During 2004, the Fairfax County History Commission accomplished the following:

• Publications Committee The major thrust of the Fairfax County History Commission's Publications Committee this year concerned the promotion and sales our three publications: Ross and Nan Netherton's The Preservation of History in Fairfax County, Virginia; Charles V. Mauro's The Battle of Chantilly (Ox Hill: A Monumental Storm); and Stone Ground: A History of Union Mills, edited by Paula Elsey.
  
  Both Charles Mauro and Paula Elsey have been tremendously active in speaking before community organizations, associations, and schools promoting not only their books but also the importance of local history as well. In addition, they have made a major contribution by bringing the books with them to their speaking engagements and selling them. They receive no compensation for their efforts.
  
  We also made great progress in getting local stores carrying our publications including stores in Clifton, Fairfax Station, Manassas National Battlefield, Manassas Museum, and Herndon-Dulles Chamber of Commerce. The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, published by the Virginia Historical Society included a very favorable review of Stone Ground in its first issue for 2004. The publications are sold either directly by the Commission and the authors or by Fairfax County through the Maps and Publications Center.
  
  In March 2004, the Fairfax County History Commission participated in the Virginia Festival of the Book with a panel discussion including Dr. Donald Senese, Ross Netherton and Charles Mauro. The panel was filmed by the Fairfax Academy.
• 
  
• Oral History Committee At the suggestion of Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald Connolly, the Fairfax County History Commission has formed a committee to seek a project for recording and presenting oral history in Fairfax County. The committee is researching ways to present oral history that conveys to the county and the youth that the history of all people is important. Also that history is not just the past, but is being made each day and we are making history each day.
  
  Members of the Oral History Committee are Esther McCullough (Chair), Naomi Sokol Zeavin, Randa Kayyali, Anne Barnes and Charles Wroblewski.
• 
  
• Awards Programs Committee The Fairfax County History Commission has established several awards programs to honor achievements in Fairfax County history and historic preservation. These programs include the Distinguished Service Awards, which are typically awarded during Historic Preservation Week in May of each year to individuals, developers, corporations, or groups that have contributed to preserving history in Fairfax County.
  
  The Fairfax Heritage Awards are designed to encourage and reward original research in Fairfax County history. The highest award is the Nan Netherton Award, which includes a $1,000 prize. While no awards were given in 2004, the committee has been hard at work reviewing an extensive manuscript that was submitted.
  
  The Mary Fahringer Memorial Award is a very special award recognizing outstanding achievement in education, concentrating in areas of history and architecture. The award in the amount of $1,000 is not an annual one, but is reserved for truly unique and meritorious contributions.
  
  Members of the Awards Committee are Robert Beach (Chair), Jack Hiller and Lynne Garvey Wark.
  
  
• The Publications Committee, along with the rest of the Fairfax County History Commission, was devastated by the sudden death of Dr. Donald J. Senese in October 2004. Senese took the helm when the committee was formed in 1998 and devoted immense amounts of time and energy to getting the three books published and promoted. His zeal will be greatly missed. Also greatly missed will be the great wisdom, depth of knowledge and quiet leadership of Edith Moore Sprouse, another original committee member, who died in January 2004. A third dedicated commissioner, Robert J. Heittman, died in March 2004; VDOT has named the Springfield Interchange's flyover bridge in his honor.
  
  The Publications Committee is currently working with the Fairfax County Park Authority to revise and reprint Beth Mitchell's Beginning at a White Oak.
  
  Members of the Publications Committee are Paula Elsey (Chair), Mayo Stuntz, Elise Ruff Murray, Barbara Naef, Karen Washburn, and Lynne Garvey Wark.
• Ethnic Committee This committee was formed in the fall of 1997 in response to the increasing demographic diversity of Fairfax County's population. The 100 languages spoken within schools show the diversity of the population. It has been estimated that in 50 years the county's white population will drop below 50 percent. The committee set as a goal to explore the ways in which more ethnic segments might be encouraged to record their experiences and community history since their arrival in Northern Virginia.
  
  Members of the Ethnic Committee are Esther McCullough (Chair), Lynne Garvey Wark, and Charles Wroblewski.
• 
  
• Historic Markers Committee Fairfax County's Historical Marker Program began in January 1998 when the Fairfax County History Commission approved a design and agreed to fund a distinctive marker for Fairfax County. While this marker was generally modeled after Virginia's roadside markers, by code it had to have a distinctive appearance. With colors derived from George Washington's Fairfax Militia uniform, these buff and blue roadside markers emblazoned with the Fairfax County seal, stand ten feet from ground level. To date 17 Fairfax County markers and four state markers have been installed under this program.
  
