrally located at the crossroads of Little River Turnpike and Ox Road, Fairfax County Courthouse was completed in 1800. During the Civil War it was occupied by Union troops and used as a headquarters and lookout station. The Fairfax Courthouse survives as a symbol of an era when the courthouse was the center of community activity for county residents.

Farr Homeplace
(Built 1880)

10230 Main Street.
Private residence.

Union soldiers burned the original Farr homeplace after they were fired upon by young Richard Ratcliffe Farr. Upon his return from the war, Farr first built Grandma's Cottage for his mother, then this home, using bricks made from a clay pit on the property. Each of the home's five baroque chimneys has a cross worked into the design. Farr's sons, Wilson and Rezin, both taught at the old Fairfax Elementary School. Wilson later served as Virginia's Commonwealth Attorney.

National Firearms Museum  

The National Firearms Museum invites you to visit one of the world’s finest collections of firearms. The Museum contains a most diverse collection of civilian and military firearms, accoutrements, ammunition and accessories.

For more information please call 703 267 1600 or www.nrahq.org/museums

The Virginia Room

10360 North Street

(703) 293-6383
www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library

Open 7 days a week (call for hours)

The Virginia Room is one of the most comprehensive collections of historical and genealogical information in Northern Virginia. The Virginia Rooms offers information regarding historical texts, genealogy, state and local government information, school information, local resources, and photographic archives. The Virginia Room houses state and local history texts as well as papers from past presidents such as Washington, Jefferson, and Mason. Interested in maps? Housed here is an extensive map collection, historical to contemporary, of Fairfax County and other areas of the state. Want to know more about your family history? We offer U.S., State, and International genealogy technique materials for beginners to advanced researchers. Also find information on state and local governments, school information, local resources, and an extensive photography archive that features over 100,000 images of local and regional interest. There is something for everyone at the Virginia Room. The Virginia Room works alongside with the City of Fairfax Regional Library, if you have any questions please call or visit our website.

The Ford House Exhibit

3977 Chain Bridge Road

In the pictorial display at the Ford House Exhibit you meet Antonia Ford, a Confederate spy.  Major Joseph Willard, a Union officer, who falls in love with her.

The story of the Civil War and its dramatic impact on music. Picture display oe of Antonia Ford, imprisoned as a spy following Ranger Mosby's night captf Historic Fairfax. The Exhibit is a Community Improvement Project of The Women’s Club of Fairfax

The Legato School Museum (1877)

4000 Chain Bridge Road

(703) 279-8166

Open by appointment

The Legato School was built in 1877, after the Civil War. This school was built to provide children of struggling families with a basic education. The stories of those days reveal a saga of hardship and difficulties overcome by a deep longing for better education. The school stayed open until 1930, when it closed and students were transferred to Centreville. In 1969, the Legato school was chosen by the Fairfax County School Board to be restored and turned into a school museum for the 100th anniversary of public education in Virginia. Today, together with members of civic organizations and community volunteers, the Fairfax County Retired Educators have worked to complete this important project in historic preservation. Come out and learn more about the history of public education in Virginia.

The Fairfax Station Railroad Museum

11200 Fairfax Station Road

(703) 425-9225

www.fairfax-station.org

Open to public every Sunday from 1pm- 4pm

Fairfax Station is a historic area with many pre-revolutionary settlements. The Fairfax Station Railroad was a very busy railroad community and eventually the hub of county commerce, communication, transportation, as well as the county social center. In 1973, The Southern Railway System closed this station which was the last operating railway depot in Fairfax County. In 1978, The Friends of Fairfax Station along with a donation from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors reconstructed the station to form the present day museum. The museum features exhibits areas, a gift shop, and a private room that can be rented for private events and can hold up to fifty people. Presently, the museum depends upon membership dues, admission fees, special events, and gift shop sales to maintain and run the museum. Jump on board!!

Ford Building (Built 1835)

3977 Chain Bridge Road
Offices and Art Gallery

This was the home of the local Union commander, Brig. Gen. Edwin H. Stoughton, March 9, 1863. A search of the house had revealed an honorary aide-de-camp commission to Antonia from Gen. Jeb Stuart. Union Maj. Willard, a former Provost Marshal at Fairfax Court House, fell in love with Antonia, secured her release and married her.

Moore House (Built 1840)

3950 Chain Bridge Road
Offices and Restaurant

During his March 1863 raid, Ranger John S. Mosby searched here, with no success, for the Union mercenary Col. Percy Wyndham who had called Mosby a horse thief. Mosby had replied that the only horses he had ever stolen had Union troopers on their backs armed with two pistols and a saber. This was later R. Walton Moore's home, congressman and counselor of the State Department under Franklin D. Roosevelt who was entertained here. (President William Howard Taft attended a garden party here sometime after his presidency.)

Dr. William Gunnell House (Built 1835)

10520 Main Street.
Private residence.

It was in this house that Ranger John Mosby captured the Union area commander Brig. Gen. Edwin H. Stoughton, in bed, the night of March 9, 1863. Mosby awoke the general with a slap. "Get up, general, and come with me." Stoughton roared, "What is this? Do you know who I am, sir?" "I reckon I do, general. Did you ever hear of Mosby?" "Yes, have you caught him?" "No, but he has caught you." Mosby also captured 2 officers, 30 soldiers, and 58 horses. Upon hearing of this action, President Lincoln disgustedly remarked that he could create another general with the stroke of a pen, but he surely hated to lose those horses.

St. Mary’s Church (1858)

5222 Sideburn Rd.

(703) 978-4141

www.stmaryofsorrows.org/Permanent/about_the_church.htm

St. Mary’s Church was built in 1858 and catered to the spiritual needs of many of the Irish immigrants coming to Fairfax to work on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad. These immigrants because the nucleus of this new parish. During the Civil War, given the church’s important location on the main road from Fairfax Courthouse to the depot of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad (now Fairfax Station), the area, with St. Mary's as an identifying point, quickly became an important objective for both Northern and Southern armies vying to dominate the railroads in the area. St. Mary’s features beautiful surroundings as well as a rich history, a must see while visiting The City of Fairfax.

City Cemetery

Main Street

On December 31, 1866, the trustees of the Ladies Memorial Association paid Richard T. Brown and his wife, Marion, $225.00 for 2 1/3 acres. It was purchased

"… as a burial place or cemetery for the re-interment of the bodies of such persons as the 'Ladies Memorial Association' of said County of Fairfax shall direct to be interred therein. Provided that in all cases such bodies shall be those of Confederate States' Soldiers, who fell in battle or died from wounds incident to and while they were in the service of the Confederate States, and who are now buried within the limits of said county, or who were citizens thereof at the time of death and are buried elsewhere…"

In addition to laying off burial lots, the Ladies Memorial Association canvassed the county and eventually some 200 unknown confederate soldiers were disinterred and reburied in a common grave atop the hill in the cemetery. The Ladies Memorial Association did not last long as a viable organization, and in March of 1875 ownership of the cemetery was conveyed to the trustees of the newly chartered Fairfax Cemetery Association.

In 1888, the Confederate Monument Association was formed to erect a suitable monument to both the unknown Confederate dead buried in the cemetery and the Confederate soldiers from Fairfax who lay on battlefields far from home. In October 1890 the monument, designed and built by J. F. Manning Co. of Washington, D. C., was officially dedicated.

The Fairfax Cemetery Association acquired additional property in 1914 and 1932. Control of the cemetery was passed to the newly incorporated City of Fairfax in 1962. (prepared by Brian A. Conley, Fairfax County Public Library, December 20, 2000)