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A HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF FAIRFAX
[Illustration: _Sketch by John H. Rust, Jr._]
by
JEANNE JOHNSON RUST
1960
Illustrations by Paul R. Hoffmaster
First Edition
Second Printing
Copyright 1960, by Jeanne Johnson Rust
All rights reserved
Printed by Moore & Moore, Inc., Washington, D. C.
Designed by William M. Guillet
To My Husband
_and his favorite town--his birthplace_.
[Illustration: Map of Fairfax]
MAP LEGEND
1. _Court House_ Pages 29, 33, 57
2. _Duncan's Chapel_ Pages 39, 43
3. _Payne's Church_ Page 19
4. _Store Site_ Pages 25, 31
5. _Ford Building_ Page 25
6. _Rose Bower_ Page 38
7. _Site of Willcoxon Tavern_ Pages 24, 32, 48
8. _Rectory_ Pages 25, 48
9. _Truro Church_ Pages 20, 38, 61
10. _Coomb Cottage_ Page 36
11. _Coomb Cottage Building No. 1_ Page 36
12. _Coomb Cottage Building No. 2_ Page 36
13. _Cooper Carriage House_ Pages 37, 45
14. _Confederate Monument_ Page 64
15. _Site of Ratcliffe Home_ Page 32
16. _Ratcliffe Grave Yard_ Page 32
17. _Earp's Ordinary_ Pages 23, 45
18. _Willard Place_ Page 55
19. _Blenheim_ Page 24
20. _Ratcliffe Race Trace_ Page 32
21. _D'Astre Place_ Page 37
22. _Richardson House_ Page 38
23. _Site of Judge Thomas House_ Page 37
24. _Oliver Building_ Pages 25, 44
25. _Farr Home_ Page 22
CONTENTS
_Introduction_ 6
I. _Jamestown_ 7
II. _Rebellion_ 10
III. _The Gentry and the Convicts_ 14
IV. _The Push Inward_ 17
V. _The Town_ 23
VI. _The Revolutionary War_ 26
VII. _The Court House_ 29
VIII. _Development of the Town_ 36
IX. _The Civil War in Fairfax_ 43
X. _Spies_ 53
XI. _Stealing of Important Papers_ 57
XII. _Reconstruction_ 61
_Bibliography_ 68
_Index_ 69
A HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF FAIRFAX
_When man reaches out into space to explore a new planet, his
adventure will be comparable in many ways to that of the colonists
who braved the space of water in the early seventeenth century to
establish their proprietary rights on a strange continent called
"America"._
_These colonists found themselves confronted with the need to feed,
house and clothe themselves with unknown and untried materials
reaped from a wilderness which hid their enemy, the red man, and
housed the dread mosquito which carried the deadly malaria._
_Proof of their danger lies in the history of the Jamestown Colony.
Being attacked by red savages upon landing at the malaria infested
Jamestown and inexperienced with survival under wilderness
conditions, the colonists were reduced to eating their own dead
before help finally arrived._
_Strengthened in number and sustained by food and help brought by
Lord de la Warr, the colonists eventually set up a government,
bought peace with their enemy, and settled down to raise tobacco on
the land to which they received proprietary rights. Later they
expanded their holdings; developed their resources; improved their
government; established churches, schools and colleges; gained their
independence from their mother country; survived civil strife; and
advanced their civilization._
[Illustration]
I. JAMESTOWN
At Jamestown the colonists found that they could not succeed without
expanding the Indian's agriculture. They found the savages of the
Tidewater section growing corn, muskmelon, pumpkin, watermelon,
squash, maypops, gourds and peas in their fertile well-organized
gardens. Grapevines were cultivated at the edge of clearings and
there were rich harvests of chestnuts, hickory nuts and acorns.
Strawberries and other small fruits grew in abundance and mulberry
trees stood near every village. Tobacco was grown to itself, in
carefully prepared hills arranged in well-organized rows. It
developed into a slender plant less than three feet tall and the
short, thick leaves, when ripe, were pulled from the stalk and dried
before a fire or in the sun. The colonists learned to grow and store
the Indian foods for cold winters and they learned to earn their
livelihood from the export of the tobacco they grew.
In the northern part of Fairfax County, the Indians grew corn. They
fished, mined, and herded buffalo. In order to have sufficient
grassland for their "cattle", or buffalo, the Indians deliberately
set fire to the forests. They also burned their "old fields" that
had once been cultivated for they found that grass grew voluntarily
on them if the trees were kept down.
Maxwell in "The Use and Abuse of Forests by Virginia Indians" tells
us, "Virginia, between its mountains and the seas was passing
through its fiery ordeal and was approaching a crisis at the time
the colonists snatched the fagot from the Indian's hand. The tribes
were burning everything that would burn and it can be said of the
Alleghanies that if the discovery of America had been post-poned
five hundred years, Virginia would have been pasture land or
desert."
This point is further illustrated by the Manahoac Indian's remark to
Captain John Smith that he knew not what lay beyond the Blue Ridge
except the sun, "because the woods were not burnt".
