Chapter 2

He received 1000 lbs. of tobacco a year for its rent. The barn was fitted with six benches which ran the length of the house and two benches which stood at each end of the building. A Communion table and a reading desk with a small window on each side of the desk concluded the specified alterations. This was in 1765. The exact location of this barn has not been identified but it seems likely that it was in the vicinity of Edward Payne's home on middle ridge near the Ox road, where Payne's church was built in 1766. (The Virginia Army National Guard Nike Site is now located on part of Payne's land.)

At a meeting on February 3rd and 4th, 1766, the vestry resolved that a new church be built on the middle ridge near Ox Road ... on the land "supposed to belong" to Mr. Thomazen Ellzey, young planter-lawyer, "who being present consents to the same". (Mr. Ellzey owned a large tract of land including the Magner tract of which "Brecon Ridge" is now a part. According to local tradition, he gave the "glebe" land which consisted of 40 acres for the minister who was allowed to collect as salary whatever he could grow on the "glebe".) Vestrymen present these two days were "Mr. Edward Payne, Colo. George Washington, Capt. Daniel McCarty, Colo. George William Fairfax, Mr. Alexander Henderson, Mr. William Gardner, Thomas Withers Coffer, William Linton and Thomas Ford."

Edward Payne was to undertake to build the church for 579 lbs. of Virginia currency agreeable to a plan and articles drawn up by a Mr. John Ayres who was to be paid 40 shillings for his plan and estimates. These plans were to be modeled after the Falls Church.

Hearsay relates that "Edward Payne, vestryman and builder of the church, and Col. George Washington had an argument concerning the location of the church. A fist fight insued and Mr. Payne, who was a tall man but not as tall as Col. Washington, knocked Col. Washington down--it being the first and only time Washington was ever knocked down". The church was located according to Mr. Payne's judgment and records show it was accepted on September 9, 1768, as agreeably built according to plan, with the exception of the brick pediments over the door which were to be corrected by Mr. Payne.

The church was used for services until the time of the Revolution after which it was used only occasionally. Early in the last century the Baptists took possession of it as abandoned property, with the Court's permission, and upon the division of that denomination in 1840 the Jerusalem Baptist Church (new school) was organized in the building and continued to use it until 1862.

At that time Federal troops camped in the vicinity tore the church down brick by brick and used the material to build chimneys and hearths for their winter quarters. A small frame Baptist church now covers part of the original foundation of Payne's church. A model of the original Payne's Church can be found in the design and construction of the present chapel at Truro Episcopal Church in Fairfax.

During the development of the parish and its move northward and inward, the Court in 1752 ordered Lewis Ellzey, Hugh West Jr., James Hamilton, James Halley and others to view and mark a road to be cleared for the most convenient way from Alexandria to Rocky Run Chappell.

This road is now locally known as the old Braddock Road, named after General Braddock who presumably traversed it on his way to Ft. Duquesne. Although historians disagree on the authenticity of this route being taken by Braddock, around the road has grown a legend of "buried treasure".

The story goes that the road was impassable and the weather extremely inclement when Braddock and his men used it. They had to cut down trees and other growth to clear their way. Added to this was the fact that they were carrying a chest of gold coins, with which to pay the men. They had two cannons, which were proving extremely burdensome, and were constantly becoming bogged down in the mud.

Finally, having lost so much time due to the condition of the road and the heaviness of his cannons and gold, Braddock decided to lighten his load. Taking the gold coins, he stuffed the nozzles of both cannons with the coins and then buried the cannons near a spring on the road near Centreville. The story continues that the spring has since dried up and although many people, including the British, have searched for years for the "buried treasure", it has never been found.

Near the intersection of Ox Road and Braddock Road was a tract of land (the future site of George Mason College, the northern Virginia branch of the University of Virginia) which was owned by the Farr family. The large home on this tract of land was burned by Union forces during the Civil War in retaliation for a very brave act by the young fourteen year old Farr boy.