  In the year 2004, three markers were installed and a new one approved to be installed in 2005. A marker was placed along the Cub Run stream valley trail within sight of a large stone bridge abutment built c. 1854. The abutment is an artifact left from an antebellum effort to create an extension of the Manassas Gap Rail Road that was never completed. The initiative to place a marker at this location came from a local citizen.
  
  Another marker put up to recognize the significance of a nineteenth-century railroad was installed in Lake Accotink Park entitled: "The Orange and Alexandria Railroad Trestle." The original trestle over Accotink Creek was destroyed by Confederate troops, but was quickly rebuilt and served as a vital Federal transportation link throughout the Civil War. Both of these markers are on Fairfax Park Authority property.
  
  A state historical marker calling attention to the nearby birthplace of General Fitzhugh Lee was installed on Franconia Road in front of Mark Twain Middle School in August. In addition to serving in the Confederate army, he was governor of Virginia (1886-1890) and Consul General in Havana (1896-1898). This project was initiated by members of the Franconia Museum and partially funded by the Fairfax County History Commission.
  
  In recognition of the 50th anniversary of the opening of Luther P. Jackson High School in 1954, the only high school ever built for the African-American residents of Fairfax County, the Fairfax County History Commission moved to fully fund a historical marker that will be installed in 2005.
  
  Public interest in the program continues since the first marker was put up in 1998. Private individuals, community groups or builder proffers have funded many of the more recent installations. While individuals or groups who petition the Commission to have a marker put up are responsible for the research and recommended text, the Marker Committee reviews what is proposed and is responsible for submitting a historically accurate and readable text to the full History Commission.
  
  Members of the Historic Markers Committee are Jack Hiller (Chair), Esther McCullough, Elise Ruff Murray, Sue Patterson and Paula Elsey.
  
• Inventory of Historic Sites One of the Fairfax County History Commission's mandates from the Board of Supervisors since its creation in 1969 is to maintain an inventory of historic sites in Fairfax County. We have been working with our staff advisor, Linda Cornish Blank, to update both the inventory and the nomination process. In addition to considering several nominations to the inventory, the Fairfax County History Commission has been working with Fairfax County staff to work out procedures for notice of impending demolition of inventory sites which might require a change in the zoning ordinance.
  
  
• Web Page The Fairfax County History Commission's Web page was updated to include recent historic marker dedications, publications information, member contact information, and the 2003 Annual Report. It serves as an easy, up-to-date, and readily available tool for anyone interested in our county's history.
  
  
• Archeology Grants Since 2000, Vicki Monken has put in over 1,375 hours entering into the computer data from the reams of forms filled out by the County Archeology Program in the course of its operations since 1978. The Fairfax County History Commission provides her a modest grant to do this tedious, yet invaluable work.
  
  In November 2002, the Commission made a grant to Nancy Anthony, a contract archeologist, to complete the final report for the Wilson site in Lorton. The Wilson Site excavation was directed by Nancy Anthony and funded by KSI Development Co. The excavation has been completed, but the artifact analysis, graphic work and conclusion needed to finish the final report are continuing.
• Speaker's Bureau In January 2004, the Board of Supervisors requested that the Fairfax County History Commission compile a list of people willing and interested in speaking on topics related to Fairfax County history. This 10-page document, published and distributed in November, summarizes a variety of countywide history topics with related speakers and contact information, including name, e-mail address and telephone number. Numerous members of the Commission are included. It is a work in progress, and will be customized and updated as necessary. If we have inadvertently omitted anyone who is interested in speaking on a topic, please let us know. Lynne Garvey Wark researched, gathered and organized the information used in the Speaker's Bureau document, with assistance from Dr. Donald J. Senese and Robert Beach.
  
  Members of the Fairfax County History Commission continue to be active in speaking before various community, civic and historic groups.
  
  Don Hakenson gave various history presentations to Civil War, historical and civic organizations around the entire state of Virginia. He provided Civil War tours and information to prominent writers and other out-of-state historians. He also spoke about his book, This Forgotten Land: A Tour of Civil War Sites and Other Historical Landmarks South of Alexandria, Virginia.
  
  Jack Hiller spoke on President's Day, 16 February 2004, to the Brotherhood of St. Andrew at Pohick Church on "The Colonial Experience and the Institutions of American Democracy." In addition, he spoke to eleven other groups throughout the year. His audiences consisted of civic groups, historical societies, graduate students and senior citizens.
  
  Bud Mayo presented a history of Burke to the fall Braddock District Town Meeting.
  
  Sue Patterson has made several presentations to community groups about the history of Franconia.
  