Although the settlement by colonists helped to slow down this
burning process, it did not stop it altogether. The colonists
cleared their land by burning also and when they had exploited one
area moved on to another. (They did not burn as large areas as the
Indians.) As other freemen came, they pushed upward and inward along
the waterways to find unexploited land. This, of course, hastened
the development of the Fairfax County area but it left acres of "old
fields" going idle for want of a little fertilizer. Many ignorant
overseers of large land holdings knew little of fertilization or
replenishing the soil and they too, when they had exhausted one part
of the proprietorship, moved on to another, which they cleared by
burning. They gathered slaves from other plantations to help fell
the trees and at night large groups of negroes gathered round the
mound of burning trees and raised their voices in the spiritual
singing that was characteristic of them. Sometimes the burning
lasted for two or three days and laughter, song and wine were
plentiful.
Fairfax County itself was gradually being occupied by men from two
of the colonies: viz., Maryland and Jamestown. The Maryland
colonists were English traders who, for one reason or another, had
left their colony (1632) and taken up their residence among friendly
tribes along the Virginia shore of the Potomac. The Maryland
colonists preceded the Jamestown colonists by a few years.
The Jamestown colonists in their search for unused land had
gradually started to move into Fairfax County around 1649. Word had
spread that the area farther north (part of which is now known as
Fairfax County) was the "land of opportunity" and wealthy
land-holders began buying large units of five hundred to three
thousand acres for speculation. Among these were the Masons,
Draytons, Baxters, Brents, Vincents, Merriweathers, Fitzhughs,
Hills, Dudleys and Howsings.
Most of these men were not ready to make their homes here, however,
for this area was still infested with unfriendly Indians. Instead
they hired indentured slaves who came from England, Scotland,
Ireland, France, etc., who worked the land for a few years, earned
their freedom and then became land owners in their own right. It
stands to reason, therefore, that the society of the Fairfax County
area at that time was necessarily crude. These indentures, though
vigorous and having outstanding individuals among them, had the
reputation of not being given to the amenities. Unfortunately, the
men in well established areas south of the indentures did not have a
realistic understanding either of the struggles and trials of these
men who were pioneering the Indian infested areas farther north.
This lack of understanding led to dissension and, in some instances,
rebellion.
[Illustration]
II. REBELLION
When the wealthy land-owners of the southern part of the colonized
area started buying up land in lower Fairfax County for speculation,
they did not buy out the title of the Doeg Indians, who occupied
this area at that time. (The white man established no relations with
the Doeg except to hold him off whenever possible). A series of
murders were committed on the frontier by Doegs and in retaliation
the colonists mistakenly killed Indians who were not Doegs. By 1675,
through a series of hot-headed misunderstandings the Susquehannock
Indians became involved and they struck whenever and wherever they
could. Captain John Smith described the Susquehannocks as having
booming voices, being seven feet tall and treading on the earth with
much pride, contempt and disdain.
Although no records were kept at the time, we can assume that many
homes were burned, women and children killed, etc. It is a known
fact that thirty-six people were killed on the Rappahannock in one
raid and that Indian retaliations of one nature or another caused
the English settlements that had reached Hunting Creek to recede to
Aquia, where they stayed for the next ten years.
Sir William Berkeley in order to help the frontiersmen, unwisely,
and at great expense to the people, commanded a fort to be built at
the mouth of each head river; e.g., one was built at Colchester on
the Occoquan. These forts proved of no value, being made of mud and
dirt. Other precarious forts were built in place of the mud ones.
These proved useless too and the governor and gentry declined to do
more.
Taking matters into their own hands, two hundred men (including men
from the Fairfax County area) joined under the leadership of
Nathaniel Bacon. They incited the Occannechi to massacre the
Susquehannock. Then, having disposed of the worst enemy, they turned
on the Occannechi and murdered them. The few Indians who survived
stabbed at the colonists occasionally but gradually drifted into
Pennsylvania taking the Doegs with them. The frontiersmen and
governing gentry, however, still remained at odds and another
cleavage began to appear. This one was centered around the men's
livelihood--tobacco.
From the first, tobacco had been their staple product. It was
Virginia's principal export crop. It was used as money. Salaries of
ministers and civil officers were paid with it. Bounty for wolves
and Indian scalps were offered in it and necessary equipment was
bought with it.
However, due to English navigation laws forbidding the colonists to
export to other countries, by 1682 England became over-supplied with
tobacco and the planters soon began to feel the effect of this
surplus. Growers began to go deeper and deeper into debt.
Major Robert Beverly and William Fitzhugh, young planter-lawyer from
this area, concluded along with other prominent men that the
solution lay in some type of crop control but England refused. She
did not want to lose the two shillings tax on each hogshead of
tobacco. She advised the colonists to wait until Thomas, Lord
Culpeper, the titular governor of the colony returned to Virginia.
Lord Culpeper had received the titular grant to all of this area
and a great deal more besides. He was happy in England, however, and
not at all anxious to come to Virginia. He was 47 years old at the
time and described as "able, lazy, unscrupulous".
While waiting for his return, the people became desperate. Taking
hoes and farm tools, they roamed the countryside pulling up and
cutting tobacco plants wherever they went. Some destroyed their own
crops. The county militia was called out and plant cutting was
brought under control but by this time 30,000 to 50,000 pounds of
tobacco had been destroyed.