This young boy, knowing that Union troops were located at Fairfax Station waiting to attack the Court House, built a road block of logs across the Ox Road over which these troops had to pass. Hiding himself in the underbrush nearby, he fired so heroically upon the enemy troops, as they approached, that they assumed there was a large group of Confederates waiting for them and withdrew to Fairfax Station. When they learned of the hoax, they returned and burned the Farr home to the ground.

V. THE TOWN

Historically, the most important house in the town of Fairfax is the Ratcliffe-Logan-Allison House at 10386 Main Street. This little brick house was built in 1805 when the town was founded and the original half meets the specifications of the 1805 Virginia State Legislature. It is sixteen feet square, has a brick chimney, and is "fit for habitation." The Ratcliffe-Logan-Allison House is considered to be in "pristine" form and unchanged from its original condition except for an 1830 addition which is believed to have been built by the same brick mason.[1]

[1] _The Richard-Ratcliffe-Allison House is listed on the Virginia Historic Landmarks Register and on the National Register of Historical Places. It belongs to the City of Fairfax and is an integral part of the founding of the town._

The little brick house was the first structure completed when Richard Ratcliffe established his town named Providence (now Fairfax). Henry Logan bought the house and later sold it to Gordon and Robert Allison. They added a large parlor and bedroom to the house and built a stable in the backyard to take care of the horses of their paying guests and possibly those of the Alexandria-Winchester Stage Coach Line.

Richard Ratcliffe's tavern at the northwest corner of the intersection of Chain Bridge Road and The Little River Turnpike was one of the larger houses in Fairfax. Caleb Earp operated a store in the basement of this tavern and the crossroads was known as "Earp's Corner" when George Mason recommended in 1789 that the court house be located at this juncture.

The tavern was extended westward by a Capt. Rizin Willcoxon and subsequently bought by the Allisons. An 1837 inventory shows there was a store, a cellar, a granary, a bar, kitchen, parlour, dining room, tailor's shop, sky parlour, and at least twelve bedrooms in the tavern.

Capt. Willcoxon, who was a relative and friend of Richard Ratcliffe, built the addition to the tavern out of bricks kilned by slaves. The foundation of the Willcoxon home on Route 237 was also built of bricks from the same kiln. This home was named "Blenheim." The name of Union soldiers who occupied the house during the Civil War can be found etched on the walls of its attic.

Although "Blenheim" is still standing today, the Ratcliffe tavern was torn down in the 1920's and the bricks and mantels were purchased by Col. Francis Pickens Miller who incorporated them into the large brick building which is now known as Flint Hill Private School.

Progress began to embrace Fairfax in the 1900's but before the 1800's there was only a tavern, a store, a tannery, and several private homes located at "Earp's Corner."

Still standing today are the Truro Episcopal Church rectory, which was built as a home by Thomas Love and later sold to Dr. William Gunnell, the Ford Building and the Oliver Building, both of which were built by members of the Gunnell family.

These homes were representative of the times. Georgian architecture had begun to spread up and down the coast. Plaster and paneling had begun to replace lime walls. Beautifully carved mantels and staircases had made their appearance. Mahogany furniture upholstered in satin or brocade had replaced crudely constructed pieces. Portrait painters roamed the country. Tutors moved in to educate the children of the wealthy. Life was much safer and almost as conventional as country life in England.

VI. THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR

While the rich progressed from rough shacks to Georgian homes, there was no such advance for the poor. There was not even any improvement in agricultural implements and the poor were finding it more and more difficult to compete with the large landholders and their scores of slaves.

They resented the tight band held over them by the mother country, who, they felt, neither understood their problems nor how to cope with them, as well as they did (e.g., the impractical way the English tried to fight the Indians during the French-Indian war).

Added to this was the constant pressure from the mother country for more money to exploit her domain, felt in the enforcement of the "Sugar Act", "Stamp Act", "Tea Act", and "Boston Port Act".

