Black Lives Next Door in Fairfax

The 1964 Land Plat Book of Fairfax numbered Eliza A. Ford’s property as Plot 21. When comparing the 1964 Plat Book to the 1980 Plat Book, the five-acre property appeared to be developed. Since the Eliza A. Ford Estate was no longer being taxed for the five-acre property, it was to be assumed that the estate had sold the property. With the plat number in mind, the new owner of this property was able to be found within the 1980 Land Tax Records. In 1980, the Eliza A. Ford Estate seemingly sold the five-acre property to the Hensley Estate, owned by Langley Limited and Fitzgerald Peter J, Sterling Montague Jr. and T.M. Baker Company Incorporated.

The Hensley Estate was a development conglomerate that purchased the five-acre property belonging to the estate of Eliza A. Ford in 1980. The sale of this property was disputed in chancery court. Chancery court can be defined as a court of equity where justice is administered according to fairness as contrasted with the strictly formulated rules of common law. In other words, the chancery case concerning Eliza’s property aimed to sell the property while guaranteeing equity when determining the monetary split of the sale between her descendants.

The Chancery Case file is numbered 33654. Detailed in the case file was the sale of the five acres of land and the percentage of the money that each of Eliza A. Ford’s ancestors will receive. The sale was split between 40 people. The final sale of the property was for $65,600. This property has since then been developed and the road is named Hensley Court.

In 2023, the properties that lay on Hensley Court in Gum Springs are valued anywhere between $750,000 and $1,000,000.