A few months later the people again became impatient and the
government in Jamestown reacted by declaring the destruction of
tobacco "open and actual rebellion". It promised a reward of 2000
lbs. of tobacco for information and promised to pardon the
"squealer".
Finally, in December, Thomas, Lord Culpeper, departed from London
and the arms of his mistress. He was briefed by the Privy Council
before he left and as soon as he arrived in Virginia declared the
offense to be treason. He had several planters executed as examples
and granted amnesty to almost every plant cutter who would take the
oath of loyalty to the king. There were approximately twenty men
from this general area who took the oath.
In the meantime economic conditions improved for the colonists. The
English began dumping their surplus tobacco upon the continent of
Europe and the diminished colonial supply found a quick market.
As far as the Indian situation and forts were concerned, Lord
Culpeper suggested that a small band of volunteer light horsemen be
hired to range the woods of the heads of the rivers to protect the
frontiersmen against surprise attack by the Indians. His suggestion
was accepted by the Assembly and the "Rangers" were organized.
They were comprised of one lieutenant, eleven soldiers, and two
Indians. They were supplied with horses and other necessities to
range and scout the areas they served.
Lord Culpeper then proceeded to return to England where he was
relieved as governor and his commission was turned over to Lord
Howard of Effingham. It is rather ironic that neither Lord Culpeper
nor Lord Fairfax, who inherited his estate and for whom the County
and Town were named, cared particularly for Virginia. Lord Culpeper
came under duress and returned as soon as possible to England. Lord
Fairfax came, according to tradition, only after he had been
disappointed in love in England and because his holdings demanded
his attention. The people struggled on, however, and gradually the
wealthy land owners began to move northward to occupy the tracts of
land upon which their grandfathers had speculated.
[Illustration]
III. THE GENTRY AND THE CONVICTS
George Mason II had moved to Pohick in 1690 but his home was
considered such an outpost that runaway slaves were returned there
by Indians. In 1746 the fourth George Mason moved to his property on
Dogue Neck and built Gunston Hall in 1758. By 1734 Captain Augustine
Washington moved his family to his plantation on Little Hunting
Creek. His home was destroyed by fire and he moved back to the north
bank of the Rappahannock in 1739. In the spring of 1741 William
Fairfax built Belvoir. After his daughter married Lawrence
Washington in 1743, the original part of Mt. Vernon was finished.
Along with the gentry's influx into the county, however, there was
also the influx of convicts. Heretofore this land had, as stated,
been occupied mostly by indentured slaves. When these indentures
achieved their freedom and became land-holders in their own right,
they found they too needed help for harvesting the fields. England,
recognizing this need and being anxious to rid herself of an
undesirable element, began to export convicts to America. Benjamin
Franklin called this "the most cruel insult that perhaps was ever
offered by one people to another".
Robert Carter, in his first term as proprietary agent, made numerous
grants to the Irish and Hugenots and they took a substantial number
of these convicts who were gin fiends, beggars, murderers and
arsonists. These cheaper servants after serving seven years became
parasitic wanderers, creating hotbeds of undisciplined passion
wherever they went.
They received credit for burning many warehouses, private homes,
public buildings, churches and finally the Capitol itself in
Williamsburg. Arson became epidemic in the Northern Neck.
All legislative efforts to abort this infiltration by convicts were
stopped by the "greedy planter" who loved the cheapness of this
labor and the practice of importation survived the Revolution.
Consequently, this area was comprised of gentry, indentures,
convicts and slaves. Yet the homes of the former two were similar in
many ways. Their houses were made of wood; their roofs were made of
oak shingles. The walls were made of clapboard sealed on the inside
with mortar made of oyster shell lime which gave the room a look of
antiquated whiteness. Some houses were constructed of bricks made by
the colonists themselves. Most houses consisted of only two rooms
and several closets on the ground floor with two prophets chambers
above. They built separate houses for the kitchen, for Christian
servants, for Negro slaves, and several for curing tobacco. Each
household gave the appearance of a small village. There were no
stables. Cattle and horses were allowed to run in the woods.
Merchandise was supplied by traveling salesmen from England who took
their loaded ships from creek to creek.
Due to the fact that most people lived on widely separated
plantations there were very few schools. Sometimes a house was
erected on one of the old fields which had outlived its usefulness
and there the children of the plantation owner along with those of
relatives and neighbors would attend school under the supervision of
a tutor hired by the main family. These were called "Old Field
Schools". They were made of logs held together by wooden pins. The
roof was shingled with hand-hewn wood shingles and a large field
stone fireplace was used to heat the room. There were few books
available and the tiresome methods of teaching were heavily
interspersed with strict discipline. School began at eight o'clock
in the morning and a recess was taken at eleven. It opened again at
one o'clock and closed at four o'clock in the afternoon.
Public school systems did not make their appearance until 1857. As a
rule, the parish halls of the various churches were used to house
the students.
The children of the poor learned from their parents the art of
working in the fields. The wealthier families sent their eldest son
to England to be educated and other sons were educated at the
College of William and Mary which had been established in 1693.
