Herndon Middle School

The Virginia General Assembly first convened on July 30, 1619, making it the oldest legislative body in North America. Among it's administrative tasks was the formation of counties (often further subdivided into parishes), the establishment of county courts, and the planning and building of a colony-wide road system.

In 1649 King Charles II of England granted a large tract of land known as the Northern Neck Proprietary to seven noblemen. The grant, later to be known as the Fairfax Proprietary, consisted of more than five million acres situated between the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers. One of the noblemen, Thomas, Lord Culpeper, eventually acquired the entire tract. Upon his death the land passed to his widow Margaret, who bequeathed it to her widowed daughter Catherine, Lady Fairfax. Upon the death of Lady Fairfax the tract was inherited by her son Thomas, Sixth Lord Fairfax, Baron of Cameron. He sailed to colonial America to view the property and was so impressed that he returned to England, disposed of his holdings there and in Scotland and returned in 1747 to make his home in America, where he remained until his death.

During the years between 1653 and 1730 Prince William, Westmoreland and Stafford counties were established within the Northern Neck Proprietary. Truro Parish became Fairfax County in 1742 after the election of William Fairfax, cousin of Thomas Fairfax, to the General Assembly as a burgess. The county's first courthouse was located at Freedom Hill near the present location of Tyson's Corner. It was subsequently moved to Alexandria because of the presence of a band of unfriendly Indians who had crossed the Potomac River into Virginia from Maryland.

As early as 1716 British explorer John Fontaine described the area of land that would become Fairfax County as having "the largest timber, deepest mold, and the best grass I ever did see." English settlers later established large tobacco plantations throughout the area.

Mills for grinding wheat and corn into flour and livestock feed appeared in the Herndon area in the 1700's, and one was said to be located "here in the hollow where the stream used to run," between the present locations of Locust and Elden streets. Grain was an important commodity to local farmers and soon after the arrival of the mills several stores appeared to serve the farmers' needs. This was the beginning of the small community that would become Herndon.

Roads in the early years consisted of muddy cart tracks in which carts and wagons often sank up to the axles. Communication was almost non-existent since there was no rural mail service. Mills and stores were important, therefore, as collection and dissemination points for local and regional news.