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TextHappy Birthday Fairfax County
Office of Public Affairs
12000 Government Center Parkway, Suite 551
Fairfax, VA 22035-0065
703-324-3187, TTY 703-324-2935, FAX 703-324-2010
June 18, 2003
Happy Birthday Fairfax County
Fairfax County, rich in history, will celebrate its 261st birthday tomorrow, Thursday, June 19. The county was created by the General Assembly of Virginia, which authorized the formation of Fairfax County from Prince William County on Tuesday, June 19, 1742.
Fairfax County was named after Thomas Fairfax, sixth Baron of Cameron, who was born in England on Nov. 1, 1693. Fairfax obtained possession of the land which was to bear his name in 1719. According to “A Brief History of Fairfax County,” written in 1995 by Donald M. Sweig, at the time of its creation, Fairfax County included all of what is now Loudoun and Arlington Counties as well as the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church and Fairfax.
Today, Fairfax County, located just ten miles southwest of the nation’s capitol of Washington, D.C., encompasses 395 square miles (406.6 square miles if water is included). According to the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce, Fairfax County has the largest number of jobs (517,734) and the largest labor force (532,000) in the Washington area.
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