Oral History: James Roland

James Roland was born in northern Virginia. His parents had moved to the area from Tennessee after World War II because of the better job market. James Roland learned carpentry and dry wall from his father, joined him in business, and then turned to carpentry and building. As a boy, he delivered papers on horseback. He remembers retrieving Civil War artifacts on local property, raising farm animals and distances traveled on rural roads for shopping, schools, and medical care. Railroads and hobos are among his early memories.

Oak Hill: Interior Views

Oak Hill mansion, built in 1790, is the only remaining home of the three manor houses of the Fitzhugh dynasty built on the Ravensworth plantation. Richard Fitzhugh, great grandson of the original Ravensworth owner, built Oak Hill in the late Georgian style. The mansion was remodeled in the Colonial Revival Style in the 1930s. A replica Federal period mantle, decorative carved medallions, and a marble hearth are among the Revival features. Outside, original boxwoods line the driveway.

Photos by Gil Donahue

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

Map: Eighteenth Century Land Ownership

This map of local land ownership in the eighteenth century in the Braddock District area shows the original buyer's name for each land patent or grant. Ravensworth was the single largest land grant in Northern Virginia. William Fitzhugh, son of an English middle-class woolen draper purchased the roughly 22,000 acres in 1685. Although he lived in nearby King George County, he turned Ravensworth into one of the largest tobacco plantations in Northern Virginia, importing slaves and hiring overseers to work the property. Six generations of his family farmed there.

Map by George Mason University's Department of Geography GIS Center of Excellence, based on the companion map to Beginning at a White Oak...Patents and Northern Neck Grants of Fairfax County, Virginia by Beth Mitchell, circa 1977.

Copyright 2006 County of Fairfax. All rights reserved.

Oral History: Dennis Howard

Dennis Howard traces part of the history of African Americans in Fairfax County from the nineteenth century. He recreates the story of his own family from slavery to the present day. His ancestor, Horace Gibson, and fellow former slave Moses Parker established a blacksmith shop and purchased land near the intersection of Little River Turnpike and Prosperity Avenue after the Civil War. The partners eventually expanded their holdings to 400 acres, and the area later became known as Ilda.

Korean Businesses, Annandale

Newcomers to the United States have propelled diversity and the commercial and residential growth of the Braddock District. By 1999, the Korean population in Annandale had expanded to include 27 restaurants, 19 churches, 16 beauty salons, 10 weekly newspapers, nine acupuncturists, eight women's clothing shops, and two bridal shops, according to an article in the Washington Post on May 16, 1999.

Photo by Gilbert Donahue

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

Library, Manassas Industrial School

Students in the library of the Manassas Industrial School during the 1950s. Jennie Dean, born a slave in Prince William County, founded the Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth in 1894. Originally a private boarding school, it was a segregated regional high school for African Americans between 1938 and 1966. Students came from the area north of the Rappahannock River, providing their own transportation or boarding on campus during the week. Students followed academic subjects and skilled trade courses.

Courtesy of the Manassas Museum System, Manassas, Virginia

Manassas Museum photos are copyrighted and for use only with permission of the Museum.

Manassas Industrial School, circa 1940

Jennie Dean, born a slave in Prince William County, founded the Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth in 1894. Originally a private boarding school, it was a segregated regional high school for African Americans between 1938 and 1966. Students came from the area north of the Rappahannock River, providing their own transportation or boarding on campus during the week. Students followed academic subjects and skilled trade courses.

Courtesy of the Manassas Museum System, Manassas, Virginia

Manassas Museum photos are copyrighted and for use only with permission of the Museum.

Home of Moses Parker

Moses Parker, a former slave who purchased his freedom, opened a blacksmith shop on Little River Turnpike with his partner, former slave, Horace Gibson. Gibson and Parker moved to Fairfax from Culpeper, purchasing five acres of land each near the intersection of Guinea Road and Little River Turnpike. By 1878, they owned 400 acres which formed the community of Ilda, likely named after the daughter of Horace Gibson and daughter-in-law of Moses Parker.

Courtesy of the family of Hareem Badil-Abish, from the book Shades of Gray: A Beginning...The Origins and Development of a Black Family in Fairfax, VA by Hareem Badil-Abish

Hareem Badil-Abish photos are copyrighted and may be reproduced or otherwise used only with written permission of the family of Hareem Badil-Abish.

Blacksmith Shop, circa 1890

Moses Parker and Horace Gibson, former slaves who purchased their freedom, moved to Fairfax County from Culpeper. They opened a blacksmith shop on the corner of Little River Turnpike and today's Prosperity Avenue and served travellers between Alexandria and points west. By 1878, the Gibsons and Parkers owned 400 acres of land that formed Ilda, a community of shops and a church likely named after Matilda Gibson Parker, daughter of Horace and daughter-in-law of Moses. In this photo, Matilda Gibson Parker stands in the center.

Courtesy of the family of Hareem Badil-Abish, from the book Shades of Gray: A Beginning...The Origins and Development of a Black Family in Fairfax, VA by Hareem Badil-Abish

Hareem Badil-Abish photos are copyrighted and may be reproduced or otherwise used only with written permission of the family of Hareem Badil-Abish

Page Parker Family, circa 1887

Page Augustus Parker and Matilda Gibson Parker and their daughters, Maude, Molly, and Alice, circa 1887. The couple took over the blacksmith shop founded by Moses Parker, father of Page Augustus, and his partner, Horace Gibson. The blacksmith shop on the corner of Little River Turnpike and today's Prosperity Avenue served travelers between Alexandria and points west. By 1878, the Gibsons and Parkers owned 400 acres of land that formed Ilda, a community of shops and a church probably named after Matilda Gibson Parker.

Courtesy of the family of Hareem Badil-Abish, from the book Shades of Gray: A Beginning...The Origins and Development of a Black Family in Fairfax, VA by Hareem Badil-Abish

Hareem Badil-Abish photos are copyrighted and may be reproduced or otherwise used only with written permission of the family of Hareem Badil-Abish.