Located in northwestern Fairfax County adjacent to the Loudoun County line, the Town of Herndon was once in the heart of one of Virginia's most important dairy farming regions. Until the 1960's it remained a relatively quiet country village, largely free of the hustle and bustle of it's more urban neighbors to the east. It's history is part of the history of colonial and post-revolutionary America.

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.

The tracks of the Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad came through the area around 1857 and led to a surge in Herndon's development. Residents requested that a post office be located at the railroad station and then met to select a name for their town. One resident who was the survivor of a sidewheel steamer named "Central America".She sank after 3 days and nights of fighting a hurricane off the Carolinas. The ship's captain, William Lewis Herndon, went down with the ship. The story appealed to the gathering and it was decided to name the town after the heroic captain. The name "Herndon" was accepted by the Post Office Department and the post office was officially opened on July 13, 1858.

In the late nineteenth century Herndon residents enjoyed gathering on the platform of the railroad station to "sing songs to the accompaniment of banjos and while away the twilight hours," in the words of former town resident Lottie Dyer Schneider (1879-1967), author of "Memories of Herndon, Virginia."

At the time it was incorporated in 1879, the Town of Herndon encompassed 4.25 square miles and had begun to enjoy a new kind of trade thanks to the railroad: city families looking for a country vacation. As a result several spacious summer houses were built in the town and it was noted that "as an aftermath of the advent of good roads and modern conveniences, another invasion of Herndon took place," in part the result of the general popularity of escape from the crowded cities.

The railroad continued to be the economic backbone of the Herndon area well into the twentieth century. But as the highway system was steadily improved and as truck and auto transport became more dependable, the railroad's importance began to decline. Commuters could drive to work and farmers and merchants could use trucks to deliver their goods.

The last major job for the single-line railroad, then operated by the Washington and Old Dominion Company, was to haul sand for concrete used to build the runways at Dulles Airport. The last train left Herndon station in 1968.

Although a major fire destroyed sixteen of Herndon's businesses on March 22, 1917, Herndon grew steadily from a small village with little more than a railroad station and post office to a thriving dairy farming center. In the 1960's it began to change and grow once more as the northern Virginia suburbs approached from the east. Herndon is now is a major employment center and offers a wide variety of housing, shopping and services. It's numerous churches, schools, service clubs and organizations work together to maintain a healthy, happy environment for residents, workers and visitors.

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