Evening star., 1915-11-28

place for settlement selected the penin-
creek as a site which could be success
fully defended against the savages
who seem to have been numerous in
northeastern Virginia until about 1890
after which time they were forced back
to the Allegheny country. Across the
upper end of this peninsula it would
have been easy to construct a palisade
while on all the other sides broad water
afforded protection.
The settlers in that section must very
early have entered upon the cultiya-
ton of tobacco. for there is a record
that in 7730 a tobacco warehouse, and
perhaps more than one tobacco ware
house, was erected at the town. 1t is
said that before the American revolu-
ton the fiat lands between Washing
ton and Hunting creek and between the
Arlington hills and the river were noted
for their lack of fertility, and there are
some historians and antiquarians who
attribute this impoverishment of the
soil to the long and steady cultivation
of tobacco on those lands by Howsen's
settlers, though it is matter of rec
ord that Howsen sold the land granted
to him to the Alexander family soon
after he had obtained the patent.
II is believed that the first county
seat of Fairfax county was Colchester
That was quite a flourishing colonial
town during the period when Dumfries.
on %uaHlico creek, ana PlScataWay, IN
Maryland, were thriving cities Col
chester was on the kings highway and
on Occoquan creek. the old highway be-
tween the north and the south crossing
that creek near where it is now
spanned by the railroad bridge Near
by Colchester were the iron foundries
of John Ballentine-foundries that
were turned into cannon and cannon
ball plants for the supply of munitions
to the continental army and other troops
fighting the cause of the colonies
against Great Britain
There were two celebrated colonial
taverns at Colchester. one the Cross
Keys and the other the Fairfax Arms
Today Colchester is very small ham,
let The reason why Colchester is be-
lieved to have been the first seat of
Fairfax county is that there is no men,
ton in known records of any earlier
county seat, and there is a record which
tells of the removal of the county court
from Colchester to point near Tyson
Cross Roads, something over a mile from
Vienna
The court of Fairfax county was re-
moved to what has grown into Fairfax
village in 1880, just before Congress
took over the control of the city of
Alexandria (then the county seaD un-
der the act creating the District OF Co
lumbia.
There has been a serious loss of rec
ords of early Fairfax county, and there
are a number of historical difficulties
relating to the various county seats
Near Tyson Cross Roads is hill which
is called Freedom hill. The legend is
that after the removal of the county
seat from Colchester the courthouse
was erected on this hill, and that
around that courthouse grew up a set
tlement of lawyers offices, doctors Of
fees, stores, taverns and few dwell
ings.
But on that land today there does not
remain vestige of ruins to suggest
that a court village once stood there
though persons whose memories go far
back beyond the civil war recall that
bricks We're scattered over the land as
though brick structure had been de-
stroyed by fire. The story is that one
of the important and stirring events in
the pre-revolutionary contest between
the colonies and the mother country
known as the Fairfax resolutions were
adopted on Freedom hill in July. 1874.
In March, 1864, the British parlia-
ment passed the "declaratory act" by
which it was maintained Ito be proper
to impose certain stamp duties in the
revenue in America payable into the
British exchequer." The stamp act re-
ceived the royal signature March ~.
1865. AS probably every American
knows. the stamp act was found to be
inoperable, and was repealed, though
the principles involved were still main
tanned by the British government.
Then came the revenue act, laying
duties on tea. glass. paper, etc. The re-
suit of this in Virginia was the organi-
zation of the Non-importatton Associa-
tion, with a committee active in each
county Maryland was also hostile, and
a committee of the Non-importation
Association was busy in every county
in that colony.
One of the early meetings to take ac-
tion looking to the safety OF the COL
onies was held in Fairfax courthouse.
and there is disagreement as to
whether the courthouse was then in
Alexandria or on Freedom hill, near
Tyson Cross Roads, George Washing
ton was chairman of the Fairfax meet
ing, and George Mason of Gunston
Hall, who had drawn up the non-im-
portation resolutions. which George
Washington presented to the Virginia
assembly, drafted the Fairfax resolu-
tions. These resolutions were twenty
four in number. and they set forth the
grievances of the colonies and mapped
out a program Of non-intercourse with
England, while they advocated the
necessity of calling congress for the
further guidance of the colonies In
their resistance to the usurpauons py
the English crown.
Wh. Eairfax meeting named the fol-