Town of Vienna, VA
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The Town of Vienna has a long and storied history dating back to the 18th century - a history that involves a name change, brushes with Civil War armies, a vibrant Black community, and even spies.
Despite the many changes that have occurred since Vienna became a Town more than 125 years ago, it has retained a sense of pride in its community and history. Several historic properties have been preserved, and Historic Vienna, Inc. works to enhance a spirit of community by providing awareness of Vienna’s past.
The original Fairfax County Courthouse, built around 1742 near the present-day Tysons, likely marked the first European settlement in the Vienna area. Street names such as Old Courthouse Road and Lawyers Road still reflect that origin.
Perhaps the first settler within the current Town limits was Col. Charles Broadwater, a prominent colonial soldier and public servant, who owned much of the land in the region and built his home here in 1754. In the 1760s, John Hunter, a native of Ayr County in Scotland, married Broadwater's daughter and built a tobacco plantation in 1767 in what became the Town and called it Ayr Hill after his native county in Scotland. As the village grew, it assumed the name Ayr Hill, by which it was known for nearly 100 years.
In the mid-1800s, unseasonable weather in the north and attractive land values in northern Virginia brought considerable migration to Ayr Hill. Among those immigrants was a family named Hendrick that came to Vienna in 1854. The Hendricks wanted to change the Town’s name to Vienna, after their hometown in upstate New York (which is now Phelps, New York). The change was willingly made, probably because the family owned a lot of land and had become influential in local affairs.
Prior to the arrival of the railroad, Vienna had one main road, known as the Old Georgetown Road, that twisted and turned to avoid mud holes and rocks. The railroad reached Vienna in 1859 and provided the impetus for growth into a real village.
When the Civil War began, Vienna became a camping ground for the two contending forces—switching hands several times. This was a confusing time for residents. It was hard to tell friend from foe, and the area changed hands so often that many families moved away for the duration of the war.
In 1866, Maj. Orrin T. Hine—a Freedmen´s Bureau agent, radical Republican, farmer, and realtor—settled in Vienna. By 1885, he owned a great deal of real estate. In 1890, when the village of 300 people became an incorporated Town, he was elected Vienna´s first mayor. He remained in that post until his death in 1899.
Hine also was a leading advocate of public education and testified in favor of the state public school law of 1870. In 1867, the first Black public school, which also served as a Baptist church, was established in Vienna. The first public school for White students was built in 1872.
In the 1870s, the number of churches increased: A Presbyterian church was built in 1874, then a Methodist church in 1890, and an Episcopal church in 1896. Citizens began to speak of the street as “Church Street,” as we know it today.
In 1881, Howard Money founded an undertaking business. Today, Money and King Funeral Home remains Vienna's oldest continuous business.
The Vienna Volunteer Fire Department is the oldest in Fairfax County. Founded by Leon Freeman, it started in 1903 with a small hand-drawn chemical engine that was housed under Mr. Freeman´s porch to prevent it from freezing in cold weather.
The horse and buggy days waned with the turn of the century. A trolley line came in 1903, providing hourly transportation to and from Washington, D.C. This quickly gave way to the automobile age. The first car owned in Town was Mr. Freeman's Franklin in 1904, and the speed limit was 12 mph.
By 1940, Vienna was still a small, quiet, rural town with a population of 1,237. It remained virtually untouched by the metropolitan character of the nation's capital. But the post-World War II rush to the suburbs brought a burgeoning population to Northern Virginia. That growth included nearly 10,000 new residents to Vienna alone and spurred establishment of the Town’s water and waste water (sewer) systems in the late 1940s. New homes began blending with those of an earlier era. The Town continued to take on a new look when in the 1950s many businesses started to move from the old commercial section on Church Street to Maple Avenue.
In 1954, the first of Vienna's modern shopping centers was opened. More shopping centers followed in quick succession along a widened Maple Avenue in an attempt to keep up with the influx of newcomers who bought homes in the Town's new subdivisions. Older residents recall with nostalgia the Victorian homes and maple trees that lined Maple Avenue before it was widened in 1958.
Other dates of note in Vienna’s history
1897 | Town’s first library established |
1920 | First Town Hall and bank built |
1940 | Annual Halloween Parade started |
1966 | Vienna Community Center opened |
1971 | Patrick Henry Library opened |
1974 | First Walk on the Hill event held in Windover Heights Historic District |
1984 | First ViVa! Vienna held |
1986 | First Metro station opened |
2001 | Vienna area resident and spy Robert Hanssen, who used several area parks as “dead drop” sites to provide information to his Russian handlers, was arrested |
The Freeman Store & Museum, constructed in 1859 and now operated by Historic Vienna, Inc. (HVI), and Bowman House, Vienna’s first school built in 1890 and now a pottery and art studio for the Town, are two of the most prominent historic structures in the Town of Vienna. But approximately two dozen other properties, including private residences, public buildings, and cemeteries, have been recognized by the Town as a historic property; see the list of properties below.
Residents are encouraged to register historic properties.
For more detail on specific properties and how to research historic Vienna properties, visit Historic Vienna’s website. HVI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, who in addition to educating and enhancing community, is dedicated to preserving and promoting knowledge of Vienna’s heritage through the identification, preservation, and interpretation of historically significant places, events, and persons. HVI operates the Freeman Store and Museum and the Town's historic Little Library.