  On September 8, 2004, Milburn Sanders spoke to the Great Falls Historical Society on "Thirteen Dry Years in Forestville (Prohibition)."
  
  Mayo Stuntz addressed the McLean Historical Society, the Malcom Road/Windover Heights Citizens Association and the Over 50 Group of Burke. He also spoke about "A General History of Fairfax County" as part of the program, "Economic Development in Fairfax County, Virginia: The Planning and Creation of a World-Class Economy," which is now airing on Channel 16.
  
  Lynne Garvey Wark gave presentations using music, photo boards and games on the history of Clifton to local groups including the Herndon Historic Society.
  
  Naomi Zeavin spoke at the Rotary Club and to schools about the historic Mason District.
  
  
• Outreach Activities Fairfax County History Commission members continue to be active in a variety of ways in the local community. This is not meant as a comprehensive list but merely a means to highlight the wide variety of activities of commission members.
  
  Robert Beach served on the annual Fairfax County Exceptional Design Awards Jury, which he has done each year since 2001.
  
  During the past year, Irma Clifton was part of the Task Force that recommended, and got approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, a planning strategy for the Reformatory and Penitentiary sections of the former D. C. Prison at Lorton. She is president of Lorton Heritage Society, Inc., and president of the Lorton Arts Foundation.
  
  Jack Hiller volunteered as a docent and participated in docent training at Gunston Hall Plantation, the home of George Mason.
  
  Bud Mayo attended the rededication of Oak Hill as the Braddock District representative of the Fairfax County History Commission. He is serving on the Virginia 2007 Citizen Planning Committee as the Fairfax County History Commission representative.
  
  Esther McCullough participated in the research of materials in preparation for Fairfax County Supervisor Cathy M. Hudgins on historical African-American churches in the Hunter Mill District of Fairfax County, which culminated in a videotaping of five churches established in the 1800s. A taped interview session led by Supervisor Hudgins included Esther McCullough and Mayo Stuntz. It is being shown on Channel 16 as a part of a Black History Month Celebration for Fairfax County. McCullough also attended the "Unboxing of Henry Brown" Symposium in Richmond in October 2003.
  
  Elise Ruff Murray attended the 19th Annual Virginia Preservation Conference in Charlottesville, Virginia, in November 2004. She is vice president of The Historical Society of Fairfax County, Inc.
  
  In October, Barbara Naef concluded work on the Historic Huntley Bond Project Team. She is continuing the work of inventorying and indexing the hundreds of documents associated with the Lahey Lost Valley property (owned by the Fairfax County Park Authority in Vienna) and its owners, the artists Richard Lahey and his wife, Carlotta Gonzales Lahey. She continues to monitor the restorative repairs being completed on the Frying Pan Meeting House, the Lake Anne (Reston) Revitalization project, and the development plan process involving the historic DeMoss House, also in Reston.
  
  David Olin and Karen Washburn were appointed to serve on the McLean Great Falls Community Pilot Program for Jamestown's 400th Anniversary. Ms. Washburn is currently the co-chairman.
  
  Sue Patterson, a founding member of the Franconia Museum, continued to serve on the museum's board of directors and also edited the newsletter. She is a member of the Lee District Land Use and Transportation Advisory Committee. She is active in League of Women Voters and the Fairfax Genealogical Society.
  
  Milburn Sanders prepared historical displays and was present to answer questions on the subject for the Great Falls Volunteer Fire department open house and for Great Falls Day. Additionally, he furnished historical background information for the Great Falls Historical Society calendar. As a member of the Great Falls Freedom Memorial Committee, he researched and prepared biographies and related history for publication in The Great Falls Freedom Honor Roll, a book which is permanently displayed in the Great Falls Library, overlooking the "Great Falls Freedom Memorial" site.
  
  Mayo Stuntz is the official Town Historian for Vienna, in addition to his responsibilities as pro bono Chairman of the Flint Hill Cemetery in Oakton for the last 45 years. He also is the coordinator for VIP Vienna-Visually Impaired Persons of Vienna, Oakton, Fairfax and McLean.
  
  Lynne Garvey Wark co-chaired Clifton's Annual Historic Candlelight Tour of the Town, held on the first Saturday of December, which raised $4,100. She currently serves as an officer of the Clifton Betterment Association, where she co-chairs the Clifton Oral History Project.
  
  Naomi Zeavin's latest video, Historic Mason District, has been completed and is now available in all the Fairfax County public schools and libraries. She is a guest curator at the Clark House for the Fairfax County Park Authority, where she has an exhibit on the Munson family. In addition, she showed Historic Mason District there. Zeavin serves on the Capitol Hill Civil War Round Table's board of directors.