Recreation was found in the form of wrestling, playing with quarter
staff, cock fighting, and pursuing wild horses. Beverly gives us a
lively description of the latter: "There is yet another kind of
sport which the young people take great delight in and that is the
Hunting of wild Horses which they pursue sometimes with Dogs and
sometimes without. You must know that they have many Horses foaled
in the Woods of the Uplands that never were in hand and are as shy
as any Savage creature. These having no mark upon them belong to him
that first takes them. However, the Captor commonly purchases these
Horses very dear by spoiling better in the pursuit; in which case he
has little to make him amends beside the pleasure of the Chace. And
very often this is all he has for it, for the Wild Horses are so
swift that tis difficult to catch them; and when they are taken tis
odds but their Grease is melted, or else being old, they are so
sullen that they can't be tamed." (Due to the capture of tame horses
roaming the woods, the sport of capturing wild horses was eventually
outlawed.)
[Illustration]
IV. THE PUSH INWARD
At this time the northern and central parts of the County were
sparsely settled due to the large tracts of land held by a few. King
Carter, of course, had assigned most of the land to himself during
his second tenure as proprietary agent. However, there were large
tracts owned by William Fitzhugh, William Moore, Cadwallader Jones
and Lewis Saunders, Jr., which consumed most of the land in and near
the Town of Fairfax. Since men could only "seat" themselves on this
land, most of the indentures went over into the valley where they
could work land that belonged to them. Thus the development of this
territory was delayed for years.
However, when King Carter found what seemed to be substantial
deposits of copper in the northern part of the county, he and his
sons opened up a pre-existing Indian trail which came from Occoquan,
past the future site of Payne's church, near the future site of
Fairfax Court House, where it veered west and continued towards
Chantilly. Ox Road made accessible the area now known as the Town of
Fairfax; became a deciding factor in the future placement of the
Court House that was to serve this area; and created the original
western part of The Little River Turnpike.
[Illustration: AT A GENERAL ASSEMBLY BEGUN AND HELD AT THE CAPITOL
IN THE CITY OF WILLIAMSBURG, THE SIXTH DAY OF MAY, IN THE FIFTEENTH
YEAR OF THE REIGN OF OUR SOVEREIGN LORD GEORGE II, BY THE GRACE OF
GOD OF GREAT BRITAIN, FRANCE AND IRELAND, KING, DEFENDER OF THE
FAITH &c., AND IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1742: BEING THE FIRST
SESSION OF THIS ASSEMBLY. CHAP. XXVII. AN ACT FOR DIVIDING THE
COUNTY OF PRINCE WILLIAM.
FOR the greater ease and convenience of the inhabitants of the
county of Prince William, in attending courts, and other public
meetings, Be it enacted by the Lieutenant Governor, Council and
Burgesses, of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby
enacted by the Authority of the same. That from and immediately
after the first day of December now next ensuing, the said county of
Prince William shall be divided into two counties: That is to say,
all that part thereof, lying on the south side of Occoquan and Bull
Run; and from the head of the main branch of Bull Run, by a straight
course to the Thorough-fare of the Blue Ridge of mountains, known by
the name of Ashby's Gap, or Bent, shall be one distinct county, and
retain the name of Prince William county: And be one distinct
parish, and retain the name of Hamilton parish. And all that other
part thereof, consisting of the parish of Truro, shall be one other
distinct county, and called and known by the name of Fairfax
county.... And a court for the said county of Fairfax, be constantly
held by the justices of that county, upon the third Thursday in
every month, in such manner, as by the laws of this colony is
provided, and shall lie by their commissions directed.]
As people followed this road inward to seat land, a new parish was
set up which was named "Truro" by King Carter. He expected the
parish to be a mining district and named it after a borough of
Cornwall, England, which was a shipping port for tin and copper ore.
Truro tried to provide meeting places for all and called upon a man
by the name of Samuel Littlejohn, who seated land south of the
future site of the Town of Fairfax, for help in supplying a place to
worship for this particular area. Mr. Littlejohn complied by renting
his tobacco barn for regular services.
He received 1000 lbs. of tobacco a year for its rent. The barn was
fitted with six benches which ran the length of the house and two
benches which stood at each end of the building. A Communion table
and a reading desk with a small window on each side of the desk
concluded the specified alterations. This was in 1765. The exact
location of this barn has not been identified but it seems likely
that it was in the vicinity of Edward Payne's home on middle ridge
near the Ox road, where Payne's church was built in 1766. (The
Virginia Army National Guard Nike Site is now located on part of
Payne's land.)
At a meeting on February 3rd and 4th, 1766, the vestry resolved that
a new church be built on the middle ridge near Ox Road ... on the
land "supposed to belong" to Mr. Thomazen Ellzey, young
planter-lawyer, "who being present consents to the same". (Mr.
Ellzey owned a large tract of land including the Magner tract of
which "Brecon Ridge" is now a part. According to local tradition, he
gave the "glebe" land which consisted of 40 acres for the minister
who was allowed to collect as salary whatever he could grow on the
"glebe".) Vestrymen present these two days were "Mr. Edward Payne,
Colo. George Washington, Capt. Daniel McCarty, Colo. George William
Fairfax, Mr. Alexander Henderson, Mr. William Gardner, Thomas
Withers Coffer, William Linton and Thomas Ford."
Edward Payne was to undertake to build the church for 579 lbs. of
Virginia currency agreeable to a plan and articles drawn up by a Mr.
