Fairfax Station, Virginia
Located in Fairfax County
Fairfax Station, Virginia Fairfax is part of the Northern Region of Virginia, is located in the eastern portion of the state near Washington, D.C. It is independent and not part of any county government. The National Rifle Association's National Firearms Museum in Fairfax houses one of the most extensive firearms collections in the country. The spacious facility offers visitors the chance to view more than 2,000 historic firearms displayed in 13 permanent galleries. Exhibits span the history of handheld firearms-from mid 14th century guns to the latest in sporting rifles, shotguns and pistols. Like no other institution, the National Firearms Museum proudly illustrates America's priceless heritage of firearms, freedom and the American experience. Through its many galleries are the actual artifacts that were with the Pilgrims as they left the good ship Mayflower, marched with the American militiamen at Lexington and Concord, camped near Gettysburg with Robert E. Lee, helped a young Annie Oakley put food on her family's table, or stood on the winner's platform at the Olympic Games. The tapestry of America has been woven by people, places and things and so in the National Firearms Museum, each of the threads of the past bear familiar names like Beretta, Browning, Colt, Marlin, Remington, Ruger, Savage, and Winchester. Every week, spring through fall, nine sites throughout Fairfax County become bustling marketplaces for farmers, residents and employees of our communities. Mere paved surfaces spring alive with the abundant sights, sounds, smells and colors of an open air produce market. The markets are a return to a way of life once commonplace for many of our parents and grandparents. The markets offer a wide variety of freshly picked, locally grown fruit, vegetables, baked goods, cut flowers, potted plants, cider and honey. Come to your local HomeGrown Farmers' Market and find the choicest, freshest and most desirable fruit, vegetables, plants and baked goods available. Come meet the Market Master and support your local HomeGrown Farmers' Market. Fairfax Farmers' Market is from 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., May 7 - October 29, Tuesdays, at Van Dyck Park. The landscape of Fairfax County and all of northern Virginia is dotted with Civil War sites associated with the Union Army's four-year occupation of northern Virginia. To protect the federal capital and insure continued access to the Potomac River, an estimated 10,000 Union troops crossed the river into northern Virginia in May 1861. After the Union defeat at the first battle of Manassas, federal control of northern Virginia became ever more vital to the war effort. The City of Alexandria was transformed into a major military staging area as earthwork forts began to dot the landscape of Fairfax County. Hundreds of army camps, hospitals and military facilities were established throughout the region. By 1862, an estimated 80,000 Union soldiers and 50,000 Confederate soldiers were encamped in Fairfax County. A wide variety of skirmishes and battles ensued, including incidents instigated by Confederate Colonel John S. Mosby and his Rangers. By the time the war ended in 1865, northern Virginia was devastated by the four-year military occupation. The Confederate Cemetery Monument's large markers denote the graves of known and unknown Confederate dead. During the Civil War, the cemetery was the site of a Union stockade. The Fairfax County Courthouse, often seen in Mathew Brady's Civil War photographs, was used as a Union signal post and headquarters throughout the war. The courthouse is still used as an annex to the modern judicial center. Exhibits in the Fairfax Museum outline the rich history of the area, with emphasis on the Civil War, including an exhibit on the nearby battlefield where the Battle of Chantilly was fought in September 1862. Constructed in 1873, the building that houses the museum is the first two-story brick schoolhouse ever built in Fairfax City or Fairfax County. The Mosby's Capture of Stoughton Monument is located on the grounds of Truro Episcopal Church. In a daring midnight raid on March 8-9, 1863, Confederate John S. Mosby and 30 Virginia troopers galloped into Fairfax. Union General Edwin Stoughton was taken prisoner as he lay asleep. A monument to the event stands in front of the William P. Gunnell home, where General Stoughton was spending the night. So come on, wherever you go on your travels, remember, Fairfax, Virginia, is waiting for you!
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