Animation (narrated): Growth and Development in Braddock District, 1940 to 2004

Growth and shifts in population and suburban development in Fairfax County are driving forces in the creation and continuing evolution of Braddock District.

The narrated animation traces the district's creation and several border changes, and the spread of development within Braddock District from 1940 to 2004.

The analysis was developed from the county's tax assessment database. Because the database contains only existing properties, extinct properties such as Ossian Hall, which was demolished in 1959 to clear the way for building new homes, do not appear in the years when they still existed.

Transcript of narration: Braddock District, Fairfax County, Virginia, is in the Washington, DC Metro Area - one of nine Fairfax County supervisory districts. A Look Back At Braddock tells the history of the area within the district's changing borders. Established in 1968, Braddock's boundaries have altered four times, as the county rebalanced population among all districts, after each 10-year federal census. A major chapter in Braddock's history was the rapid change from farms and small villages to a densely populated suburban community. Starting in the 1940s, during World War II, developers built subdivisions on the district's eastern edge, near Annandale, to house families of the expanding federal workforce. About 1960, the pace of development accelerated dramatically, when the new Capital Beltway opened access to areas farther west. By 1985, Braddock District was nearly filled with homes, schools, parks and commercial centers. And by 2004, the few remaining isolated parcels had also been developed. The map shows residential development in orange; commercial-industrial is blue; education and other public facilities are black.

Source: Animated map developed by A Look Back At Braddock volunteer and GIS specialist John Codd from source data provided Fairfax County Department of Tax Administration

Historic Marker: Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

On April 5, 2008 at Lake Accotink Park, Fairfax County celebrated the CCC's 75th anniversary and unveiled an historic marker commemorating the CCC's contributions to the county.


In the photo on the right, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald E. Connolly (center), Vice Chairman and Braddock District Supervisor Sharon Bulova, and Bill Sheads unveil the marker. In the second photo, Park Director Tawny Hammond (left, partially obscured) and Mary Lipsey join the group.

Bill Sheads' memory of a CCC-built fire road provided the seed for Mary Lipsey's research and effort within the Fairfax County History Commission to approve the historic marker.

The marker stands beside the path of the former fire road, now entrance to the park headquarters building. It reads: "THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS - During the Depression, in 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration established the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to help unemployed men, ages 18 to 25. CCC men created state parks, improved soil conservation, conducted reforestation and constructed fire trails. The men received food, clothing, shelter, health care, education and were paid $30 monthly, of which $25 was sent home. Projects of the racially segregated Fort Belvoir CCC camp, Army 3 VA-2399 C ("Colored"), included building fire trails through forested areas of Fairfax County. One such trail started at Old Keene Mill Road, crossed nearby Accotink Creek, and ended at Backlick Road. The Fairfax County History Commission, 2007"

Photos courtesy of John Browne

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

Essay: The CCC Road

Bill Sheads writes about the road built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s to open access to a large forested tract bounded by Old Keene Mill, Backlick, Braddock and Rolling Roads.

Created in 1933 by the federal government to combat the severe economic conditions of the Great Depression, the CCC provided jobs and training for the unemployed in public works projects across the nation. Many of these projects involved fire prevention, including fire roads like one in this essay.

Courtesy of Bill Sheads

Slide Show: Development in Kings Park

A series of aerial images from 1937 to 2002 shows how development changed the area of Kings Park near the intersections of Braddock, Rolling and Burke Lake roads.

Courtesy John Browne; developed from aerial photographs provided by Fairfax County GIS & Mapping Department and 2002 satellite image by United States Geological Survey.

Historic Marker: Price's Ordinary

The historic marker reads: "PRICE'S ORDINARY...At the intersection of Backlick and Braddock Roads stood Price's Ordinary, established by David Price about 1773 and remaining in operation until 1802. Price's offered refreshment and shelter for travelers and a common meeting place for local residents. Here, on 2 October 1787, 29 freeholders unanimously approved the newly proposed Federal Constitution and resolved, in part, that: 'We, the Freeholders of the County of Fairfax, conceiving that the Peace, Security and Prosperity of the State of Virginia and the United States of America in general, do depend on the speedy Adoption of the system of Government recommended by the late General Convention of the United States...' Fairfax County History Commission, 1999"

Photo by Gilbert Donahue

Copyrighted material, not to be reproduced without permission of owner, Gilbert Donahue

Map: Braddock District Area

The historical material in this website refers to events and places located in or near the geographic area now or previously included in the Braddock District. Created in 1968 as Annandale District and renamed in 1991, Braddock District has seen its boundaries redrawn and area changed four times. Such changes occur as Fairfax County makes redistricting adjustments following each Federal census to balance population among its nine magisterial districts.

Text and map from Braddock's True Gold: 20th Century Life in the Heart of Fairfax County by Marion Meany and Mary Lipsey, a product of the A Look Back at Braddock oral history project. Map prepared by George Mason University Department of Geography GIS Center of Excellence.

Copyright 2006 County of Fairfax. All rights reserved.

Burke Lake Park Boat Launch Platform, circa 1963

Burke Lake Park is an example of county and citizens groups working together to create a recreational area. In the late 1950s, sport fishing leagues and conservative groups suggested to the Fairfax County Park Authority that a public fishing lake be created. The Park Authority found a suitable location in Burke and initially purchased 218 acres. The lake began to fill in 1961 after dam construction. Stocked with fish for opening day, May 25, 1963, nearly 2,000 anglers attended the opening ceremony. Including the lake, Burke Lake Park occupies nearly 900 acres on land that Fairfax County acquired from the federal government, after local citizens defeated a plan to build an international airport near Burke.

Photograph from Fairfax County Public Library, Virginia Room, Photographic Archive