John Ayres who was to be paid 40 shillings for his plan and
estimates. These plans were to be modeled after the Falls Church.
Hearsay relates that "Edward Payne, vestryman and builder of the
church, and Col. George Washington had an argument concerning the
location of the church. A fist fight insued and Mr. Payne, who was a
tall man but not as tall as Col. Washington, knocked Col. Washington
down--it being the first and only time Washington was ever knocked
down". The church was located according to Mr. Payne's judgment and
records show it was accepted on September 9, 1768, as agreeably
built according to plan, with the exception of the brick pediments
over the door which were to be corrected by Mr. Payne.
The church was used for services until the time of the Revolution
after which it was used only occasionally. Early in the last century
the Baptists took possession of it as abandoned property, with the
Court's permission, and upon the division of that denomination in
1840 the Jerusalem Baptist Church (new school) was organized in the
building and continued to use it until 1862.
[Illustration: TRURO EPISCOPAL CHURCH
_Photo by Ollie Atkins_]
At that time Federal troops camped in the vicinity tore the church
down brick by brick and used the material to build chimneys and
hearths for their winter quarters. A small frame Baptist church now
covers part of the original foundation of Payne's church. A model of
the original Payne's Church can be found in the design and
construction of the present chapel at Truro Episcopal Church in
Fairfax.
During the development of the parish and its move northward and
inward, the Court in 1752 ordered Lewis Ellzey, Hugh West Jr., James
Hamilton, James Halley and others to view and mark a road to be
cleared for the most convenient way from Alexandria to Rocky Run
Chappell.
This road is now locally known as the old Braddock Road, named after
General Braddock who presumably traversed it on his way to Ft.
Duquesne. Although historians disagree on the authenticity of this
route being taken by Braddock, around the road has grown a legend of
"buried treasure".
The story goes that the road was impassable and the weather
extremely inclement when Braddock and his men used it. They had to
cut down trees and other growth to clear their way. Added to this
was the fact that they were carrying a chest of gold coins, with
which to pay the men. They had two cannons, which were proving
extremely burdensome, and were constantly becoming bogged down in
the mud.
Finally, having lost so much time due to the condition of the road
and the heaviness of his cannons and gold, Braddock decided to
lighten his load. Taking the gold coins, he stuffed the nozzles of
both cannons with the coins and then buried the cannons near a
spring on the road near Centreville. The story continues that the
spring has since dried up and although many people, including the
British, have searched for years for the "buried treasure", it has
never been found.
Near the intersection of Ox Road and Braddock Road was a tract of
land (the future site of George Mason College, the northern Virginia
branch of the University of Virginia) which was owned by the Farr
family. The large home on this tract of land was burned by Union
forces during the Civil War in retaliation for a very brave act by
the young fourteen year old Farr boy.
This young boy, knowing that Union troops were located at Fairfax
Station waiting to attack the Court House, built a road block of
logs across the Ox Road over which these troops had to pass. Hiding
himself in the underbrush nearby, he fired so heroically upon the
enemy troops, as they approached, that they assumed there was a
large group of Confederates waiting for them and withdrew to Fairfax
Station. When they learned of the hoax, they returned and burned the
Farr home to the ground.
[Illustration]
V. THE TOWN
Historically, the most important house in the town of Fairfax is the
Ratcliffe-Logan-Allison House at 10386 Main Street. This little
brick house was built in 1805 when the town was founded and the
original half meets the specifications of the 1805 Virginia State
Legislature. It is sixteen feet square, has a brick chimney, and is
"fit for habitation." The Ratcliffe-Logan-Allison House is
considered to be in "pristine" form and unchanged from its original
condition except for an 1830 addition which is believed to have been
built by the same brick mason.[1]
[1] _The Richard-Ratcliffe-Allison House is listed on the Virginia
Historic Landmarks Register and on the National Register of
Historical Places. It belongs to the City of Fairfax and is an
integral part of the founding of the town._
The little brick house was the first structure completed when
Richard Ratcliffe established his town named Providence (now
Fairfax). Henry Logan bought the house and later sold it to Gordon
and Robert Allison. They added a large parlor and bedroom to
the house and built a stable in the backyard to take care of
the horses of their paying guests and possibly those of the
Alexandria-Winchester Stage Coach Line.
[Illustration: THE RATCLIFFE-LOGAN-ALLISON HOUSE
_Photo by Ollie Atkins_]
Richard Ratcliffe's tavern at the northwest corner of the
intersection of Chain Bridge Road and The Little River Turnpike was
one of the larger houses in Fairfax. Caleb Earp operated a store in
the basement of this tavern and the crossroads was known as "Earp's
Corner" when George Mason recommended in 1789 that the court house
be located at this juncture.
The tavern was extended westward by a Capt. Rizin Willcoxon and
subsequently bought by the Allisons. An 1837 inventory shows there
was a store, a cellar, a granary, a bar, kitchen, parlour, dining
room, tailor's shop, sky parlour, and at least twelve bedrooms in
the tavern.
Capt. Willcoxon, who was a relative and friend of Richard Ratcliffe,
built the addition to the tavern out of bricks kilned by slaves. The
foundation of the Willcoxon home on Route 237 was also built of
bricks from the same kiln. This home was named "Blenheim." The name
of Union soldiers who occupied the house during the Civil War can be
found etched on the walls of its attic.
