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Community Corner

Officials Want to Double the Size of Centreville's Historic Park

Sully District supervisor says county should buy land while real estate is cheap.

Fairfax County officials are seeking $4 million in federal aid to double the size Centreville’s Historic Park, created to show how a humble colonial crossroads town survived occupation by two Civil War armies and grew into a prosperous suburban community.

The 15-acre park, which is part of the Historic Centreville Overlay District, is hidden behind a pair of drug stores off of Lee Highway and Route 28. County park officials are seeking the money to purchase six privately owned parcels (totaling an additional 15.5 acres) that are adjacent to the park.

These additional parcels include the location of historically significant Civil War encampment sites and remnants of Civil War fortifications. The historic district was created in 1986.

With the country still in a fragile economic recovery, acquiring more historic parcels for the park can be a good deal for the county, said Supervisor Michael R. Frey (R-Sully District). The county is attempting to improve the historic park while expanding.

“The down economy is the best time to buy land,” Frey said. “We wouldn’t be able to buy some properties if the economy hadn’t tanked.”

Since the district was created, there have been discussions over its overarching mission. Should the Centreville efforts focus on the community’s multiple Civil War sites or should the park reflect the broader historical role Centreville has played?

“There are some that believe it ought to be a Civil War park,” Frey said. “There are others, myself included, who see it with a bigger vision. Centreville’s history matches the evolution of the country.”

Frey points out that Centreville is rich in history and the park reflects that, covering almost 300 years from the early development and establishment of Centreville to modern day suburbia.

During pre-colonial times, the area was occupied by the Tauxenet, also known as the Dogue, Indians. According to historical records, Captain John Smith visited the main town of the Tauxenet near the mouth of the Occuquan River in 1608.

The community had its humble beginnings as a crossroads town known as Newgate village. It was renamed Centreville in 1792 when the Virginia assembly gave it town statues. During the Civil War, both the Confederate and Union armies occupied the community.

Centreville was heavily fortified by the Confederates in the winter of 1861-62. During that time, Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston is said to have been headquartered at the Mount Gilead House, the centerpiece of the historic park. Union soldiers occupied the Centreville fortifications after the Confederates left in the spring of 1862.

Built in the second half of the 18th Century, the Mount Gilead House is a modest two-story building and the oldest structure in Centreville. Originally a tavern, it was acquired by the county in 1996.

The park also includes the Spindle Sears House, built in 1934 by a mail supervisor with the United States Post Office, who purchased it as a kit from the old Sears, Roebuck & Company catalogue. The supervisor commuted each day to the district for his job and the house is emblematic of Centreville’s, evolution into a working suburban community, Frey said.

“It was the start of subdivisions in the area and really suburbia across the country,” Frey said. “Lee Highway was paved in 1925 and it gave you a paved road that took you right into the District. There’s a lot more in Centreville then the Civil War period.”

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