This article is a biographical sketch of Reginald Fairfax, who owned land in the Vienna area in the mid-1800s. The article is based on a post I made on Nextdoor in early 2021, looking at the history of the area northwest of Northeast Vienna, Virginia. Introduction: From the Northern Neck… Continue reading
For 40 years in the 20th century, the Pearson family owned land within the area that is just to the northwest of northeast Vienna and is today bounded by Beulah Road to the east, the Vienna Town line to the south, the W&OD bike trail to the west, and Clarks… Continue reading
This post discusses the Van Riswick family. From 1883 to 1906, the Van Riswicks owned some 300 acres just outside Northeast Vienna and extending into the Town itself (see Figure 1). The Van Riswicks were a well-to-do DC family. The patriarch had prominent roles in DC business and government affairs, to include… Continue reading
352 Glyndon St. NE. (Reminder: the new house and its lot are private property). Final Days for the Old House, April 2024 Cleared: the Old House, mid-May 2024…. …And Then the Trees, Late May Construction Begins, July 2024 New House Is Well-Along, September 2024 The Old & New Houses, Viewed… Continue reading
Before & After: 300 John Marshall NE The original house was built between 1962 and 1963 by local developer John Bobby, judging from aerial photos and property records. The house was among the last two built of the original 57 houses in the Ayr Hill Heights subdivision, judging from aerial… Continue reading
Decades before there was a Wolftrap Elementary School, Clarke’s School House serviced the same general area outside Vienna, Virginia that Wolftrap now serves. Clarke’s School House, aka the Clarke School, was a Fairfax County public school that sat on the south side of Clarks Crossing Road less than a mile… Continue reading
“J.T. Watson…was from the ‘valley,’” according to George Atkisson’s 1978 history of Vienna’s Antioch Christian Church, referring to the Shenandoah Valley. John Thomas Watson was born in 1879 to Benjamin and Matilda Watson in Middletown, Virginia, according to birth and marriage records. Middletown is in the Shenandoah Valley near today’s western… Continue reading
Mary Margaret Thompson was born in 1873 to Joseph Thompson, a farmer, and Mary Margaret Oliver Thompson, according to the younger Mary’s death certificate. Mary, or Mollie as she was known, was in the middle of the Thompson’s eight children, according to the 1880 census. She most likely grew up… Continue reading
Walter L. Taylor was born in Loudoun County in June 1865; that is, immediately after the Civil War. His parents were Andrew Jackson Taylor and Emily. Between 1877 and 1880, Walter’s father acquired 126 acres along the Middle Turnpike—today’s Route 7—extending from today’s Spring Hill Road to the west past today’s… Continue reading
Bessie D. Rice was associated with the Clarke School for at least five years in the early 20th Century, judging from various references in the Fairfax Herald. She was placing children on the honor roll in 1906 and, as principal, tasking students in 1909. A 1912 letter to the editor noted… Continue reading