Summer camps at the Clark House
For the first time, the Fairfax County Park Authority will be having summer camps at the historic Clark House. There will be five science and technology-focused sessions for school-age children.
The Victorian-era farmhouse, at 6332 Barcroft Mews Drive and Columbia Pike, is used for occasional meetings and can be rented for weddings or other private events. It is one of several underutilized county facilities that will be used for camps this summer. “We’d like to take better advantage of these of these properties and expose more people to historic sites,” says Parks Authority spokesperson Tammy Schwab.
The Clark house, built by Henry Manchester for William Clark in 1902, is the last remaining remnant of the Clark family’s 200-plus-acre dairy farm. In 1918, it was one of the first houses in Annandale to have a telephone. Electricity was installed in 1935.
After the Clarks sold most of their property to a developer in the 1950s, the family ran a firewood and topsoil business on the remaining six acres. The house is now hemmed in by the Barcroft Mews and Parklawn communities and Barcroft Plaza shopping center.
The camps at the Clark House include:
- Science and Weebotics, ages 4-6, five sessions, June 25-29, 1-2:30 p.m., $122. This camp is also offered on the same dates at 3-4:30 p.m.
- Robotics Green City Challenge, ages 7-14, five sessions, June 25-29, 9 a.m.-noon, $285.
- Multimedia Adventures, ages 8-14, four sessions; July 2, 3, 5, and 6; 9 a.m.-4 p.m., $392.
- Tech Savvy Girls, ages 8-14, five sessions, July 30-Aug. 3, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., $489.
The fees listed are for Fairfax County residents; non-county residents pay more.
FCPS offers a broad range of other summer camps and children’s programs in the Annandale area at Wakefield and Providence rec centers.
