Background

Throughout almost 200 years of history and existence, the Gum Springs community tells the story of the oldest free sustained African American community in Fairfax County. Although the history of Gum Springs is recognized by the county, and two publications, The Corbin Report (unpublished), and a History Now Report (1984), both commissioned by Fairfax County, outlining the historic significance of the community, there is no comprehensive heritage resource study for this area. In 2018, during the Embark Richmond Highway project, the Gum Springs community was identified as an important historic and cultural community needing further study.

In September 2020, the Board of Supervisors authorized and allocated funding for Fairfax County Department of Planning and Development (DPD) to complete a heritage resources study for the Gum Springs community. In 2021, staff worked collaboratively with a small group of community members, made up of representatives from the New Gum Springs Civic Association and the Gum Springs Historical Society and Museum. Together they worked for 7 months to prepare a Request for Proposal (RFP), which included drafting of a scope of work, identifying the professional qualifications, and formulating the selection criteria to evaluate the responses received.

The resulting RFP was released in January of 2023, and a Selection Advisory Committee was formed. The committee, made up of county staff and representatives from the New Gum Springs Civic Association, evaluated the proposals received through the interview and selection process, and identified the consulting group to document the buildings and associated history of the Gum Springs community. In January of 2024, the Commonwealth Preservation Group (CPG) of Norfolk, Virginia, was chosen to complete the study. CPG will be working with the anthropological consulting firm of Kenah Consulting, architectural historians with RK&K consulting firm, and the urban sociologist Dr. Derek Hyra, to complete the project team, as requested by the Gum Springs Historical Society and Museum.

Through collaboration with the Gum Springs community, the heritage resources study will:

• Identify the historical themes and cultural narratives of the community from its founding through the early 1970s
• Identify buildings and sites that contribute to significant historic themes of the Gum Springs community
• Compile existing oral histories, and
• Conduct new oral histories.

The information collected from the study will be used to create a management plan with recommendations for future preservation work. The plan will analyze potential preservation planning tools and make recommendations for future preservation work including National Register District eligibility, Heritage Conservation Overlay District designation, Historic Overlay District designation, and other planning tools, as appropriate.

Study Area

Staff worked with the community to draft the scope of work. The study will focus on the Gum Springs area as outlined in the maps below (click to enlarge). The study area also includes three cemeteries - Bethlehem Baptist, Coleman/Snowden, and Woodlawn Methodist Church Cemeteries.

Study Timeline