Mount Vernon Enterprise Lodge #3488

Mount Vernon Enterprise Lodge #3488

1944 - Present

Built in 1944, the Mount Vernon Enterprise Lodge No. 3488/ Pride of Fairfax County Lodge #298) is located within the community of Gum Springs, which is located within the greater Alexandria portion of Fairfax County. Gum Springs, established in 1833, is the oldest African American community in Fairfax County. The building served two fraternal orders: the Mount Vernon Enterprise Lodge No.3488, a fraternal order of the Odd Fellows that was responsible for the construction of the building in 1944; and the Pride of Fairfax County Lodge #298, another fraternal order founded in 1947. Like fraternal halls in other African American communities in Virginia, the Mount Vernon Enterprise Lodge No. 3488/ Pride of Fairfax County Lodge #298 became a central focus of the social life of the African American community of Gum Springs during the Jim Crow era. The building was used as a local community center and was the site of notable civic events from the 1940s into the 1980s. Both fraternal orders were instrumental in providing education and mentoring that shaped community leaders, while also acting as a mutual aid society that looked after organization members and their families. Mount Vernon Enterprise Lodge No. 3488 began in the community of Woodlawn Crossroads. The community was displaced in 1941 in the pre-war expansion of Fort Belvoir. Many residents and their organizations relocated to Gum Springs. The site was approved for inclusion in the Virginia Landmark Register in December 2021 and DHR will forward the documentation to the National Park Service for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.

Pride of Fairfax County Lodge #298

7809 Fordson Road, Alexandria VA 22306

Mount Vernon

From the John Bushrod Collection at the Gum Springs Museum