Properties and Lands
In this page, the focus is on the important properties that Lawson Brooks owned. This is significant in underscoring the massive turning point that once held a viewpoint that only white Americans had access to lands or even more than one land. People of color having more than one property are rare. Lawson Brooks was one of few Black Americans in the County who had achieved the unachievable. Collaborating with the archivist, we had deciphered and located multiple documents that pointed to some of Brooks’ most notable land or residence purchases. Two of which were most notable was the purchase of the deed referring to 108 Ft. Hayfield & the Southern Railroad track.
The above image represents the “COLORED Land owners on the sheets so marked,” by the Commissioner of Revenue [4]. This is essential as it helps researchers and archivists alike to distinguish between African American and WhiteLandowners and the deed and land distributions amongst them. Lawson Brooks’ tract record is as follows: Name of Tract - 108 Ft. Hayfield, 30 acres, valued at 15 with multiple other tax records including the Road tax and tax issued alongside the property [2]. This account only shows the record for 1894 and not for when he had first bought the land or sold it. This means that the value of the land could’ve changed, along with any other critical information provided such as how many acres he had owned as well. In the chart provided, each owner has a selected residence, acres, value of land, and various tax information.
As mentioned previously, there were two major properties that Brooks' family had acquired. However, this tract of land that mentions 108 Fort. Hayfield is the more prominent land owned. From the 4th image, it is evident of more descriptions on the property of the land that James W Deavers is the old owner of the land that was granted on and provides more context surrounding the details of the land. The land was granted to Lawson W on December 2, 1879 [2]. It was then grantored by Lawson to Philip E. Hughes in January 7, 1903 [1]. There is more context surrounding the description of the land in the 3rd image: stating that the land was "containing 31 acres, 2 novels and 28 poles." This was the original land from James W Deavers and it stated that it contained the same attributes towards Lawson Brooks as well.
The Southern Railway is the second major land ownership by the Brooks family. In the slides provided, the first image is the deed recording the official ownership of a part of the Southern Railway to Brooks. In the second image, there is a rough sketch/blue print of the Southern Railway. This accounts for what areas of the Railway that Brooks will own and the total area, which is written in the form of 6|663/1000| acres [3].
[1] Fairfax County, “Grantor Index to Deeds” Jan 1, 1866 - Dec 31, 1932, Fairfax County Circuit Court, Historic Records Center, Fairfax, Virginia.
[2]Fairfax County, “Grantee Index to Deeds” Jan 1, 1866 - Dec 31, 1932, Fairfax County Circuit Court, Historic Records Center, Fairfax, Virginia.
[3] Fairfax County, “Southern Railway Blueprint” Sept 15, 1879, Fairfax County Circuit Court, Historic Records Center, Fairfax, Virginia.
[4] Fairfax County, “1894 Table of Tracts of Land For the Year 1894” 1894, Fairfax County Circuit Court, Historic Records Center, Fairfax, Virginia.
Mohit Darla