City of Fairfax Timeline
1742
Fairfax County created
1800
Fairfax County Courthouse completed
1805
Town of Providence created, later known as Fairfax
1812
Ratcliffe-Allison House built, City's oldest surviving residence
1825
Town founder Richard Ratcliffe dies at age 73
1846
Fairfax News established
1853
Fire destroys Fairfax News and other buildings in center of town
1854-57
Manassas Gap Railroad "Independent Line" begun through town, never completed
1861
Capt. John Quincy Marr shot in skirmish near courthouse, first Confederate officer killed in Civil War
1862
Battle of Chantilly/Ox Hill, Union forces control town
1863
Col. John S. Mosby's nighttime raid captures Union General Edwin Stoughton
1873
Fairfax Elementary School built, first two-story brick school in County
1874
Providence renamed Town of Fairfax
1882
Fairfax Herald established
1887
First telephone service to Fairfax
1899
Second fire in town center destroys several buildings
1900
Old Town Hall built by Joseph E. Willard
1904
Washington, Arlington, and Falls Church Electric Railway completed to Fairfax
1904
Marr monument dedicated
1928
Fairfax Volunteer Fire Department organized
1930
Willcoxon Tavern demolished
1935
Fairfax High School opened
1950-60
17 new developments and three new elementary schools built
1953
Courthouse receives major addition
1961
City of Fairfax incorporated
1964
George Mason College opened
1967
First Independence Day parade
1972
"New" Fairfax High School opened
1980
Cue bus service began
1987
Old town historic district added to National Register of Historic Places
1992
Fairfax Museum & Visitor Center opened
1999
Blenheim estate purchased as historic site
2002
First open space parcels purchased for preservation
2005
Year-long City Bicentennial celebration
2006
Downtown redevelopment project begins
Compiled by City of Fairfax Office of Historic Resources