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Fairfax history
Fairfax company history timeline
Monday, April 21, 1800 First meeting of the Fairfax County Court in the 3rd Courthouse (Fairfax)
Sunday, February 14, 1802 Potowmack Canal around Great Falls opens
On January 14, 1805, the Virginia General Assembly established the Town of Providence on 14 acres of Ratcliffe’s land surrounding the new courthouse.
Saturday, October 11, 1806 First stretch of the Little River Turnpike opened
Sunday, April 27, 1817 Pohick Church Post Office Established
Wednesday, January 08, 1823 Dranesville Post Office Established
Monday, February 27, 1832 Chantilly Post Office Established
Wednesday, December 27, 1837 Annandale Post Office Established
Tuesday, February 07, 1843 Town of Alexandria becomes a City by Act of the Virginia General Assembly
Thursday, October 01, 1846 William Garges conveys lot on Columbia Pike to the (Annandale) Methodist Church
Monday, October 26, 1846 Langley Post Office Established
Thursday, May 03, 1849 Accotink Post Office Established
Tuesday, April 22, 1851 Peach Grove Post Office Established at what will later be Tysons Corner
Monday, March 08, 1852 Burke’s Station Post Office Established
Monday, June 08, 1857 Ayr Hill Post Office established
Tuesday, July 13, 1858 Herndon Post Office Established
Tuesday, July 10, 1860 Hunter’s Mill Post Office Established
Tuesday, July 02, 1861 First Battle of Manassas (Bull Run)
Monday, December 02, 1861 Confederate Cavalry attacks Union troops stationed at Annandale, killing 1 and capturing 14
In an audacious raid led by Confederate Colonel John S. Mosby in March of 1863, Stoughton was captured while he slept in a house which now belongs to Truro Episcopal Church.
Thursday, July 30, 1863 West Ford dies, former slave of George Washington who owned 214 acre Gum Spring Farm
Also in 1863, Antonia Ford, whose girlhood home was the Ford Building on Chain Bridge Road, was imprisoned as a Southern spy after being accused of aiding Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart.
Thursday, March 10, 1864 Joseph C. Willard and Antonia Ford married at the Metropolitan Hotel, Washington, D. C.
Saturday, March 18, 1865 Freedman’s Relief Association formed to assist ex-slaves in the south
Thursday, June 30, 1870 Lincolnia Post Office Established
Monday, July 25, 1870 First Meeting of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
Sunday, September 18, 1870 Thomas Moore named first Superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools
Tuesday, March 30, 1875 Town of Falls Church Incorporated
Saturday, December 11, 1875 Lorton Post Office Established
Tuesday, February 12, 1878 Bull Run Post Office Established
Tuesday, January 14, 1879 Act to Incorporate the Town of Herndon
Wednesday, September 19, 1883 Vale Post Office Established
Friday, July 02, 1886 The Fairfax Herald announces the formation of the Independent Order of Good Templars in Annandale (All genders and ethnicities were accepted)
Tuesday, February 25, 1890 Town of Vienna Incorporated
Thursday, May 22, 1890 Merrifield Post Office Established
Tuesday, February 16, 1892 Town of Fairfax Incorporated
Wednesday, February 09, 1898 Town of Wiehle Incorporated by Act of the Virginia General Assembly
Friday, May 13, 1898 Camp Russell A. Alger open at Falls Church, Va.
Monday, March 10, 1902 Town of Clifton Incorporated by Act of the Virginia General Assembly
Thursday, September 15, 1904 Federal soldiers pass through Fairfax on their way to war games held at Manassas (@25,000 U. S. Army and National Guard troops replicated the strategic maneuvers of the 2nd Battle of Manassas as crowds of sightseers look observe)
Wednesday, March 07, 1906 Washington & Old Dominion Railroad begins operation to Difficult Run, near Great Falls
Monday, July 11, 1910 U. S. Army Corps of Engineers purchases former Belvoir estate.
