Black Lives Next Door in Fairfax

The grandfather of Wm. Dandridge Smith was West Ford. West Ford was a carpenter and founder of Gum Springs. He was an enslaved mixed-race male who worked on George Washington’s Mount Vernon plantation. While enslaved by Washington he was the caretaker and manager of Mount Vernon plantation. Ford continued to work for the Washington family after he was freed in 1805. It is documented that West worked on the Mount Vernon plantation for about 50 years. West was gifted 160 acres on Little Hunting Creek by Washington’s nephew, Bushrod Washington. Bushrod was considered George Washington’s closest relative and inherited Mount Vernon following George’s death.

         West Ford later sold the land (160 acres gifted by Bushrod) to buy 214 acres in Fairfax Virginia. The land was used to establish what is now known as Gum Springs which is the oldest African American community in Virginia. Due to this, West Ford is known as the “father of Gum Springs”.  The land was named “Gum Springs” by Ford after the gum trees that grew on the William Peake farm that was close to the spring where George Washington’s horses drank. Gum Springs became a sanctuary/refuge for recently freed slaves. A popular means used to get to Gum Springs by these freed slaves was the port of Alexandria. After their arrival, the community members would use the trades that they learned during their enslavement to build a new life and develop a new community. Later, part of that land would be what is known today as the Peake Family cemetery. In 1857, he divided the land between his children, William, Daniel, Jane, and Julia. Dandridge inherited 12 of those acres from his mother, Jane. Two of West’s children stayed in Gum Springs for their whole life. While in Gum Springs, West Ford’s descendants and children established Bethlehem Baptist Church in 1863 and a public school in 1868. Up until 1911, land in Gum Springs, Fairfax, Virginia was still owned by West Ford’s descendants.

[1] “Black History in #FXVA: The Story of Gum Springs,” February 15, 2023. https://www.fxva.com/blog/post/gumsprings/.

[2] Casper, Scott E., and Loren Schweninger. “Out of Mount Vernon’s Shadow: Black Landowners in George Washington’s Neighborhood, 1870–1930.” In Beyond Forty Acres and a Mule, edited by Debra A. Reid and Evan P. Bennett, 39–62. African [3] American Landowning Families since Reconstruction. University Press of Florida, 2012. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvx0716s.10.

[4] Encyclopedia Virginia. “West Ford.” Accessed November 30, 2023. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/9661hpr-3850933b64104c8/.

[5] “Gum Springs Historical Society and Museum.” Accessed November 30, 2023. https://www.virginia.org/listing/gum-springs-historical-society-and-museum/254/.

[6] Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. “Mt. Vernon Dist. No. 3.” Image. Accessed November 30, 2023. https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3850m.gct00186/?sp=46.

Jamie Van Cleave