Who we are The Burke Historical Society is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization whose goal is to preserve the history of Burke through the collection of photographs and artifacts, through publications, through research into the people, places and customs of many eras, and through living history. BHS works to protect local Burke history through maintenance of its artifacts, buildings and cemeteries.
Burke History Day 2014 October 11, 2014 10AM to 4PM
“Founding Father� of Burke, Virginia Colonel Silas Burke Born in 1796, Silas Burke served as a Colonel in the State Militia, State Director of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad Company, President of the Fairfax Agricultural Society and the Fairfax Turnpike Company, and superintendent of the Primary School System for Educating the Indigent Children of Fairfax County. He was a county judge and sheriff, and owned a gristmill and a lumber mill. He applied for a license for a house of public entertainment, just before he died in 1854.
Contact Us
Burke Station, Burke, Virginia
Web: www.burkehistoricalsociety.org
Burke Historical Society Burke, Virginia
2nd
BREAKING NEWS ANNUAL BURKE HISTORY DAY
Burke, VA – The Burke Historical Society will be holding Burke History Day on Saturday, October 11, 2014. The event will take place in Downtown Burke at Burke Volunteer Fire and Rescue, 9501 Old Burke Lake Road, Burke, VA 22015.
Exhibits will include: Paths to Roads to Highways From the earliest days of settlement, roads were critical to the lives and commerce of this area. Rolling Road and Ox Road owe their very names to the use of those roads to pull hogsheads of tobacco, by oxen, to Colchester and to market. The area’s roads were notorious for its knee-high mud.
This year’s Burke History Day will feature exhibits, activities, presentations, and children’s activities about the diverse types of transportation that have played a role in the settlement and day-to-day life from pre-Colonial to present time. Visitors will learn about railroads and steam engines, bi-planes and jet runways, buggies and early automobiles, subways and canal boats. Children (and adults) will enjoy testing their sleuthing skills with our History Detective game, tracking down the answers to questions about local history. Special to Burke History Day each year is the attendance of Col. Silas Burke and Joshua and Huldah Coffer, local historical residents of this area, represented in period-attired local residents. The event is free and open to the public and is in conjunction with the Burke Volunteer Fire Department’s Annual Open House.
Locator Map
Rails and Railroads The 1850s spawned a significant change to the area, with the coming of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad (O&ARR). Col. Silas Burke, State Director, O&ARR, is the namesake for this area because of his efforts in bringing the rail through Pohick Creek Valley.
Fight against the Airport 1951 was a critical year for the Burke area. The Federal government had determined that rural agricultural Burke was the perfect place for the new Dulles International Airport. Through effort and determination, Burke was preserved as a community for the homes you see today.