Tuesday, September 28, 1920 Annandale Grange organized (Unit #737 of the Patrons of Husbandry)
Wednesday, September 06, 1922 First meeting of the Fairfax County School Board
Wednesday, February 01, 1939 BOS votes $250 to fund the countywide library system
Monday, July 01, 1940 Fairfax County Police Department formed
In 1945, for the first time in its history, a minority of Fairfax residents lived on farms.
Friday, May 09, 1947 Burke Communities Civic Association formed
Prior to its founding, other Fairfax County fairs existed dating back to the 1700’s, but by the 1950’s, all had disappeared.
Wednesday, June 13, 1951 U. S. Department of Justice posts a notice at the Burke Post Office announcing its intention to condemn 4520 ac. to build an international airport for Washington, D. C.
Thursday, August 06, 1953 BOS approves the first land purchase for parks in Fairfax County
Wednesday, September 01, 1954 Luther Jackson H. S. opens.
Thursday, October 4, 1956 Seven Corners Shopping Center is dedicated and becomes the first major shopping center to open in suburban Washington, D.C.
Monday, September 23, 1957 University College of the University of Virginia (later George Mason College) opens at Baileys Crossroads
Saturday, December 12, 1959 University College renamed George Mason College
Monday, November 19, 1962 Dulles International Airport opens
Wednesday, September 08, 1965 First day of class for completely desegregated Fairfax County Public Schools
Friday, April 14, 1967 Northern Virginia Community College graduates its first class
Wednesday, September 04, 1968 BOS adopts Fair Housing Ordinance
Monday, March 15, 1971 George J. Kelley, Jr. assumes post of County Executive upon the retirement of Carlton C. Massey
Wednesday, March 01, 1972 George Mason University created by Virginia General Assembly
Monday, September 08, 1975 Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan adopted
Monday, June 21, 1976 Leonard L. Whorton appointed County Executive
Thursday, February 03, 1977 Doctor Edwin B. Henderson dies, Founder Fairfax County Chapter, NAACP
Friday, July 14, 1978 Skyline Shopping Center open, Bailey’s Crossroads
Sunday, May 20, 1979 Reston Community Center opens at Hunters Woods Center
Monday, September 03, 1979 Remnants of Hurricane David drops heavy rains and spawns a tornado that damages Woodson H. S. and several adjacent structures
Monday, August 04, 1980 J. Hamilton Lambert appointed County Executive
When the current Fairfax Fair was created in the 1980’s, it featured a chili cook-off, carnival, and commercial and county government exhibits, and was held at George Mason University.
Wednesday, December 22, 1982 Interstate Route 66 opens between Rte.
Launched as the Fairfax Fair in 1982, the event was created by a blue ribbon commission consisting of elected officials and community leaders who realized that the fast-growing county lacked a unifying event or an established downtown.
The pair established Hamblin Watsa Investment Counsel in 1984.
Founded by Doctor Joseph D. Schulman in 1984 in Fairfax, Virginia, Genetics & IVF Institute is the first clinical and laboratory facility designed from inception to provide fully integrated, comprehensive outpatient services in the areas of human genetics and infertility.
When the company began trading on the market in 1985, shares went for C$3.25.
1985: Now named Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, the company begins trading on the Toronto exchange.
Fairfax Cryobank’s Embryo Storage Program has been storing long-term reproductive specimens since 1986.
By the early-1990’s, it became apparent that George Mason’s growth mirrored that of the Fairfax Fair, and that the needed space was not easily provided.
Saturday, July 04, 1992 Official opening of the Fairfax Museum and Vistors Center
By 1992, Fairfax subsidiaries operated in the areas of property and casualty insurance, investment management, insurance claims management, and life insurance, pulling in revenues of C$286.8 million.
Profit for the year was C$87.5 million, up from C$38.1 million in 1994.
