With the calendar turning to 2026, local celebrations of America’s 250th birthday will kick into a new gear, leading up to the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence’s signing on July 4.
For residents looking to stay closer to home instead of venturing into D.C. for this week’s light show at the Washington Monument, the Town of Vienna will launch its own semiquincentennial festivities this Sunday (Jan. 4) with a “patriotic celebration” near the Town Green.
After two years of renovations, the first and second floors of George and Martha Washington’s mansion at Mount Vernon reopened to visitors on Wednesday (Dec. 10).
The $40 million preservation project at the first president’s home included designing and installing a new HVAC system, major infrastructure repairs, and improving drainage in and around the mansion’s cellar, and Washington’s newly restored bedroom.
Emmy and Grammy Award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns unveiled his latest documentary series, “The American Revolution,” at George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate on Wednesday (Oct. 29).
The filmmaker spoke in a panel discussion before sharing an outdoor preview of the new six-part series, which features George Washington and his pivotal role in winning the Revolutionary War. Episodes will air on PBS at 8 p.m. nightly from Nov. 16 to 21.
The historic A. Smith Bowman Distillery building in Reston remains one of the county’s most endangered properties, the Fairfax County History Commission warned leaders in its annual report.
The building, which dates to the 1880s, is among four properties the advisory panel sees as most imperiled, commission chair Gretchen Bulova told the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (Oct. 28).
A historic house in the Wolf Trap area that has previously served as a plantation home and an art studio could soon take on new life once again, thanks to the Fairfax County Park Authority’s Resident Curator Program.
An application submitted through the program this summer proposes to restore not only the vacant Lahey Lost Valley House at 9750 Brookmeadow Drive, but also the trails and parkland surrounding it.
A new PBS documentary is airing this weekend, and it features Northern Virginia’s own Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail.
Set to be broadcast on WETA Metro, the local public television station, “From Rails to Trails” highlights the decades-long struggle to transform abandoned railroad tracks into public trails. The film was adapted from Peter Harnik’s 2021 book of the same name.
The many interests and accomplishments that shaped George F. Kain Jr.’s life were united by a genuine desire to help others and make the world around him a better place, his family says.
Kain, who died at his longtime home in Reston on Sept. 20 at the age of 90, was driven by a commitment to service, whether he was developing defensive plans for the U.S. Navy, helping shape Reston in its earliest years or even supporting emergency response teams with the telecommunications company Sprint.
A Fairfax County residential community built primarily for middle-class African American families in the 1960s and 1970s has been officially recognized by Virginia as a historic property.
William H. Randall Estates is one of 10 new inclusions on the Virginia Landmarks Register approved by members of the Virginia Board of Historic Resources at their Sept. 18 meeting.
A new historical marker recognizes Louise Archer, a groundbreaking Vienna teacher and principal, outside of the elementary school that bears her name.
Current students, educators, community members and former students of Archer gathered at Louise Archer Elementary School on Saturday (Sept. 6) to celebrate the marker’s unveiling.
The VA250 Mobile Museum, a hands-on museum on wheels, is heading to southeastern Fairfax County for Labor Day weekend.
The museum is an interactive exhibit that highlights Virginia history as part of the country’s 250th anniversary. It will stop by Gunston Hall (10709 Gunston Road) in Lorton from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Sunday, Aug. 31 through Tuesday, Sept. 2, according to Visit Fairfax, a nonprofit organization that promotes Fairfax County as a tourism destination.