Although "Blenheim" is still standing today, the Ratcliffe tavern
was torn down in the 1920's and the bricks and mantels were
purchased by Col. Francis Pickens Miller who incorporated them into
the large brick building which is now known as Flint Hill Private
School.
[Illustration: RICHARD RATCLIFFE TAVERN]
Progress began to embrace Fairfax in the 1900's but before the
1800's there was only a tavern, a store, a tannery, and several
private homes located at "Earp's Corner."
Still standing today are the Truro Episcopal Church rectory, which
was built as a home by Thomas Love and later sold to Dr. William
Gunnell, the Ford Building and the Oliver Building, both of which
were built by members of the Gunnell family.
These homes were representative of the times. Georgian architecture
had begun to spread up and down the coast. Plaster and paneling had
begun to replace lime walls. Beautifully carved mantels and
staircases had made their appearance. Mahogany furniture upholstered
in satin or brocade had replaced crudely constructed pieces.
Portrait painters roamed the country. Tutors moved in to educate the
children of the wealthy. Life was much safer and almost as
conventional as country life in England.
[Illustration]
VI. THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR
While the rich progressed from rough shacks to Georgian homes, there
was no such advance for the poor. There was not even any improvement
in agricultural implements and the poor were finding it more and
more difficult to compete with the large landholders and their
scores of slaves.
They resented the tight band held over them by the mother country,
who, they felt, neither understood their problems nor how to cope
with them, as well as they did (e.g., the impractical way the
English tried to fight the Indians during the French-Indian war).
[Illustration]
Added to this was the constant pressure from the mother country for
more money to exploit her domain, felt in the enforcement of the
"Sugar Act", "Stamp Act", "Tea Act", and "Boston Port Act".
The smoldering embers of hate began to flare in the hearts of the
radicals. The gentry hoped to keep the radicals under control for
they felt the Virginia colony had less cause to fight than the other
colonies. The colony of which they were a part was "the most
populous, prosperous and important one of the thirteen." They had
not felt the sting of taxes like their northern mercantile brothers
nor the sting of poverty like their less fortunate southern
brothers.
For example, when the "Stamp Act" was being considered. Richard
Henry Lee applied for the position of stamp distributor. When a
fight developed in the House concerning the "Stamp Act", Peyton
Randolph, Edmund Pendleton, Richard Bland and George Wythe opposed
Patrick Henry's resolutions bitterly.
The gentry in Fairfax seemed to be the exception for George
Johnston, a prominent lawyer living between Alexandria and Mt.
Vernon, backed Patrick Henry in his protest. George Mason wrote the
Non-importation Resolutions in 1769, his Fairfax Resolves in 1774
and his famous Bill of Rights in 1776. George Washington, Fairfax
planter, was, of course, Commander in Chief of the Continental Army
and brought the country through to victory under the most difficult
circumstances.
Large numbers of able-bodied citizens in the County served under
Washington in the Revolution. An artillery company was formed out
of the two militia companies in Fairfax and two later drafts took
eighty-two more men. There were a few English sympathizers like the
Fairfax family who did not take part but almost every influential
family in the County fought on the side of Independence.
During this time Patrick Henry served as Governor of the
Commonwealth of Virginia, and in this capacity, appointed a Sheriff
to serve the County of Fairfax. One of the most interesting
documents in view at the Fairfax County Clerk's Office is the
original of this command signed by P. Henry.
The County itself was touched by battle on two occasions: (1) The
Continental Army under General Lafayette crossed the Potomac near
Chain Bridge and (2) Rochambeau's Army of French allies came up
through the County over the old King's Highway to Alexandria, where
French transports awaited them.
The country prospered after the war but economic levels changed. The
new rich who had prospered by government contracts during the war
took the place of men who had lost their business along the coast
line and of men whose homes had been ramshackled by English troops.
Currency fell and prices rose. The farmer, who had by now turned to
wheat instead of tobacco for his livelihood, was receiving high
prices and seemed to be getting rich. However, his labor supply was
extremely limited and he found it difficult to raise enough crops to
supply his own needs. What labor he could find demanded extremely
high wages and the products which the farmer needed came at
extremely costly prices. In spite of difficulties, however, the
farmer saw the need for a good road to Alexandria, where he could
export his wheat. Thus the farmers of Fairfax, Alexandria, and
Loudoun Counties joined together to build The Little River Turnpike,
which was one of the first improved roads in the United States. This
road was completed in 1806 and as stated before, tolls were
collected for it at Earp's Ordinary. Another strong factor in the
completion of this road was the establishment of the County Court
House at the present site in the Town of Fairfax.
[Illustration]
VII. THE COURT HOUSE
In 1618 Gov. Yeardley established the prototype of the county court
by an order stating that "county courts be held in convenient
places, to sit monthly, and to hear civil and criminal cases." It
determined rates of local taxation, registered legal documents,
licensed inns and exercised control over their prices, directed the
building and repair of roads, and rendered judgments in both civil
and criminal cases.
While Fairfax County was still a part of the colony, the first
sessions of Court were probably held in Colchester, a thriving
seaport town where large quantities of tobacco were exported.
