“A Virginia Village Goes to War - Falls Church during the Civil War;” pages 234-235, by Bradley E. Gernard. The author described in specific detail four communities of freedmen:
Baptist Hill
Tinner hill –
Southgate subdivision
Gravel Bank
The author shares the history of schools once in Fairfax County and now part of the City School system. The experiences of both teachers and students are described. The history of a Rosenwald schools is included.
The article describes how the Burke community fought to keep Dulles Airport out of Burke and won. The Willard community lost the fight and their community.
“Soil Tilled by Free Men: The Formation of a Free Black Community in Fairfax County, Virginia” by Maddy McCoy. The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 125, No. 1 (2017): 38-67.
“The ‘Willing Workers’ A Black Community on Mason Neck,” by Paula Elsey. The Historical Society of Fairfax County, Virginia, Inc. Yearbook, Vol. 26, 99-100.
The article describes the establishment of schools by the Bureau after the Civil War.
Interviews of teachers and students are included, including Minnie Beckwith Hughes who taught in county schools for 30 years.
Fairfax County Department of Family Services, Kinship Care Unit. In 1957, African American Olander Banks decided to leave Alexandria and move his family and his business to the “country” in Fairfax County.
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)…
This collection includes a historical sketch of Falls Church, photos, news articles, interviews etc. Information is included about Black leaders Frederick Foote Sr. and Jr., Harriet and George Brice, Charles Tinner, and George Thomas.
This booklet tells the story of this Vienna church that was founded after the Civil War through the backing of a Union veteran who settled in the community
The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery and the Fourteenth Amendment gave former slaves the rights of U.S. citizens. The Fifteenth Amendment was added to protect the voting rights of all citizens regardless of race.
A dead end street in Fairfax City, School Street, had been home to three generations of African Americans, when the families are pressured to sell their homes to developers.
Former slaves built the one-room schoolhouse. Parents, grandparents, and neighbors provided the materials and labor. They hired teachers, scraped together funds to purchase books and donated a piano and furnishings for the schoolroom.
This photograph collection is primarily used for reference. Copies of photos can be made for a fee provided there are no restrictions in place on requested photos. Consult repository for information on copy-right restrictions.
