Slide Show: Burke Historical Society Slide Presentation

The history of Burke, Virginia is told in 80 captioned images, from the village's start in the 1850's as a railroad depot to the early 1990's. The slide set was originally put together by the Burke Jaycees for the U. S. Bicentennial Celebration. The slides were taken and organized originally during 1974-76. The slide set was given to the Burke Historical Society in 1978. From 1988 to 1990, the slides were updated and more were taken in the early 1990's. The slides subsequently were archived and organized by Tom Giska. The slides were digitally scanned, edited and "recreated" by Gil Donahue in 2005-2006, and some of them were used in Braddock's True Gold: 20th-Century Life in the Heart of Fairfax County, which was published by the County of Fairfax in June 2006.

The slide show has been divided into six numbered parts to keep file sizes low for faster download and viewing. They are best viewed in sequence from part one to six.

Tom Giska was a member and president of the Burke Historical Society. The Society, which was inactive for many years, resumed operations under a new charter and leadership in May 2010.

Courtesy Tom Giska

Barn, circa 1930

This barn was located on the Silas Burke House property.

Courtesy Suzanne Fowler Neal

Silas Burke House

Silas Burke, a businessman and landowner, built the Silas Burke House circa 1824. His wife lived there for 41 years after his death in 1854. The property includes an ice house, root cellar, and a restored slave house. The Burke mansion is on Burke Lake Road, Burke, Virginia.

In 1891, John Marshall, who owned the general store in Burke, purchased the home. The Copperthite family followed, builders of a racetrack and hotel in Burke. In 1925, the Simpson family purchased the property and renamed the house "Top o' the Hill, and it is owned by their descendants, the Fowlers, today.

Photo by Gilbert Donahue

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