Tag: history
DVD captures Annandale High School’s preparation for 1972 championship game
The Marching Atoms in 1972. [This photos and the others with this article are from the 1972 film.] Annandale High School graduate Reuben Weaver (Class of 1980) has been working on a project to convert movies of old Atoms football games to DVDs. Most high schools have long thrown out their old football films, but … Continued
Annandale history comes to life at Oak Hill
Several “ghosts from the past” welcomed visitors to Oak Hill, the oldest house in Annandale on Sept. 28. Standing by the doorway (above) is “Suzanna Fitzhugh,” the wife of Richard Fitzhugh, who built Oak Hill, circa 1790, on the 22,000-acre Ravensworth Tract, one of the largest land grants in the New World. They had eight … Continued
See a glimpse of Annandale’s past on Oak Hill Day, Sept. 28
Your chance to get a peek inside Annandale’s oldest house is coming up. Saturday, Sept. 28, is the annual Oak Hill Day when the first floor of the privately owned 18th-century Georgian-style home is open to visitors. The house, at 4716 Wakefield Chapel Road, is part of the 22,000-acre land grant to the Fitzhugh family … Continued
Farewell, ‘Mr. Annandale’
Photo from the Everly-Wheatley Funeral Home. Irving La’Rue Denton, known as “Mr. Annandale” for his knowledge of the history of this area, passed away July 26, 2013, at age 92. According to an obituary in the Washington Post, Irv Denton spent 30 years in the Air Force, serving in World War II, the Korean War, … Continued
Lane Ruiz looks back on 34 years at an Annandale barber shop
Lane Ruiz takes a break between haircuts. Annandale has changed a lot over the past 34 years—but a few things have remained pretty much the same. Parliament Cleaners and Sal’s Shoe Repair had already been decades old in 1980 and are still up and running. Another Annandale old-timer, barber Lane Ruiz, has been at the … Continued
Central plaza proposed as a ‘quick fix’ to encourage Annandale redevelopment
Annandale banners designed by students at Westwood College. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of interest in a major redevelopment project in Annandale, at least for the time being, so Jeffrey Levine, an architect/urban planner with Levine Design Studio, came up with an idea for creating a town center plaza in the heart of … Continued
Former Oliver farmhouse on Gallows Road on the market again
The old Oliver farmhouse, at 4011 Gallows Road, Annandale, is back on the market. The asking price is $1.249 million. When it was last put up for sale, in the winter of 2012, it was priced at $1.65 million. The wood frame house has had several additions since it was built in 1932. It has … Continued
Historic marker commemorates Bog Wallow Ambush
A new historic marker was unveiled May 5 at the intersection of Braddock Road and Dunleigh Drive in Burke to commemorate a Civil War skirmish known as the “Bog Wallow Ambush.” The marker is just outside Annandale, between Rolling Road and Guinea Road. The unveiling was conducted by descendants of the Union scout who planned … Continued
Old Annandale farmhouse is for sale, but owners won’t sell to a developer
There are many 100-year-old boxwoods around the house. If you’d like to live in the country but don’t want to give up the convenience of being close to the city, Boxhill Farm is the place for you. It’s a restored farmhouse on seven acres of land in Annandale just outside the beltway, and it’s for … Continued
150th anniversary of the raid at Accotink and Burke commemorated
John Vrana, in a coat like those worm by the Confederates, sets fire to a photo of the old Accotink bridge. A bunch of history enthusiasts gathered at Lake Accotink Park Dec. 30 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Confederate raids on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad trestle bridge and the railroad station in … Continued
Annandale Florist owner Gary Sherfey remembers the old Annandale
An old photo of Annandale Florist is on display in the shop. Many longtime Annandale residents will miss Annandale Florist when it closes for good at the end of the year. The owner, Gary Sherfey, however, is looking forward to retirement. “In a way, it’s bittersweet,” he says. “but it’s something I’ve been doing for … Continued
Central Annandale was once the site of ‘Anandale Farm’
A portion of a map of Northern Virginia from 1862 [Image from the Library of Congress]. The following article is an abbreviated version of a piece published on the Northern Virginia History Notes website Dec. 1 by Debbie Robison titled “The Garges Family of Anandale Farm: How a Family Who Built Up a Village Lost … Continued
Little White Church once housed Annandale’s first public school
The interior of the Little White Church. One of Annandale’s historic gems, “the Little White Church” at 6935 Columbia Pike by Gallows Road, was open to the public on Saturday. Inside there’s a simple sanctuary with wooden pews. Downstairs, there’s a small museum with historic items on display including a portable field organ, a Bible … Continued
Old cemeteries offer glimpse of Annandale’s past
The Gooding-Seaton Cemetery in Annandale. Despite all the developing going on around here, remnants of the past exist in the form of small, family cemeteries, often forgotten or hidden away in suburban backyards. So far, 415 cemeteries have been identified in Fairfax County, including church, community, and family cemeteries—many of them in the Mason District. … Continued
Descendants of historic families lend authenticity to marker dedication
Mason Supervisor Penny Gross points to the new interpretive sign in Mason District Park. Frank Vajda of the Park Board is on the far left, and Mary Munson Root is on the far right. Descendants of people who lived around here during the Civil War and before came to the dedication of a historic marker … Continued