Camp Reports: Civilian Conservation Corps No. 2339C Camp

CCC No. 2399C Camp, also known as Army-3VA Camp, was located at the U.S. Army's Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County. A racially segregated unit, it was comprised of African Americans except for assigned Army Reserve officers and other leaders. The Camp's work on reforestation and fire control projects included road construction and firefighting in and near Braddock District. A significant but nearly forgotten contribution was construction in the 1930s of an access road through an extensive forest area bounded by Braddock, Rolling, Backlick and Old Keene Mill roads. Erased by suburban development, the road no longer appears on current maps. Today, that former forest has been replaced largely by the community of Springfield and Lake Accotink Park. Lake Accotink was originally created during World War I as a water source for Fort Belvoir.

Two camp inspection reports - for March 21, 1936 and March 8, 1938 - provide insights into the people, operations and life of CCC No. 2399C Camp, including:
--Location, size and description of camp and its facilities
--U.S. Army Reserve officers, camp leaders and personnel assigned
--Compensation
--Details about camp sanitation, medical services, motor vehicles and safety program
--Evaluation ratings on camp facilities, conditions, personnel and morale
--Food, meals and daily menus
--Mission, responsibilities, work projects and plans
--Sports and recreation
--Religious services
--Health, including deaths of camp personnel
--Education, including efforts to eliminate illiteracy

Courtesy of Mary Lipsey; obtained during her research of the CCC from the The National Archives and Records Administration.

Map: Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Road

This 1939 map shows the location of the road built by the CCC in the 1930s to provide access to what was then an extensive forest, likely for fire control. Marked by a triangular symbol enclosing the letter "C", the road connected Old Keene Mill Road (Rt. 644) and Backlick Road (Rt. 617). The road, used by fire equipment and also by residents as a shortcut, was erased by suburban development and no longer appears on current maps.

This map is a detail taken from a highway map of Fairfax County, Virginia. Symbols are explained in the separate map legend.

General Highway and Transportation Map, Fairfax County, Virginia, prepared by the Virginia State Highway Department and Virginia State Planning Board in cooperation with the Federal Works Agency, Public Roads Administration, 1939; provided by The National Archives and Records Administration.

Essay: Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

In a chance conversation with Mary Lipsey, Bill Sheads mentioned the CCC's work in the 1930s in building a road through what was then an extensive forest, likely for fire control access. The CCC's role was all but forgotten and the road, erased by suburban development, had disappeared from current maps. Mary's research has verified the road's construction and location and led to creation of the first historic marker to commemorate the CCC's contributions to Fairfax County.

Courtesy of Mary Lipsey

Rebel Hill, Artist's Drawing

On March 29, 1962, The Washington Post reported testimony by Mrs. Z. C. Zefteris of Kings Park West about Rebel Hill on Braddock Road to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Describing cars sliding off the steep road in icy conditions and the inability of women to walk up the hill to call for help, she is quoted: "They had to go up that hill on their hands and knees..."

Artist Chris Lipsey depicts what it might have been like for drivers in winter.

Courtesy Chris Lipsey

Copyrighted material, not to be reproduced without permission of owner

Historic Marker: The Guinea Road Cemetery Reinterment

This historic marker in Pleasant Valley Memorial Park Cemetery commemorates the reinterment of remains from the Guinea Road Cemetery. The marker reads: "The Guinea Road Cemetery Reinterment. Virginia aristocrat William Fitzhugh was granted 21,996 acres in 1694: The Ravensworth tract, which was divided into northern and southern halves in 1701 and subsequently subdivided among Fitzhugh heirs throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The cemetery located at Guinea Road and Little River Turnpike (Route 236) was part of the northern half of the original tract. The community of Ilda grew around this cemetery in the late 19th century. Families of local tenant farmers, African American slaves and Freedmen are believed to have been buried at the Guinea Road Cemetery. The remains were reinterred at this site by the Virginia Department of Transportation in 2006."

Photo by Mary Lipsey

Guinea Road Cemetery Excavation

The Virginia Department of Transportation's (VDOT) excavation of the Guinea Road Cemetery was conducted under the guidance of archaeologists, with care to identify and preserve all remains and artifacts. They discovered only one tombstone; the inscription which could be read was "S.A. Williams" "11 years" and "1851."

Tombstone image by Mary Lipsey; excavation image, courtesy, Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)

Guinea Road Cemetery

When road construction threatened the Guinea Road Cemetery in 2004, the Virginia Department of Transportation sought information about those buried there. Dennis Howard of Springfield told the history of his family members, the families of slaves and freedmen, buried in the graveyard.

Mary Lipsey

Burke Forest Fire

On April 20, 1941, a forest fire that ignited along the railroad near Guinea Road and Zion Road eventually burned an extensive area southward toward Lorton. Local fire fighters battled for several days before bringing it under control with help from Ft. Belvoir soldiers and prisoners from the Lorton Workhouse. The fire is a vivid memory for residents who experienced it. They and contemporary newspaper accounts report that the previous winter had been extremely dry and temperatures were unusually hot for April.

Courtesy Chris Lipsey

Copyrighted material, not to be reproduced without permission of owner

Annandale Tollhouse, Artist's Rendition

Little River Turnpike was one of the important early roads in Fairfax County and one of the first toll roads in the nation, enabling transport of goods from western Virginia to the Potomac River port of Alexandria. The Turnpike became the first paved road in Fairfax County. Tollgates were established at five-mile intervals between Alexandria and the Little River ford in Loudoun County. The Annandale tollhouse, constructed in 1802, was a voting location when Fairfax County cast ballots to secede from the Union. Annandale Tollhouse Park, at the intersection of Little River Turnpike and Annandale Road, commemorates this historic location

Courtesy Chris Lipsey

Pen/ink sketches by Chris Lipsey. Not to be used without permission of the owner.

Ravensworth Farm Development

Ravensworth Farm was among the first subdivisions to develop during the boom of the early 1960s.

The Washington Post advertisement, October 15, 1960 courtesy of Mary Lipsey