The smoldering embers of hate began to flare in the hearts of the radicals. The gentry hoped to keep the radicals under control for they felt the Virginia colony had less cause to fight than the other colonies. The colony of which they were a part was "the most populous, prosperous and important one of the thirteen." They had not felt the sting of taxes like their northern mercantile brothers nor the sting of poverty like their less fortunate southern brothers.

For example, when the "Stamp Act" was being considered. Richard Henry Lee applied for the position of stamp distributor. When a fight developed in the House concerning the "Stamp Act", Peyton Randolph, Edmund Pendleton, Richard Bland and George Wythe opposed Patrick Henry's resolutions bitterly.

The gentry in Fairfax seemed to be the exception for George Johnston, a prominent lawyer living between Alexandria and Mt. Vernon, backed Patrick Henry in his protest. George Mason wrote the Non-importation Resolutions in 1769, his Fairfax Resolves in 1774 and his famous Bill of Rights in 1776. George Washington, Fairfax planter, was, of course, Commander in Chief of the Continental Army and brought the country through to victory under the most difficult circumstances.

Large numbers of able-bodied citizens in the County served under Washington in the Revolution. An artillery company was formed out of the two militia companies in Fairfax and two later drafts took eighty-two more men. There were a few English sympathizers like the Fairfax family who did not take part but almost every influential family in the County fought on the side of Independence.

During this time Patrick Henry served as Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and in this capacity, appointed a Sheriff to serve the County of Fairfax. One of the most interesting documents in view at the Fairfax County Clerk's Office is the original of this command signed by P. Henry.

The County itself was touched by battle on two occasions: (1) The Continental Army under General Lafayette crossed the Potomac near Chain Bridge and (2) Rochambeau's Army of French allies came up through the County over the old King's Highway to Alexandria, where French transports awaited them.

The country prospered after the war but economic levels changed. The new rich who had prospered by government contracts during the war took the place of men who had lost their business along the coast line and of men whose homes had been ramshackled by English troops. Currency fell and prices rose. The farmer, who had by now turned to wheat instead of tobacco for his livelihood, was receiving high prices and seemed to be getting rich. However, his labor supply was extremely limited and he found it difficult to raise enough crops to supply his own needs. What labor he could find demanded extremely high wages and the products which the farmer needed came at extremely costly prices. In spite of difficulties, however, the farmer saw the need for a good road to Alexandria, where he could export his wheat. Thus the farmers of Fairfax, Alexandria, and Loudoun Counties joined together to build The Little River Turnpike, which was one of the first improved roads in the United States. This road was completed in 1806 and as stated before, tolls were collected for it at Earp's Ordinary. Another strong factor in the completion of this road was the establishment of the County Court House at the present site in the Town of Fairfax.

VII. THE COURT HOUSE

In 1618 Gov. Yeardley established the prototype of the county court by an order stating that "county courts be held in convenient places, to sit monthly, and to hear civil and criminal cases." It determined rates of local taxation, registered legal documents, licensed inns and exercised control over their prices, directed the building and repair of roads, and rendered judgments in both civil and criminal cases.

While Fairfax County was still a part of the colony, the first sessions of Court were probably held in Colchester, a thriving seaport town where large quantities of tobacco were exported. Charles Broadwater, John Carlyle, Henry Gunnell, Lord Thomas Fairfax, George Mason, and George Washington were among the Gentlemen Justices during the period of 1742 to 1776.

The first entry of the Court's minutes were made in 1742 at a session held in Colchester. This was an order removing the county records from Colchester to the new court house two miles north of Vienna. This court house, where the Fairfax Resolves were written, was called "Freedom Hill". Ambiguously, a gallows was constructed here and death sentences were carried out promptly. The court house remained at Freedom Hill for ten years when it was moved to Alexandria.

There are many theories concerning the move to Alexandria: Roads were poor and slow; there was still Indian hostility--the treaty of Fontainebleau did not come until 1762; there was pressure from the more influential citizens of Alexandria to move it to that city.

