Category: History
Oak Hill Day will be in-person
For the first time since the start of the Covid pandemic, historic Oak Hill will host an in-person open house.The 2022 Oak Hill Day will be held Sept. 17, noon-4 p.m., at the historic property in Annandale. Visitors can park at the Nancy Sprague Technology Center, 4414 Holborn Ave., Annandale, and take a free shuttle … Continued
New historic marker honors Vietnamese immigrants
A new historic marker unveiled May 24 on Wilson Boulevard in front of the Eden Center honors Vietnamese immigrants as an important part of Northern Virginia history. The marker was approved by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources in 2021. Nomination for the historic marker was made by two students – eighth-grader Oliver Hardi and … Continued
Alternative names proposed for Lee Highway
The Confederate Names Task Force has recommended renaming Lee Highway and Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway and presented several possible alternatives to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Feb. 8. For Lee Highway (Route 29), the task force recommended these new names:• Cardinal Highway• Route/Highway 29• Langston Boulevard/Highway• Lincoln-Douglass Highway• Fairfax Boulevard/Highway For Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway (Route … Continued
Historic marker project engages students
The Historical Marker Project, launched by the Fairfax County School Board and Board of Supervisors earlier this month, is aimed at encouraging students to bring attention to the accomplishments of lesser-known people and communities. The project will initially focus on the county’s Black/African American communities and will expand to other underrepresented stories in the coming … Continued
Growing up in a log cabin – in Annandale
The log cabin, before it was expanded and enclosed. [Brenda Gemmell] When Brenda Libeau Gemmell grew up in Annandale in the 1950s, the area was still quite rural. Her house was a log cabin at the end of Libeau Lane off Gallows Road. Libeau Lane is still a country lane, although it’s now in the … Continued
History Commission documents Confederate place names in Fairfax County
A report by the Fairfax County History Commission on Confederate names in the county offers exhaustive details on the origin of John Marr Drive in Annandale and reveals a couple of communities in the Annandale area – Broyhill Crest and Ravensworth – with many streets named for Confederate military leaders. The Fairfax County Board of … Continued
Annandale cannon lovingly restored and back in place
It was a huge project that took nearly a year, but the Annandale cannon is completely restored and back in place at the intersection of Columbia Pike and Backlick Road. Boy Scout Mark Witkowski worked on the cannon for a project to earn an Eagle Scout badge under the supervision of American Legion Post 1976 … Continued
New residents of Oak Hill enjoy ‘owning a piece of history’
Oak Hill is all that’s left of the 23,000-acre Ravensworth Tract. Joe Braceland, the new owner of Oak Hill, the oldest house in Annandale, didn’t even know the mansion existed six months ago. Joe, his wife Laura, their two daughters, ages 9 and 13, and their two cats moved into the historic property this … Continued
Historic marker commemorates Lincolnia church
A crowd gathers for the historic marker unveiling at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church. Mount Pleasant Baptist Church has sustained the African-American community of Lincolnia for 150 years. That milestone was commemorated Aug. 5 with the unveiling of a new historic marker established by the Fairfax County History Commission. Bishop Carroll Baltimore Sr. … Continued
New historic marker commemorates a vanished black community
Descendants of the families who created The Pines. Families in the small African-American community in Annandale called The Pines tended their gardens, fished in a pond, had sleigh rides, went to church, sang together, and enjoyed Sunday dinners of baked chicken, greens, mashed potatoes, ice cream, and four-layer cake. “It was a … Continued
Annandale native has fond memories of growing up in an idyllic small town
Annandale Elementary School students in 1953. Annandale might be a transient, traffic-clogged suburb poised for redevelopment, but for many people who grew up here in the middle of the last century, it’s fondly remembered as an idyllic small town where everyone knew one another. That’s now it was for Nikki McDonald, 72, whose family moved … Continued