A Visit to Fairfax

For history buffs, there's plenty to see in Washington, DC and Alexandria, Virginia. However, once you get past those two areas, things get a little thin on the ground. There's a lot of suburban sprawl here, and in my county (Fairfax), an area with a population of over a million people, there's more hideous tract housing and McMansions than there are historic sites. There is history to be found here, however, you just have to look a little harder to find it. Tucked between strip malls of the same businesses you could find just about anywhere, there is Virginia history.

A couple weeks back, I drove about 20 minutes to Fairfax, the name of both the county and the small, independent city within the confines of the county. The few blocks of the downtown center are charming, their buildings survivors where others of their era have fallen and disappeared. There are local businesses here, inhabiting these old walls, adding a sense of community to a place where chains are mere minutes away. You could almost pretend you weren't tucked away in a quiet enclave amongst miles of suburban sprawl. In certain spots you can catch a whiff of boxwoods, to me a sign of a truly old spot. I love that smell. 

The oldest house still standing is the lovely place pictured just above, the Ratcliffe-Allison house. Built in 1812, this red brick building feels both aged and gracious. A short walk away from the Ratcliffe-Allison house is the courthouse complex, encompassing both the old courthouse and the newer building that took on most of the city's legal business with all the modern conveniences. The courthouse survived the Civil War, though it didn't fare well - the story goes that the walls were intact but the inside was virtually gutted by the Union army. They sure did have a knack for destruction. I'd never been inside the old courthouse, so I was really happy to be able to finally do so. After walking through some more modern additions, I met with a member of staff who took me into the oldest part of the courthouse. 

The large, simple space looks as you might imagine the inside of a country courthouse might (at the time it was built, Fairfax went by another name and was in the middle of acres of undeveloped land). A reconstruction had been done in the middle of the 20th century, using archive photos and historical conjecture. The large chandelier in the courthouse was found in an attic space, lending an air of authenticity. I very much enjoyed looking at old photos of the site, and hearing tales of the past from my very knowledgeable guide. I was also allowed to see the archives room, and look at various historical court records and other documents preserved and taken care of by the courthouse staff. Again, I realized what wonderful handwriting people had before the advent of technology. The various documents were filled with scrolling, graceful script. 

After my tour, I wandered around a touch more before heading down the road a bit to the Fairfax Museum. Housed in a former schoolhouse, the museum offers a great permanent collection of Fairfax and Northern Virginia artifacts, as well as hosting different exhibits in the first floor gallery. On my visit I was fortunate enough to catch the collection of Civil War drawings in pen and ink by a gentleman named Edwin Forbes. I was so impressed with the quality of the work. There was an almost timeless quality to his drawings, and they also felt so alive that the soldiers depicted in any given work might just be able to leap from the frame and into the room. During my time at the museum, I was the only visitor, which was both gratifying (I do like being able to meander through a museum and not feel rushed by gaggles of other tourists) and a little sad (where are all the history lovers?!). The upstairs space was a trip through Fairfax history, from the first days of the Anglo settlers to the more recent history of the onset of suburbia. It's a great way to see how the city/county transitioned from a region of about 12,000 people to a crowded place of over 1 million residents. My favorite part of the collection was the space dedicated to Confederate Spy Antonia Ford and her Union officer lover. He divorced his wife to be with her, no small matter at that time. But it made me happy to see people doing whatever needed to be done to be with the one they loved. 

For folks in the area who haven't really seen Fairfax, and have merely driven through, I recommend stopping. The courthouse and museum offer pleasant distractions for an afternoon. More photos below.

  












photos copyright Megan Petty