Fairfax Station, VA

Fairfax Station’s name survives from a railroad stop, but the modern census place spreads across 9.08 square miles of western Fairfax County. Its population was 12,420 in the 2020 census. The Orange and Alexandria Railroad established the stop in 1851, first calling it Lee’s Station; a post office followed in 1852, and St. Mary of Sorrows Catholic Church was built beginning in 1858 for a growing community of Irish railroad workers. During the evacuation after the Second Battle of Bull Run in 1862, Clara Barton and three assistants cared for wounded soldiers at St. Mary’s and helped prepare them for trains departing from the station. The original depot closed in 1973, but a volunteer group preserved a successor station as the Fairfax Station Railroad Museum, where exhibits and programs connect the rail line, Civil War evacuation, and Barton’s work. The present-day community also sits among several large public recreation areas.

Burke Lake Park covers 888 acres around its lake and supports a 4.7-mile loop, fishing, boating, camping, disc golf, picnic areas, and seasonal attractions including a miniature train and carousel. Lake Mercer provides a smaller 43-acre water body with an approximately 3.5-mile, mostly paved circuit used for walking, cycling, and fishing; its trail connections reach the South Run stream valley. South Run Rec Center adds an indoor pool, fitness rooms, courts, classes, and camps nearby. On the Occoquan Reservoir, the 1,993-acre Fountainhead Regional Park opens another part of Fairfax Station to paddling, fishing, hiking, mountain biking, and equestrian travel. Fountainhead is also one end of the 19.7-mile Bull Run Occoquan Trail. Historic interpretation at the railroad museum and outdoor recreation in county and regional parks provide the principal shared destinations across this dispersed community.