Charles Broadwater, John Carlyle, Henry Gunnell, Lord Thomas
Fairfax, George Mason, and George Washington were among the
Gentlemen Justices during the period of 1742 to 1776.
The first entry of the Court's minutes were made in 1742 at a
session held in Colchester. This was an order removing the county
records from Colchester to the new court house two miles north of
Vienna. This court house, where the Fairfax Resolves were written,
was called "Freedom Hill". Ambiguously, a gallows was constructed
here and death sentences were carried out promptly. The court house
remained at Freedom Hill for ten years when it was moved to
Alexandria.
There are many theories concerning the move to Alexandria: Roads
were poor and slow; there was still Indian hostility--the treaty of
Fontainebleau did not come until 1762; there was pressure from the
more influential citizens of Alexandria to move it to that city.
At any rate, the Court was moved to Alexandria in 1752 and there it
remained until 1799. The gallows remained at Freedom Hill. When a
death sentence was passed, the prisoner was taken out The Little
River Turnpike from Alexandria to Annandale, thence along "Court
House Road" to the gallows. Eventually the name "Court House Road"
was changed to "Gallows Road", which name a portion of the road
bears today.
During the forty-seven years court was held in Alexandria, the
building fell into such disrepair that it finally became an unfit
place in which to hold business, thereby speeding the acceptance of
a proposal by George Mason and other influential residents that the
Court be moved to Fairfax.
At that time there lived in Fairfax a man by the name of Richard
Ratcliffe who held large tracts of land in this area. His holdings
began at the Ravensworth line and swept over and through all the
area that the Town of Fairfax now occupies, traveling on into what
is now Loudoun County.
When plans became final to move the Court House from Alexandria to
Fairfax, Richard Ratcliffe sold to Charles Little, David Stuart,
William Payne, James Wren and George Minor, for one dollar, four
acres of land "to erect thereupon an house, for holding the Pleas of
the said County of Fairfax, a clerks office for the safe keeping of
the records and papers of the said County, a Goal and all and every
other building and machine necessary for the Justices of the Peace
for the said County from time to time to erect for the purpose of
holding the pleas of the said County, preserving the Records and
publick papers, securing and safe keeping of prisoners and
reserving good order and the publick peace but for no other
use or purpose whatever and also the undisturbed use of and
privilege of all the springs upon the lands of Him the said Richard
Ratcliffe ...", dated June 27, 1799.
Records show that a Richard Ratcliffe came to this country from
England in 1637 along with John Bristoe, Robert Turner, Henry
Warren, Thomas Clarke and Robert Throckmorton--Lord of the Manor of
Ellington. It is assumed that the descendants of Ratcliffe and
Throckmorton worked their way into the vicinity of the future town
of Fairfax for their names appear often in the records and newspaper
clippings.
The Richard Ratcliffe who gave the land for the court house came
here from Maryland. He was the son of John Ratcliffe of "Poynton"
and "Doyne" Manors, Port Tobacco, Charles County, Maryland.
He married Lucian Bolling who was from one of the families who had
moved into this area from the Jamestown Colony. Her father was
Girard Bolling who was one of 18 children and descended from Thomas
Rolfe.
Mr. Bolling was a planter and merchant who owned a store in Fairfax.
Ratcliffe became associated with his father-in-law in the mercantile
business and took over the business after Mr. Bolling died. In
Ratcliffe's will he left "the brick store and land lot to his sons
for the purpose of keeping store in or on if necessary".
He and his wife had five daughters and four sons. Penelope married
Spencer Jackson. Nancy married Stephen Daniel. Jane married Thomas
Moss, a future clerk of the court. Patsy married Richard Coleman.
Lucian married George Gunnell. His sons were Robert, who was Deputy
Sheriff in 1801, Charles, John and Samuel. Two of his sons were
evidently a disappointment to him for in his will he speaks of
Samuel "having conducted himself badly for several years past" his
debts were to be paid by the executors, who were Robert and Charles
Ratcliffe, Thomas Moss, Gordon Allison and Roger M. Farr. He also
stated that two of his sons had received more than his daughters
but he hoped his sons would do better and his daughters would
understand.
The Ratcliffe home place, "Mt. Vineyard" will be recalled by older
citizens in the town as the Rumsey place, which burned years ago.
The family graveyard still exists today. It is located on Moore
Street.
Besides owning a great deal of land and a mercantile business, Mr.
Ratcliffe owned a race track on the east side of town. Its
approximate location was east of Route 237, north of The Little
River Turnpike and west of Fairview Subdivision. His personal
property was valued at $4445.34. In his will the slaves were divided
among his wife and children. Some of the slaves were valued as high
as $600 each, while others were valued at a dollar.
[Illustration]
In 1836, when Mr. Ratcliffe died and the town had to be surveyed in
order for his estate to be divided, John Halley, the surveyor
writes: "In laying off I commenced at the northwest corner of Rizin
Willcoxon's Tavern House, Robert Ratcliffe having represented that
that house was considered when built as being exactly on the corner
of the lot on which it stands, and the side and gable ends of said
house ranged with the streets. I have therefore taken the ...... of
said house as a guide". The tavern was valued at $4000.00 at that
time.
