The Centreville, Virginia Collection, 1840-1977

Access and use

Location of collection:
Fairfax County Public Library
Fairfax County Public Library
City of Fairfax Regional Library
Virginia Room
10360 North Street
Fairfax, VA 22030-2514
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Chris Barbuschak
Phone: (703) 293-2142
Phone: (703) 293-6227 ext. 6 (Virginia Room)
Fax: (703) 293-2155

Summary

Extent:
0.5 linear feet
Creator:
Virginia Room staff
Abstract:
The Centreville, Virginia Collections consists of 0.5 linear feet, spans the years 1840-1977, and contains historical papers, reports, lecture notes, a hand-drawn land survey, a broadside, manuscript drafts, and a photocopied map.
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

The Centreville, Virginia Collections consists of 0.5 linear feet, spans the years 1840-1977, and contains historical papers, reports, lecture notes, a hand-drawn land survey, a broadside, manuscript drafts, and a photocopied map. Included are documents relating to the history of Centreville, Virginia such as tax receipts for George W. Steel and his son-in-law David Pierson; reports on the discovery of the Willoughby Newton boundary stone; preliminary drafts for “The Three Lives of Walney” by Anne S. Beresford and “Walney” by Elizabeth Brown Pryor; and an 1840 hand-drawn survey of the division of John Carter’s Sudley plantation.

Biographical / historical:

In 1792, an act of the Virginia General Assembly incorporated the Town of Centerville (later to be renamed Centreville). The area, originally known as the village of Newgate, consisted primarily of tobacco land owned by the Carrs, Newtons, Jetts, and Lanes as well as two local landmarks: the Newgate Tavern and Mount Gilead.

Not long after the town’s incorporation, the area saw a rise in the establishment of mills and tanneries, but the village entered a long period of gradual decline. Its deterioration was furthered by the Civil War, of which Centreville became a hotbed of activity. The town was strategically important due to its high elevation and close proximately to turnpikes, railroads, and Washington, D.C. Both the Confederate and Union armies occupied the heavily fortified town throughout the war. In 1862, the Confederate army constructed a 5.5 mile track known as the Centreville Military Railroad, making it the first exclusively military railroad ever built.

The war left Centreville heavily scarred and it struggled to recover during the post-war era. The area remained largely stagnant until the 1980s which saw a dramatic population boom with the construction of housing developments and shopping centers. In 1986, Fairfax County established the Centreville Historic Overlay District which includes notable historical buildings such as Mount Gilead, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Harrison House, Havener House, Spindle Sears House, and the Old Stone Church.

Acquisition information:
Collection assembled by Virginia Room staff over a period of years. 1874 and 1877 tax receipts gift of Keith Pearson.