Fairfax History

Brought to life

an untold

story

The free Black population of Fairfax Court House dates to at least the 1820s. After the Civil War, newly freed Black citizens expanded the hamlet of Jermantown dramatically. Additional segregated neighborhoods, including School Street, which overlapped today’s George Mason University, and Ilda, off Guinea Road, grew and thrived. In the second half of the nineteenth century, residents built schools, churches, and a cemetery. These families persevered under Jim Crow in the early twentieth century. After incorporation, the city of Fairfax annexed these historically Black localities, and their separate character began to disappear. This group of authors with deep roots in Fairfax tells the stories of their communities.

Authors: Etta Willson, Rita Colbert, Linneall Naylor, Rondia Prescott, Jenee Lindner

I am grateful to the many contributors who made this important work of scholarship possible.

Catherine S. Read, Mayor, City of Fairfax, VA July 2023

award winning team

Meet The authors

Etta Willson

Etta Willson is a longtime genealogist and poetic writer about her family and her ancestors. She was raised in these communities and has been a source of documentation for much of the book. She and Linneall Naylor give outstanding family history lectures.

Rita Colbert

Rita Colbert is the Fairfax City Black community photo acquisitions coordinator, receiving photo albums after friends and family pass away. She was raised in these communities and really helped bring the book to life. She and Rondia Prescott make well-researched historical Black Fairfax community storyboards and displays.

Linneall Naylor

Linneall Naylor is president of the Jermantown Cemetery Preservation Society and FCPS teacher. She was raised in Washington D.C. but returned to the Fairfax area to find her roots. Her expertise and excellent speaking skills are well known in genealogy circles. She and Etta Willson give outstanding family history lectures.

Rondia Prescott

Rondia Prescott is vice-president of the Jermantown Cemetery Preservation Society and Fairfax County Public Schools SAC program assistant director. She was a raised in these communities. She and Rita Colbert make well-researched historical Black Fairfax community storyboards and displays. Her genealogical collection speaks to her passion for family history.

Jenee Lindner

Jenee Lindner is a Fairfax County historian, County History commissioner, and longtime resident of Fairfax County. She gives well-regarded Fairfax City/County historical lectures and county-wide tours. She is a longtime genealogist and has also found family roots in these communities.