The Fairfax County History Commission maintains awards programs to honor research and achievements in Fairfax County history and historic preservation. These programs are open to the public.

The Fairfax Heritage Awards

Established in 1995, this program is designed to stimulate and reward original research in Fairfax County history using standard social, political and economic sources in written narrative form, a nomination to the National Register of Historic Places or a video documentary.

Submissions may be on any aspect of Fairfax County History. In addition to a completed application form indicating the appropriate award, all applications for Fairfax Heritage Awards must include three copies of the material under consideration for evaluation by June 1st each year. These copies will become the property of the Fairfax County History Commission. Budget constraints and quality of submissions may limit the number of awards granted in a year.

1. Edith Moore Sprouse Prize - Named after an original member of the Fairfax County History Commission who initiated a project to index, abstract and microfiche early Circuit Court Records and created a comprehensive record of the people who lived in Fairfax County in 1860 by combining information from multiple sources. In addition, she wrote books and monographs on Fairfax County history and served as a mentor to many researchers. This award is given for fully documented short monographs of ten or more pages dealing with any aspect of Fairfax County history. Up to five awards of $100 each may be given per year. Submissions must:

• be a minimum of 3,000 words
• have supporting documentation either in the form of footnotes, endnotes or parenthetical notes
• include a complete bibliography
• be an unpublished manuscript of ten or more pages double spaced on standard 8.5 x 11 inch white paper or
• be a document published within two years of the date of submission

2. C. J. S. Durham Prize - Named for Jack Durham, an original member of the History Commission. A conservationist, he promoted the creation of the Great Falls National Park and was influential in persuading Congress to preserve the C&O Canal right-of-way as a national park. In 1933, he purchased the severely deteriorated Towlston Grange, a circa 1767 house once owned by Bryan Fairfax, and carefully restored and enlarged it. One award of $250 may be given for a nomination of a Fairfax County property or district to the National Register of Historic Places. Submissions must:

• include the complete National Register nomination form including photographs and maps
• have been accepted by the Virginia Board of Historic Resources and the Virginia State Review Board within two years of the date of submission

3. Nan Netherton Prize - Named after a well known Fairfax historian who initiated and edited the comprehensive "Fairfax County, Virginia: A History," authored many local histories, and served as a mentor to other historians. This prize of $500 is given for a fully documented monograph of 50 or more pages dealing with any aspect of Fairfax County history. One award per year may be given. Submissions must:

• be a minimum of 15,000 words
• have supporting documentation either in the form of footnotes, endnotes or parenthetical notes
• include a complete bibliography
• be an unpublished manuscript of fifty or more pages double spaced on standard 8.5 x 11 inch white paper or
• be a document published within two years of the date of submission

4. Beth Mitchell Prize - This award honors the memory of Beth Mitchell whose research into the land grants and deeds of Fairfax County became the basis for her creation of a county map of original Northern Neck land grants with supporting references; a map of property owners in 1760 showing the roads, bridges, churches, tobacco inspection warehouses, courthouse, mills, ordinaries and ferries; and a map showing property owners in 1860. The Fairfax History Commission will award $500 for any pure research that consolidates and indexes primary sources materials into a format that can be used to support further understanding and interpretation of Fairfax County history. One award per year may be given. Submissions must include:

• a brief written description of the project that includes a statement of degree of completion and a statement of availability to the public
• samples of data files, output or reports
• complete bibliography of sources relied upon

5. Mayo Stuntz Prize - Named after an original and longest serving member of the History Commission, who was the co-author and editor of several books that utilized historic photographs and who participated in many videos. This prize consists of two components. 1) $300 is offered for a video documentary of no less than 10 minutes nor more than 30 minutes with supporting documentation on a broad topic related to Fairfax County history. 2) $700 is offered for a video documentary of no less than 30 minutes nor more than 90 minutes with supporting documentation on a broad topic related to Fairfax County history. One of each may be granted. Submissions must:

• be of professional quality
• be accompanied by a script and a complete bibliography of sources consulted
• have been completed within two years of the date of submission
• be a short video documentary of less than 10 minutes nor more than 30 minutes or
• be a long video documentary of no less than 30 minutes nor more than 90 minutes

6. Ross Netherton Prize - Named after the author and co-author of many historical monographs and books dealing with Fairfax County and surrounding communities, this prize offers $1,000 for an original fully documented book length narrative of at least 250 pages on a general topic on Fairfax County history. Submissions must:

• be a minimum of 75,000 words
• have supporting documentation either in the form of footnotes, endnotes or parenthetical notes
• include a complete bibliography
• be an unpublished manuscript of 250 or more pages double spaced on standard 8.5 x 11 inch white paper or
• be a document published within two years of the date of submission

7. The Jack L. Hiller Memorial Photography Prize - The award, named for educator, photographer, and long-time History Commission member Jack L. Hiller, is given for an original photograph or photographic essay that best captures the spirit of the unique history of Fairfax County, its places and its residents. There are two categories for this prize: 1) Photos taken prior to 2000 ($250 award); and 2) Photos taken after 2000 ($250 award). Submissions must complete the Jack L. Hiller Photography Prize form and:

• be original creations by the submitter and solely owned by the submitter with only minor editing of the photograph (cropping, color correction, contrast, etc.)
• may be in electronic (.tiff, .jpg. or other common format) or print forms
• submissions must include a description of when the photo was taken, location where taken, description of the event/activity/location, and a caption explaining how it captures the unique heritage of Fairfax County
• may not show any offensive, illegal, or dangerous activities
• additional rules are described on the Jack L. Hiller Photography Prize application form linked below.

Recognition Awards

The History Commission has four categories of awards to recognize contributions to preserving history in Fairfax County. All applications for Recognition Awards must include a completed application form indicating the appropriate award and be accompanied by a brief written description of why the nominee should be considered for the award by June 1st each year. With the exception of the Mary Fahringer Memorial Award, these awards are non-monetary and more than one award may be granted each year.

1. Distinguished Service Award - recognizes the contributions of individuals, groups or companies to support historic preservation in Fairfax County. These contributions might include: hours of service, projects such as indexing, donations of time, money or material support.

2. Cultural Heritage Engagement Award - recognizes extraordinary leadership in promoting the history and presence of a cultural or ethnic community within Fairfax County.

3. Mary Fahringer Memorial Award - recognizes outstanding achievement in education, concentrating in the areas of history and/or architecture related to Fairfax County. This award for $500 was established to honor the meritorious contributions made by Mary Fahringer, an original member of the History Commission and the original liaison with the Architectural Review Board. One award per year may be given.

4. Lifetime Achievement Award - recognizes individuals who have contributed for at least ten years, at an outstanding level, to promoting, preserving, maintaining or educating the public about the vast historic resources of Fairfax County.