Robert Ratcliffe had evidently used the northwest corner of the
tavern when in 1805 he laid off the town when An Act of the Assembly
established a "Town at Fairfax Court House on the Land of Richard
Ratcliffe by the name of Providence".
[Illustration: FAIRFAX COURT HOUSE
_Photo by Ollie Atkins_]
Meanwhile, a red brick building had been erected for the court
house. It had a gabled roof, an arcaded loggia and a cupola. In the
cupola hung a very fine bell which had been imported from England.
This bell rang to remind the citizens of church time, court, town
meetings, etc.
The inside of the court house was beautifully paneled with walnut
wainscoating and behind the Justice's chair the wall was paneled
from floor to ceiling. There was a gallery for slaves and rows of
hand carved wooden pews for freemen.
On the outside was a place for tying horses in the yard and nearby
stood a well with the traditional "old oaken bucket". The
inscription on the bucket read, "He who drinks therefrom will return
to drink again!"
Among the first Justices of the Peace to serve in the new Court
House after April of 1800 were James Coleman, David Stuart, Charles
Little, William Stanhope, Richard Bland Lee, Robert F. Hooe, William
Payne, Richard Ratcliffe, William Deneale, Humphrey Peake, Richard
W. Poeh, Hancock Lee, William Gunnell, Richard M. Scott, Francy
Adams, James Wiley, Augustine I. Smith, and James Waugh. These men
formed a committee that took turns serving as Justices of the Peace.
They were known as Gentlemen Justices and were appointed and
commissioned by the governor until 1851.
In 1843 an agricultural journal was published at the Fairfax County
seat. It was called the "Farmer's Intelligencer" and was edited and
published by J. D. Hitt. The first issue which appeared on October
21, 1843, showed agitation for a revision of the Virginia
constitution in advocating a more economical and simplified court
procedure. It may or may not have been indicative of general
feelings at the time, but from 1851 until 1870 Justices were elected
by the voters of the County. Among these were Silas Burke, John B.
Hunter, James Hunter, W. W. Ellzey, Minnan Burke, Ira Williams, M.
R. Selecman, William W. Ball, John Millan, Nelson Conrad, T. M.
Ford, David Fitzhugh, S. T. Stuart and Elcon Jones.
From 1870 to 1902 the County Court was presided over by a single
judge elected by the state's legislature. During that time Thomas E.
Carper, Richard Coleman, J. R. Taylor, J. F. Mayhugh and John D.
Cross were among those who served. Governor Yeardley's order was
abolished in 1902 by a constitutional convention and by 1904 the
circuit courts took over the former work of the county courts. Their
decline was brought about because they had become the symbol of
opposition to a centralized government. Thomas Jefferson said, "the
justices of the inferior courts are self-chosen, are for life, and
perpetuate their own body in succession forever, so that a faction
once possessing themselves of the bench of a county, can never be
broken up...."
John Marshall said "there is no part of America where less disquiet
and less ill feeling between man and man is to be found than in this
commonwealth, and I believe most firmly that this state of things is
mainly to be ascribed to the practical operation of our county
courts".
William Moss served as Clerk of the Court from 1801 to 1833. From
1833 until 1887 F. D. Richardson, Thomas Moss, Alfred Moss, S. M.
Ball, H. T. Brooks, W. B. Gooding, William M. Fitzhugh, D. F.
Dulaney, and F. W. Richardson served as Clerks. F. D. Richardson who
was born in 1800 and entered the Clerk's Office under William Moss
in 1826 was either Clerk, Deputy Clerk or Assistant Clerk to the
date of his death on October 13, 1880, a period of 50 years. His
son, F. W. Richardson, born Dec. 16, 1853, went into the Clerk's
Office when he was 18 years old (1871) and served as Deputy and
Assistant Clerk until the death of his father in 1880, when he was
elected Clerk of the County and Circuit Courts.
It is said that Ripley wrote in "_Believe It or Not_" that "'Uncle
Tude' (F. W. Richardson) and his father had been Clerks of the
Fairfax Courts continuously for one hundred and five years".
[Illustration]
VIII. DEVELOPMENT OF THE TOWN
As the court house drew men to this area and the population
increased, a school for girls was established on the property west
of Truro Episcopal Church. Known as Coomb's Cottage, it was a
finishing school for young girls and boasted a roster of
approximately one hundred young ladies from both the north and the
south.
The school was built and established by Dr. and Mrs. Baker, who were
English. In addition to the main house (a white frame building west
of the church), there were a number of other buildings. Two of these
are located across Route 236 from the Church and are still standing
today. One is a professional building, the other a private home.
They were moved to their present location by Judge Love when he
bought the original school property. (The school closed down during
the Civil War and was never re-opened).
The present Truro Episcopal Rectory had been built as a home by
Judge Love's father, Thomas R. Love, who later sold it to Dr.
William Gunnell and built his home in the large grove of trees on
the Layton Hall property, near the site of the present town hall.
"Dunleith", as the large brick home was called, was destroyed by
Union forces and replaced by an ordinary frame house after the war.
The Cooper Carriage house was built during this time by a Mr. Cooper
who had come to Fairfax from the North. Mr. Cooper was a highly
respected citizen and a very gallant Confederate soldier. He was
wounded seven times. Cooper Carriage House is located east of the
professional building which was a part of Coomb's Cottage.