Category Archives: History

The 100 year anniversary of the Civil War was 1961 – 1965. Its kickoff coincided with the dedication of the Mosby Woods neighborhood in 1961.  Adopting a civil war theme was part of the marketing strategy for the development, which sought to capitalize on increased interest in the centennial in particular, and the civil warContinue reading “Observances of the Civil War 100-Year Anniversary 1961 – 1965”

The debates over names and symbols used to represent a community are not new. Over the past several decades there have been repeated conversations about representation in state flags, monuments, sports mascots, and in the names of schools, municipal buildings, and major thoroughfares. These debates tend to flare up after incidents that cause public outrage, such asContinue reading “Why our neighborhood names are under review”

As we continue to explore the historic context of our neighborhood, the Community Forward team has conducted research into the Civil Rights era of the 1950s and 1960s when Mosby Woods was established. We make no attempt to draw any conclusions as to the thought process behind the founding of Mosby Woods or the motivesContinue reading “Aspects of the Civil Rights Era When Mosby Woods was Established”

The neighborhood of Mosby Woods, named after Confederate Col. John S. Mosby, was designed and built around a Civil War theme. The theme extended from the house plans to the street names. These range from the names of people and battle sites to general military terms. Here’s a list of all the streets in MosbyContinue reading “What’s in a name: streets of Mosby Woods”

As our neighborhood explores our relationship with our street and community names, the Community Forward team has researched and written about topics deemed contextually relevant. This blog post is the second in a two-part series providing a very brief summary of the civil war. Read Part 1: A Fight Over Slavery and explore more contextContinue reading “Civil War Summary, Part 2: Major Battles”

As our neighborhood explores our relationship with our street and community names, the Community Forward team has researched and written about topics deemed contextually relevant. This blog post is the first in a two-part series providing a very brief summary of the civil war. Read Part 2: Major Battles and explore more context posts onContinue reading “Civil War Summary, Part 1: A Fight Over Slavery”

The mid-20th century was a time of rapid change in the Washington, DC suburbs. The booming post-war economy and explosive growth in the Federal Government brought many thousands of new residents to the area each year. As a result of this growth, the population of the Town of Fairfax exploded from 1,946 in 1950 toContinue reading “How Mosby Woods Came To Be”

John Singleton Mosby was a father, a lawyer, a soldier, and a diplomat.  He was born on December 6, 1833 in Powhatan County, Virginia.  Mosby studied at Hampden Sydney College beginning in 1847 and later attended the University of Virginia. He was expelled from UVA after being convicted of unlawful shooting and spent time inContinue reading “Who Was Colonel John Mosby?”

  Did you know that street names in Fairfax have changed from time to time? In 2004 the City changed the name of Lee Hwy. (Rt. 50 & Rt. 29) to Fairfax Blvd. as part of a rebranding effort. The City also changed Rebel Run to Lion Run in June 2020. This change coincided withContinue reading “The history and process of renaming streets in the City of Fairfax”