Sideling Court and the Beechwood Subdivision

Introduction This article is a history of Beechwood, a small subdivision organized largely around Sideling Court along Beulah Road at the Vienna Town line. The article tracks property transactions from the Colonial Era to the the establishment of the subdivision and Sideling Court in the 1970s. As part of the… Continue reading

The Freemans of Runnymede Farm (Today’s Beulah Terrace & Embassy Court Subdivisions)

This post is about Virginia and William Freeman (see Figures 1 and 2). The Freemans were the last pre-development owners of the future Beulah Terrace subdivision who actually resided on the parcel; their property also included what would later be the Embassy Court subdivisions (see Figure 3). The Freemans referred to their… Continue reading

Reginald Fairfax of 19th Century Fairfax County

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

Benjamin Thornton, Joseph Thornton, & Samuel Stead: English Rascals, Vienna-Area Landowners

The Thornton Brothers This post begins the biography of the Thornton brothers and one of their cronies, Samuel Stead. Benjamin Thornton in 1852 acquired land in the Vienna area from Reginald Fairfax. Between them, the Thorntons and Stead owned property in the Vienna area from 1852 to 1883. (See Figure… Continue reading

J.T. Watson, Clarke School Teacher

“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

Mollie Thompson, Clarke School Teacher

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 Taylor, Clarke School Teacher

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 Rice, Clarke School Teacher

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