Map: Atlas of Fifteen Miles Around Washington

Published in 1878-1879 by G. M. Hopkins, this atlas mapped communities within a 15-mile radius of Washington, D.C. Separate editions were issued for Northern Virginia and for Prince Georges and Montgomery counties in Maryland. Each edition contained the same complete core set of maps along with additional features tailored to the covered area and its residents. The well designed and detailed maps are a trove of historical information, including the locations of homes and businesses along with the names of owners and residents. The 10 maps for Northern Virginia start at page 64 in this edition - "Atlas of Fifteen Miles Around Washington Including the County of Prince George Maryland" - hosted by Johns Hopkins University's JScholarship site. Three of the atlas maps cover parts of Braddock District: Lee District (p. 72) Falls Church District (p. 74-75) Providence District (p. 78-79)

Johns Hopkins University JScholarship, Maps and Atlases (https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/)

Johns Hopkins University JScholarship - see license and use restrictions at https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/bitstream/handle/1774.2/33000/license.txt?sequence=62

VIDEO (NARRATED): FLYOVER OLD BURKE VILLAGE, 1975

Old Burke Village resident Lonnie Schorer took her camera aloft in the fall of 1975 to shoot the series of pictures that are the basis for this video. The animation flies through a panorama that existed for only a short time longer, before development closed in. Old Burke Village is located just north of the railroad tracks in Burke.

Transcript of narration:
Lonnie and David Schorer moved to Old Burke Village in 1974. Next door to Ann and Ken Applegate. Ken was a pilot. One day in 1975, Ken flew while Lonnie shot pictures of their neighborhood and homes. The village dates from 1898 - a dozen or so Victorian houses - across the tracks from where the Burke railroad station once stood. In 1975, cars still rumbled across the tracks and waited for passing trains. With its open fields and large yards, the village felt like quiet country living. Today, commercial malls and subdivisions crowd the landscape. Burke Lake Road was rerouted to a railroad overpass. Old Burke Village still keeps its charm, but now as an island, not quite so removed from the accelerating pace of suburban life.

Video developed from photographs provided by Lonnie Schorer and a U.S. Geological Survey image by A Look Back At Braddock volunteer John Browne

Copyrighted material, Schorer photos not to be reproduced without permission of owner, Lonnie Schorer

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

Oral History, Part 2: Lee Hubbard

Part 2 of two parts. Lee Hubbard's family can trace its roots in Fairfax County to the 1700s. He discusses his childhood and milestone events. Lee Hubbard became a member of the police department and he talks about criminal cases, traffic, and the growth, administration, and operation of the police department.

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

Map: Area Transportation Networks--Roads and Railroads

Braddock District is served by a mixture of modern and original transportation networks that date back to the 18th and 19th centuries. The document provides a brief history of the railroad and significant roads and highways.

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.

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.

Funeral Train, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

The funeral train of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt travelled through Fairfax Station, attracting crowds of mourners en route from Georgia to Washington, D.C.

Courtesy Lee Hubbard

Rolling Road Virginia Railway Express (VRE) station, 2006

The commuter railway system from Fredericksburg and Manassas, the VRE, began in 1992 in response to suburban spread. Residents can commute via the VRE to Alexandria, Crystal City and downtown Washington, D.C.

Photo by Gilbert Donahue

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

Oral History: Bill Wrench

Bill Wrench came to the Braddock District in 1957 as the Director of the Economic and Industrial Development Committee (later, the Economic Development Authority). Lack of development in the county surprised him then, but his job was to integrate industrial development with residential growth. In 1960, he left the government and opened his own business, an oil distributorship and then a gas station. His family became part of the new Ravensworth Farm subdivision. Bill Wrench looks at roads, gas station management, and what brings people to live in the area.