Tours and Educational Programs

Private Guided Tours:  Adult groups and educational programs for students or scouts are available for a fee. All tours are tailored for group needs, educational standards, and interests. Tours require advanced reservations. To arrange educational programs or tours of city-owned historic buildings email Susan.gray@fairfaxva.gov or call 703.385.8415.

Historic Walking Tours: Historic Fairfax City, Inc. (HFCI) walking tours of Old Town Fairfax for 2019 will be held on Saturdays June 8, August 10, September 14. The tours start at 10 am in front of the Historic Fairfax Courthouse located at 4000 Chain Bridge Road, Fairfax, Virginia, weather permitting and last about 90 minutes. Free parking is across the street in the Bank of America parking lot. Call 703.385.8414 for reservations. For more information on HFCI please click here.

The city has published a free self-guided walking tour brochure, "Courting History," that provides a brief history of the city and noteworthy buildings in the Old Town Fairfax Historic District. This brochure is available from the Fairfax Museum and Visitor Center, 10209 Main Street, or call 703.385.8414.  See Map of History.

Fairfax Museum and Visitor Center "Second Sunday" Program

Programs are held at 2 p.m. on the second Sunday of each month. Unless otherwise noted, programs are held at the Fairfax Museum and Visitor Center, 10209 Main Street. Free (unless otherwise noted). Check back to find out about additional programs planned throughout the year. Information: 703.385.8414.

2019

Sunday, February 10 -POSTPONED to Sunday , February 24 due to Illness.

Fairfax Museum and Visitor Center 

"'A Loathsome Prison:' Slave Trading in Antebellum Alexandria"

Independent scholar Caridad de la Vega will present her research on "Freedom House," the Antebellum Franklin and Armfield Slave Trading Pen in Alexandria. 

Sunday, March 10 - PLEASE NOTE LOCATION:: Fairfax City Hall Council Chambers**

"Suffragists in Washington, D.C.: The 1913 Parade and the Fight for the Vote"                     Book talk, sale, and signing with author Rebecca Boggs Roberts. Co-sponsored by the City of Fairfax Commission for Women.  FREE  **Address: 10455 Armstrong Street, Fairfax, VA 703-385-8414.

Civil War Interpretive Center at Historic Blenheim

Program Series are free and held at 2 p.m. on Saturdays (unless otherwise noted) at the Civil War Interpretive Center at Historic Blenheim, 3610 Old Lee Highway.  703.591.0560.  

2019

Saturday, February 23 - Historic Blenheim

"Elizabeth Thomas:  The Free Black Landowner of Ft. Stevens,"

Living historian Donise Stevens will present the remarkable life of Elizabeth Thomas whose land in a free black community in upper NW Washington. D.C., was taken to build Ft. Stevens, one of the defense fortifications surrounding the United States Capital City.   

Ranger Kenya Finley, with the National Park Service,  will follow with a presentation of the "Battle of Ft. Stevens," a Confederate campaign launched by General Jubal A. Early on July 11-12, 1864 against Washington, D.C.

 Saturday, March 23 - Historic Blenheim

"A Cruel Life in and Uncivil TIme: Julia Wilbur's Struggle for Freedom"

Author Paula Tarnapol Whitacre has written an historical narrative of Julia Wilbur, a 47-year-old single woman from Poughkeepsie, New York who as an abolitionist moved to Alexandria, Virginia in 1862 to aid recently escaped slaves  and hospitalized Union soldiers.  Following the Civil War Wilbur moved to Washington, D.C. to work and became involved in the women's suffrage movement.  Though Wilbur's diaries and historical documents Ms. Whitacre has woven together s story of this strong, independent woman who put her beliefs into action.  Book sales and signings will be offered after the presentation.

Saturday, April 27, 10:00am-5:00pm -- Historic Blenheim

Fairfax History Day

Living history spanning the 19th century including, hayrides and pony rides, cow-milking and calf-petting, War of 1812 and Civil War soldier camp life; 
Historic Blenheim House and Gallery Civil War graffiti tours; demonstrations of traditional crafts and skills.

 Saturday, May 18 --Historic Blenheim

"The Eleventh Corps at Chancellorsville: A Reappraisal"

A mired viewpoint held by Civil War buffs is of the Eleventh Army Corps at Chancellorsville throwing down their guns and running away during a surprise attack by Stonewall Jackson.  The event colored the reputation of the corps, and especially its many soldiers of German ancestry, with the label of cowardice.  Based on his newly published history of the Eleventh corps, Jim Pula will present a new interpretation that is quite different and as one reviewer said, "stands conventional wisdom on his head."

Book sales and signing will be offered after the presentation. 

Saturday, June 22 --Historic Blenheim 

"Benjamin Franklin 'Frank' Stringfellow: Severely Tried and Never Found Wanting....“

Frank Stringfellow became famous or infamous--depending on which side you were on--as a noted confederate spy and Scout during the Civil War.  However, his life took many unexpected twists and turns.  Local historian Eric Buckland will follow him from being thought to  be too small for the military to earning a reputation as "the most dangerous man in the Confederacy," through his post-war achievements.

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