Fairfax County was formed in 1741. In 1757, the western portion became Loudoun County and in 1798, land in northeastern Fairfax County was given to the District of Columbia. It eventually became part of Arlington County and the City of Alexandria. The County is governed by a Board of Supervisors with 8 members elected by district and a chairman elected at large. They serve concurrent 4 year terms.

Development
From 1750 until 1930, Fairfax County was largely agricultural. The population fluctuated as tobacco farming depleted the soil and the Civil War raged across the county, but it remained small.

In 1930, the population was only 25,000. By 1950 it was close to 100,000. The change was brought about by an increase in federal government programs and bureaus, as well as increased mobility created by the automobile. Many government workers moved to Fairfax County. The government grew during the World War II and for several decades after the war. This growth was accompanied by a growth of service industries.

By the 1970s, growth consisted more of private firms and government contractors eager to have offices near the nation's capital where decisions about their industries were being made.

Fairfax now has 1 million residents and ranges from inner-suburban to low-density suburban communities. The county's large number of jobs attract workers from throughout the region and from within Fairfax. It has some large parks including Great Falls Park, Scott's Run, and Bull Run Regional Park, and numerous community parks. (1)

Transportation
Several roadways have played a role in the development of Fairfax. Completed in 1964, the Beltway (I-495) was touted as a bypass for the District of Columbia. Development sprang up all along it and Tyson's Corner became a major job center. Radial roads such as I-66 and the Dulles Toll Road leading to jobs in the District of Columbia made it more convenient to live in Fairfax and commute to DC. The Toll Road made possible much of the commercial and residential development near Reston. In the 1980s, Route 28 was expanded into a major highway corridor through less developed areas near Dulles Airport. That, too, opened many more acres of land to development.

Rail came later to Fairfax. The Metro system opened in 1976 but it was not until 1983 that the first Metrorail station opened in Fairfax at Huntington. Dunn Loring and Vienna stations opened in 1986 and Franconia-Springfield opened in 1997. (2) Northern Virginia's commuter rail line, Virginia Railway Express, opened in 1992 with several stations in Fairfax. Metrobus and Fairfax Connector also created options for commuters. Unfortunately, many areas are not served by transit or not served regularly. In particular, transit use has been handicapped by a lack of transit-oriented development (TOD) to provide easy access to homes, jobs and shopping. In recent years, TOD has received more attention than in the past and some progress is being made. Rail service to Tyson's Corner and transit-oriented redevelopment of Tyson's is one of the keys to reducing traffic in Fairfax.

Walking and biking are difficult in Fairfax County due to a combination of long-distances between destinations, safety concerns on large roadways and a lack of bike lanes, sidewalks and crosswalks.

More on Fairfax

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Sources:

(1) Fairfax County Convention and Visitor's Bureau. Visit Fairfax: Detailed History of Fairfax County. Available: http://www.visitfairfax.org/detail_history.htm

(2) Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Capsule History of WMATA. Available: http://www.wmata.com/about/history.cfm