Vienna’s recognized historic properties
Bowman House
211 Center Street S
Broadwater Cemetery
Corner of Tapawingo Road and Frederick Street SW
Civil War Fortification at the American Legion
330 Center Street N
Freeman Store and Museum
131 Church Street NE
Joseph Berry House
200 Church Street NE
Knights of Columbus
214 Lawyers Road NW
Lynn Street Cemetery and Hunter Cemetery
1008 and 1010 Lynn Street SW
Louise Archer Elementary School
324 Nutley Street
Money and King Funeral Home
171 Maple Avenue W
Moorefield Cemetery
Tapawingo Road SW
Moorefield House
900 Tapawingo Road SW
Little Library (Original Vienna Library)
Mill Street NE
Private Residence
200 Walnut Lane NW
Private Residence
211 Walnut Lane NW
Private Residence
214 Nutley Street NW
Private Residence
223 Walnut Lane NW
Private Residence
307 Windover Avenue NW
Private Residence
308 East Street NE
Private Residence
309 Windover Avenue NW
Private Residence
331 Lewis Street NW
Private Residence
403 Creek Crossing Road NE
Private Residence
720 Center Street S
Private Residence
417 Park Street SE
Private Residence
131 Wade Hampton Drive SW
Private Residence
131 Courthouse Road SW
Salsbury Spring
Corner of Lawyers Road and Windover Avenue NW
Sons and Daughters Cemetery
Orchard Street NW
Vienna Elementary School
128 Center Street S
Vienna Railroad Station
231 Dominion Road NE
West End Cemetery
Lewis Street NW
Historic Vienna, Inc. (HVI) was established by Town Council in 1976 and is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation dedicated to:
- preserving and promoting knowledge about Vienna’s heritage through identification, preservation, and interpretation of historically significant places, events, and persons
- educating the public through permanent and revolving exhibits, outreach programs, and publications
- enhancing a spirit of community through an awareness of Vienna’s past.
Historic Vienna programs and activities
Historic Vienna, Inc. programs and activities include:
- sponsor traditional community events enhancing Vienna’s small town atmosphere (e.g., visits with Santa, Church Street Stroll, Walk on the Hill, traditional Afternoon Teas)
- living exhibits that illustrate the way people lived (e.g., reenactments, demonstrations, entertainment)
- the Freeman Store - experience a historic country store selling Virginia crafts, Vienna souvenirs, pottery, decorative gifts, local history books, and old-fashioned toys and candy
- museum exhibits highlighting our history and guided tours of the historic Little Library, Freeman Store, and current museum exhibits
- encourage preservation of Vienna’s history, historic sites, and artifacts (operate Freeman Store and Little Library, museum exhibits, antiques appraisals, oral and written histories, preservation award, Vienna's histories register)
Be part of a community that is passionate about local history by becoming an HVI member.
Train depot
Built in 1859, the Vienna Depot, located at 231 Dominion Road NE, has been home since 1977 to the Northern Virginia Model Railroaders Club. From 1-5 pm on the third Saturday of most months and during some of the Town’s most popular events, the club hosts an open house, inviting the community to come in and see its HO-scale depiction of the Western North Carolina Railroad (WNC) that ran from Salisbury to Asheville.
The NOVA Model Railroaders Club says: “At our open houses, visitors can observe realistic train movements as small switcher engines move cars around Spencer Yard to assemble trains. Each train is then connected to a larger locomotive that then rolls down the mainline track to other rail centers in distant towns, finally arriving in Asheville at the end of the day. At each town, WNC trains will drop off and pick up cars using procedures and following train orders just like the real WNC did back in the 1950s.”
The Vienna Depot was constructed by the Alexandria, Loudoun & Hampshire Railroad, predecessor of the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Railway. It served the Town for 109 years until 1968 when the W&OD ceased operation.
Red caboose
Unveiled as part of the Town of Vienna’s 100th anniversary celebration in 1990, the Red Caboose is a reminder of the importance of the railroad industry in Vienna’s history. Plus, kids just love climbing on the caboose, located along Church Street across from the Freeman Store and Museum.
Currently maintained by the Optimist Club of Greater Vienna, the caboose is open from 1-5 pm the third Saturday of most months and during some of the Town’s most popular events.
Operated by Historic Vienna, Inc., the Freeman Store and Museum brings visitors into a historic country store that allows an opportunity to step back in time and experience what general stores in Virginia once looked like. The gift shop sells a variety of exclusive hand-crafted gifts for the home, specializing in Vienna- and Virginia-themed items, pottery, and hand-painted wooden ornaments of historic Vienna buildings. The store also carries books on local history written by local authors, children’s books and toys, puzzles, a wide assortment of stationery, postcards, souvenirs, old-fashioned candy, and cold drinks. In addition, the Used Book Cellar, located in the basement, is a popular spot for local bibliophiles.
The museum, located primarily on the second floor, features rotating exhibits related to Virginia and Town of Vienna history. Occasionally, traditional teas and parlor talks are hosted at the museum. For information about current exhibits and events, visit Historic Vienna, Inc.
History
The Freeman Store and Museum has seen a great deal of history over its many evolutions. Built in 1859, and originally known as the Lydecker Store, the store/house also served as a hospital and offices for both Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War. In the late 1800s, the family business/house was handed down to Leon Lydecker Freeman, who continued to operate the store until 1929. Descendants continued to use the building for their insurance company and home into the 1950s.
In 1969, the building was sold to the Town of Vienna by Leon Freeman’s daughter, and in 1976, as a United States Bicentennial project, the Town of Vienna restored the building to its earlier appearance. Since then, the Freeman Store and Museum has been operated by Historic Vienna, Inc. volunteers.
In 2011, the Freeman Store and Museum was included on the Virginia Landmarks Register by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. The U.S. National Park Service listed the Freeman Store on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.