Fairfax County was named for Thomas Fairfax and was formed in 1742 from the northern part of Prince William County. In 1757, the northwestern two-thirds of Fairfax County became Loudoun County. In 1789 part of Fairfax County became Alexandria County. Located near Washington, D.C., Fairfax County was an important region in the Civil War. The Battle of Chantilly or Ox Hill, during the same campaign as the second battle of Bull Run, was fought within the county. The Union army retreated to positions near Centreville, Virginia. Confederate general Robert E. Lee, in an attempt to surround the Union army and block their retreat towards Washington, D.C., sent 20,000 men under Stonewall Jackson north and then east along the Little River Turnpike to get behind the Union position. George Washington built his home, Mount Vernon, in Fairfax County. The home of George Mason, Gunston Hall, is located nearby.
George Washington and Mount Vernon
George Washington led America's Continental Army to victory over Britain in the American Revolutionary War and in 1789 was elected the first President of the United States of America. His devotion to republicanism and civic virtue made him an exemplary figure among early American politicians. Mount Vernon, Virginia, was the plantation home of George Washington. Built of wood in a neoclassical Georgian architectural style, the estate is located near in Fairfax County, on the banks of the Potomac River.



George Mason and Gunston Hall
George Mason was a United States patriot, statesman, and delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention. He is called the "Father of the Bill of Rights". Mason wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights. He is considered to be one of the "Founding Fathers" of the United States. Gunston Hall is an 18th-century Georgian mansion near the Potomac River and was the home of George Mason.


Fort Belvoir
Fort Belvoir is a United States military installation in Fairfax County. Fort Belvoir serves as the headquarters for the Defense Logistics Agency, the Defense Contract Audit Agency, the Defense Technical Information Center, and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, agencies of the United States Department of Defense, which share a building on the fort. The base was founded during World War I as Camp A. A. Humphreys, named for Andrew A. Humphreys. The post was renamed Fort Belvoir in the 1930s to honor the historic Belvoir Manor, the home of Thomas Fairfax.

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