The Preservation of History in Fairfax County, Virginia presents an overview of one urban county's efforts to retain its historic and archaeological sites in the face of increasing developmental pressures during the past thirty-five years. It provides a thorough review of historical development in the county as well as practical guidance on how decisions were developed. Written by two distinguished historians, Ross and Nan Netherton, who were part of the process from the beginning, this study presents a perspective which only familiarity with its successes and failures can bestow. This book is both a historical survey and a "how-to" manual for government officials and preservationists.

The book presents a profile of Fairfax County, Virginia, in 1960, on the brink of change. It describe the cultural landscape of the past to help us understand and appreciate the present. Replete with maps, aerial photos, and historical images, it portrays Fairfax County as it transitioned from a largely diary farming economy to a community of post-World War II residential subdivisions, then to an Edge City. In 1960, There were only limited retail opportunities in the county--mostly neighborhood shopping centers, and restaurants could serve only beer and wine--no hard liquor. The Capital Beltway and Dulles Airport were under construction but not yet open. Tysons Corner was only a figment in the imagination of a few investors, and Robert E. Simon, Jr. had not yet seen the land that was to become Reston. In June 1960 chain restaurants in Fairfax County desegregated, and African Americans could eat alongside whites. The first African American students entered previously all-white Fairfax County schools in the fall of the year. Freight trains still ran on the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) line but only for a few more years. Fairfax Hospital was under construction but not yet open. The City of Fairfax had just acquired the land for what would be named George Mason University, but construction would not start for three more years. In so many ways, the County was on the cusp of dramatic change.