A Fairfax Legacy

A Fairfax Legacy. Ash Grove Historic Site. , The Fairfax Family , Ash Grove is one of the few standing 18th century Virginia houses built by the Fairfax family. In 1747, Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax, moved from England to Virginia to manage the Northern Neck Proprietary, land he inherited from his mother Catherine Culpeper Fairfax. It included more than 5 million acres of land in northern Virginia. In 1742, a piece of the land was subdivided and named Fairfax County. The official county seal is based on the coat of arms of Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax. How the Fairfax family first used the land around Ash Grove is unknown but signs of the mid-18th century occupation remain underground. County archaeologists have identified part of a foundation from a building that pre-dates the current Ash Grove house., Ash Grove , In 1788, Bryan, eighth Lord Fairfax, gave thousands of acres of land to his son Thomas Fairfax. Thomas Fairfax built the front section of the Ash Grove house around 1790. The three-story tall Ash Grove house was one room deep with a center hall flanked by parlors. Many other buildings were at Ash Grove to support the house and farm. The two surviving outbuildings in front of you were built in the late 18th century. The square wood building was a meat house and the larger brick building was the kitchen and laundry. In 1833, Thomas Fairfax gave Ash Grove and over 4,000 acres of land to his son Henry Fairfax. Henry Fairfax and his family lived at Ash Grove until his death in 1847., The Sherman Family , In 1850, James Sherman, a New York farmer, bought Ash Grove with 241 acres of land from Henry Fairfax's estate. For nearly 150 years, generations of the Sherman family lived in and preserved Ash Grove. The Civil War was difficult for the Sherman family, who supported the Union but lived in a Confederate state. Franklin Sherman, a Union soldier, returned to Ash Grove after the Civil War and his father's death. The Sherman family worked hard to make the farm successful once more. Franklin Sherman married Caroline Alvord, one of the first teachers at a freedman's school in Fairfax County. The couple raised ten children at Ash Grove. The Shermans were leaders in Fairfax County and advocated for progressive education reform. During the 20th century, the Sherman family preserved Ash Grove despite an extensive house fire. Surrounded by 21st century development, this 18th century house still stands today.