Research Centers

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Research Centers

Collection Items

Franconia Museum is a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to preserving history of a community that in the 1800s was a thriving farming area southwest of the City of Alexandria.
The museum has a large collection of artifacts, exhibits, books, and videos,…

Located in the historic Drew-Smith Elementary School, the museum houses photographs and documents more than 100 years old which tell the story of the founding and growth of the Gum Springs community.

Preserving and telling the stories of the United States Colored Troops involvement in the American Civil War

A museum that seeks to understand American history through the lens of the African American experience.

Originally the segregated library for Alexandria's African American residents, the museum documents the local and national history, culture and contributions of Black America.

Gum Springs is the oldest African American Community in Fairfax County, formally established in 1833. West Ford, a former slave, founded the community after being freed. The Gum Springs Historical Society and Museum was established to preserve and…

Holds a variety of Reston Black Community files. While not all are completely digitized, some materials can be found through the Museum. The Museum can provide information regarding the Reston Black Focus organization as well. There are also Reston…

DOVE (Desegregation of Virginia Education) was created to find, catalog, and encourage the preservation of records that tell the story of Virginia’s school desegregation process.

Hosted by Old Dominion University Libraries, DOVE is a…

Includes database, biographies of County veterans, military records, and African American cemeteries in the county   Two databases identify soldiers by Race – Civil War [United States Colored Troops USCT] and World War I Examples:   Temple…

Educating Freedman During Reconstruction in Fairfax County

Examples:   Orrison Slave Cemetery is reported in a backyard of a home on Permit Ct., Kingston Chase Subdivision, about 200 ft west of the Orrison Family Cemetery in Herndon.  Dranesville District.       In the Annandale area, there are reported to…

The mission of the Fairfax Circuit Court Historic Records Center is to preserve and make available to the public the historic records of the Fairfax Circuit Court. Under §42.1-76 of the Code of Virginia (Virginia Public Records Act), public records…

Ancestry Library Edition - available at public computers in library branches

Heritage Quest - available online through library website with a library card number

Fold3 - available online through library website with a library card number. The…

The Reston Historic Trust and Museum holds a variety of Reston Black Community files. While not all are completely digitized, some materials can be found through the Museum website. The Museum can provide information regarding the Reston Black Focus…

A museum that seeks to understand American history through the lens of the African American experience. 1400 Constitution Ave NW Washington, DC 20560 Examples: Reading Resources (Students and educators can read through African American history with…

902 Wythe Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314 Originally the segregated library for Alexandria's African American residents, the museum documents the local and national history, culture and contributions of Black America.

2611 Columbia Pike Arlington, VA 22204 The museum preserves the Black History of Arlington and the Blacks’’ Journey to Freedom.

The museum documents the journey that began in Africa centuries ago and continues today.

The Legacy Museum provides a comprehensive history of the United States with a focus on the legacy of slavery. From the Transatlantic Slave Trade and its impact on the North and coastal communities across America through the Domestic Slave Trade and…

10 Million Names is dedicated to recovering the names of the estimated ten million men, women, and children of African descent who were enslaved in pre- and post-colonial America (specifically, the territory that would become the United States)…

Organized by subject, alphabetically Examples- African American Artists This guide highlights the work of Black photographers, printmakers, and other artists in the Prints & Photographs collections at the Library of Congress. Harry Thacker…

Documents history of over 200,000 US Colored Troops during the Civil War

*** as of January 2026 museum is closed for renovation
1925 Vermont Avenue NW

African American Civil War Memorial is located at 10th and U street ( across the street…
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