By 1995, a decade into operation, Fairfax consisted of six insurance companies, an investment management firm, a claims adjusting company, and a Bermuda-based reinsurer.
Eric Simpson, vice-president in A.M. Best's property/casualty division, told National Underwriter in March 1996, "Generally, and almost without exception, Fairfax has taken solid properties and turned up the performance several notches."
Saturday, June 08, 1996 BOS holds its first meeting in the Fairfax County Government Center
Monday, October 28, 1996 William J. Leidiger fired as County Executive.
Fairfax stock began a dizzying climb when Watsa purchased Skandia America Reinsurance Corp., a major United States property-casualty reinsurer, in early 1996.
In 1996, Faxfair Corporation changed their name to Celebrate Fairfax, Inc. (CFI), to better represent the mission and vision of the organization.
1997: Fairfax is among the world's 20 largest reinsurers.
Fairfax picked up another company in March 1998, Crum & Forster Holdings Inc., an entity Xerox Corporation had been trying to sell for a number of years.
Fairfax moved to restructure its London reinsurance business in May 1999.
Last year, the company reaped $441 million from its conservative portfolio of stocks and bonds," Jonathan Harris explained for Canadian Business in July 1999.
Monday, November 22, 1999 Anthony H. Griffin selected as County Executive, to become effective Jan.
In 1999, storms in Europe produced high catastrophic losses and the bottom dropped out of investment gains.
With more than 44 000 employees, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. is considered one of the top 2000 largest public companies in the world, according to Forbes.
Friday, April 13, 2001 New Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Station 39 (North Point) opened
In 2001, the company lost money for the first time.
On the plus side, Fairfax took Odyssey Re public in 2001, trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
The company reported net income of $264 million in 2002, on revenues of just over $5 billion.
Increased sales activities paid off in 2002.
Cryogenic Laboratories, Inc., the first commercial sperm bank developed in the United States, joined the Genetics & IVF Institute family of Cryobanks in 2002.
In April 2003, Fairfax announced the formation of Northbridge Financial Corp., a vehicle to spin off four Canadian operating companies: Lombard, Commonwealth, Markel, and Federated.
Monday, December 15, 2003 The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the Smithsonian's second air and space Museum, opened
Fairfax's stock price continued to be depressed into early 2003, and was generally trading below $90 per share on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Friday, April 7, 2006 Fairfax City hosts a parade for the George Mason University men's basketball team for making the NCAA's "final four" - a GMU first
In 2006, Fairfax Cryobank’s sibling company, Fairfax EggBank, was launched as part of the popular fresh donor egg program at Genetics & IVF Institute.
Saturday, June 21, 2008 Construction work started on the Virginia "Hot Lanes" project, on the section of Interstate 495, between Springfield and Tysons Corner
Tuesday, April 10, 2012 The Board of Supervisors appoints Edward L. Long Jr. as County Executive effective April 25, 2012
Fairfax Cryobank welcomed Pacific Reproductive Services (PRS) into the Fairfax Cryobank family in 2015.
Friday, January 22, 2016 Winter Storm Jonas drops 30” of snow on Fairfax County
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Fairfax competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colonial | - | $1.0M | 14 | 2 |
| Holbrook Holdings | 2016 | $74,000 | 4 | 30 |
| Silver Lake | 1999 | $450.0M | 100 | 43 |
| Meridian Bank | 2004 | $73.6M | 381 | 78 |
| The White Oak Group | 2002 | $140.0M | 568 | 19 |
| Cranston Municipal Employees Credit Union | 1946 | $1.2M | 49 | - |
| Renaissance Acquisition Holdings | 2010 | $1.0B | 1,774 | 330 |
| North Florida Financial Corporation | - | - | - | - |
| SouthPoint Financial Credit Union | 1936 | $5.8M | 40 | 3 |
| Bank on Southern Utah | 1957 | $8.5M | 210 | - |
Fairfax history FAQs
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