At any rate, the Court was moved to Alexandria in 1752 and there it remained until 1799. The gallows remained at Freedom Hill. When a death sentence was passed, the prisoner was taken out The Little River Turnpike from Alexandria to Annandale, thence along "Court House Road" to the gallows. Eventually the name "Court House Road" was changed to "Gallows Road", which name a portion of the road bears today.

During the forty-seven years court was held in Alexandria, the building fell into such disrepair that it finally became an unfit place in which to hold business, thereby speeding the acceptance of a proposal by George Mason and other influential residents that the Court be moved to Fairfax.

At that time there lived in Fairfax a man by the name of Richard Ratcliffe who held large tracts of land in this area. His holdings began at the Ravensworth line and swept over and through all the area that the Town of Fairfax now occupies, traveling on into what is now Loudoun County.

When plans became final to move the Court House from Alexandria to Fairfax, Richard Ratcliffe sold to Charles Little, David Stuart, William Payne, James Wren and George Minor, for one dollar, four acres of land "to erect thereupon an house, for holding the Pleas of the said County of Fairfax, a clerks office for the safe keeping of the records and papers of the said County, a Goal and all and every other building and machine necessary for the Justices of the Peace for the said County from time to time to erect for the purpose of holding the pleas of the said County, preserving the Records and publick papers, securing and safe keeping of prisoners and reserving good order and the publick peace but for no other use or purpose whatever and also the undisturbed use of and privilege of all the springs upon the lands of Him the said Richard Ratcliffe ...", dated June 27, 1799.

Records show that a Richard Ratcliffe came to this country from England in 1637 along with John Bristoe, Robert Turner, Henry Warren, Thomas Clarke and Robert Throckmorton--Lord of the Manor of Ellington. It is assumed that the descendants of Ratcliffe and Throckmorton worked their way into the vicinity of the future town of Fairfax for their names appear often in the records and newspaper clippings.

The Richard Ratcliffe who gave the land for the court house came here from Maryland. He was the son of John Ratcliffe of "Poynton" and "Doyne" Manors, Port Tobacco, Charles County, Maryland.

He married Lucian Bolling who was from one of the families who had moved into this area from the Jamestown Colony. Her father was Girard Bolling who was one of 18 children and descended from Thomas Rolfe.

Mr. Bolling was a planter and merchant who owned a store in Fairfax. Ratcliffe became associated with his father-in-law in the mercantile business and took over the business after Mr. Bolling died. In Ratcliffe's will he left "the brick store and land lot to his sons for the purpose of keeping store in or on if necessary".

He and his wife had five daughters and four sons. Penelope married Spencer Jackson. Nancy married Stephen Daniel. Jane married Thomas Moss, a future clerk of the court. Patsy married Richard Coleman. Lucian married George Gunnell. His sons were Robert, who was Deputy Sheriff in 1801, Charles, John and Samuel. Two of his sons were evidently a disappointment to him for in his will he speaks of Samuel "having conducted himself badly for several years past" his debts were to be paid by the executors, who were Robert and Charles Ratcliffe, Thomas Moss, Gordon Allison and Roger M. Farr. He also stated that two of his sons had received more than his daughters but he hoped his sons would do better and his daughters would understand.

The Ratcliffe home place, "Mt. Vineyard" will be recalled by older citizens in the town as the Rumsey place, which burned years ago. The family graveyard still exists today. It is located on Moore Street.

Besides owning a great deal of land and a mercantile business, Mr. Ratcliffe owned a race track on the east side of town. Its approximate location was east of Route 237, north of The Little River Turnpike and west of Fairview Subdivision. His personal property was valued at $4445.34. In his will the slaves were divided among his wife and children. Some of the slaves were valued as high as $600 each, while others were valued at a dollar.

In 1836, when Mr. Ratcliffe died and the town had to be surveyed in order for his estate to be divided, John Halley, the surveyor writes: "In laying off I commenced at the northwest corner of Rizin Willcoxon's Tavern House, Robert Ratcliffe having represented that that house was considered when built as being exactly on the corner of the lot on which it stands, and the side and gable ends of said house ranged with the streets. I have therefore taken the ...... of said house as a guide". The tavern was valued at $4000.00 at that time.

Robert Ratcliffe had evidently used the northwest corner of the tavern when in 1805 he laid off the town when An Act of the Assembly established a "Town at Fairfax Court House on the Land of Richard Ratcliffe by the name of Providence".

Meanwhile, a red brick building had been erected for the court house. It had a gabled roof, an arcaded loggia and a cupola. In the cupola hung a very fine bell which had been imported from England. This bell rang to remind the citizens of church time, court, town meetings, etc.

The inside of the court house was beautifully paneled with walnut wainscoating and behind the Justice's chair the wall was paneled from floor to ceiling. There was a gallery for slaves and rows of hand carved wooden pews for freemen.

On the outside was a place for tying horses in the yard and nearby stood a well with the traditional "old oaken bucket". The inscription on the bucket read, "He who drinks therefrom will return to drink again!"

Among the first Justices of the Peace to serve in the new Court House after April of 1800 were James Coleman, David Stuart, Charles Little, William Stanhope, Richard Bland Lee, Robert F. Hooe, William Payne, Richard Ratcliffe, William Deneale, Humphrey Peake, Richard W. Poeh, Hancock Lee, William Gunnell, Richard M. Scott, Francy Adams, James Wiley, Augustine I. Smith, and James Waugh. These men formed a committee that took turns serving as Justices of the Peace. They were known as Gentlemen Justices and were appointed and commissioned by the governor until 1851.

In 1843 an agricultural journal was published at the Fairfax County seat. It was called the "Farmer's Intelligencer" and was edited and published by J. D. Hitt. The first issue which appeared on October 21, 1843, showed agitation for a revision of the Virginia constitution in advocating a more economical and simplified court procedure. It may or may not have been indicative of general feelings at the time, but from 1851 until 1870 Justices were elected by the voters of the County. Among these were Silas Burke, John B. Hunter, James Hunter, W. W. Ellzey, Minnan Burke, Ira Williams, M. R. Selecman, William W. Ball, John Millan, Nelson Conrad, T. M. Ford, David Fitzhugh, S. T. Stuart and Elcon Jones.

From 1870 to 1902 the County Court was presided over by a single judge elected by the state's legislature. During that time Thomas E. Carper, Richard Coleman, J. R. Taylor, J. F. Mayhugh and John D. Cross were among those who served. Governor Yeardley's order was abolished in 1902 by a constitutional convention and by 1904 the circuit courts took over the former work of the county courts. Their decline was brought about because they had become the symbol of opposition to a centralized government. Thomas Jefferson said, "the justices of the inferior courts are self-chosen, are for life, and perpetuate their own body in succession forever, so that a faction once possessing themselves of the bench of a county, can never be broken up...."

John Marshall said "there is no part of America where less disquiet and less ill feeling between man and man is to be found than in this commonwealth, and I believe most firmly that this state of things is mainly to be ascribed to the practical operation of our county courts".

William Moss served as Clerk of the Court from 1801 to 1833. From 1833 until 1887 F. D. Richardson, Thomas Moss, Alfred Moss, S. M. Ball, H. T. Brooks, W. B. Gooding, William M. Fitzhugh, D. F. Dulaney, and F. W. Richardson served as Clerks. F. D. Richardson who was born in 1800 and entered the Clerk's Office under William Moss in 1826 was either Clerk, Deputy Clerk or Assistant Clerk to the date of his death on October 13, 1880, a period of 50 years. His son, F. W. Richardson, born Dec. 16, 1853, went into the Clerk's Office when he was 18 years old (1871) and served as Deputy and Assistant Clerk until the death of his father in 1880, when he was elected Clerk of the County and Circuit Courts.

It is said that Ripley wrote in "_Believe It or Not_" that "'Uncle Tude' (F. W. Richardson) and his father had been Clerks of the Fairfax Courts continuously for one hundred and five years".

VIII. DEVELOPMENT OF THE TOWN