Hidden within the woods encircling the west side of George Mason University’s parking lot K lies the remains of an earthen fortification erected during the Civil War, known as Farr’s Redoubt. Nestled at the intersection of Braddock and Ox roads, the redoubt sits atop a hill crest overlooking the crossing. Throughout the 19th century, the Farr family populated the land where the redoubt stands today. As a result, the intersection of Braddock and Ox roads became known locally as Farr’s Crossroads.¹

Throughout the Civil War, the fort provided a clear vantage point down both roads through the rural farmland of early Fairfax County. During the early stages of the war, the fort served as an outpost for Confederate units monitoring Union troop movement from Alexandria. Through the latter half of the war, the fort mainly functioned as an outpost for Union units monitoring Confederate advances to Washington. ² 

               The Farr family originally received the tract of land where the redoubt sits in 1797 for Samuel Farr I’s service in the Continental Army.³  They retained ownership of the property until it was sold to become George Mason University. In 1819, Richard Farr I (the grandson of Samuel Farr I), acquired the land at Farr’s Crossroads.⁴ In 1837, he married Margaret Conn Wilcoxon and had two children, Rezin Samuel Farr and Richard Farr II.⁵ Richard Farr I died in 1845, leaving the property to his wife in his will.⁶

                Before the war, like many families in Fairfax County, the Farrs earned their income primarily through farming and the hiring out of various enslaved individuals living on the property. ⁷ Throughout her lifetime, Margaret Conn Wilcoxon Farr (Margaret C. Farr) owned at least 9 enslaved individuals and possibly more, some of whom Richard Farr I left to her in his will after he passed away. ⁸ The Farr household, similar to many residents of Fairfax County in 1861, held Confederate sympathies. In 1859, Rezin S. Farr was appointed as 4th Corporal in the Fairfax Rifle Rangers and in 1861, he voted at Fairfax Courthouse for secession.⁹ Both Rezin S. Farr and his brother Richard Farr II served in Mosby’s Rangers during the Civil War. Early on in the war, the family fled the property after Union forces burned down their house, evacuating to Abingdon, VA. The family resettled in Fairfax after the war.  ¹⁰

1. "Farr's Cross Roads (Historical Marker)," Franconia History, accessed August 22, 2026, https://www.franconiahistory.com/historic-sites/farr's-cross-roads-(historical-marker.

2.  George Mason University, Farr’s Fort Interim Preservation and Interpretation Plan (Revised) (Fairfax, VA: George Mason University, 2020), PDF.

3. Samuel Skinner etc. vs. Margaret C. Farr etc., 1887-037, Fairfax County Chancery Causes, 1742–1926, Local Government Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

4. "Farr's Cross Roads (Historical Marker)," Franconia History, accessed August 22, 2026, https://www.franconiahistory.com/historic-sites/farr's-cross-roads-(historical-marker.

5. Edward Coleman Trexler Jr., Endowed by the Creator: Families of Fairfax Court House, Virginia (Fairfax, VA: James River Valley Publishing, 2003).

6. Fairfax County, Virginia, Will Book U-1: 330, Will of Richard R. Farr (1845), Historic Records Center, Fairfax County Circuit Court, Fairfax, Virginia.

7. Nan Netherton, Donald Sweig, Janice Artemel, Patricia Hickin, and Patrick Reed, Fairfax County, Virginia: A History (Fairfax, VA: Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, 1978).

8. Fairfax Circuit Court Historic Records Center, Fairfax Court Slavery Index, finding aid and database (Fairfax, VA: Fairfax County Circuit Court, 2015–), https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/circuit/historic-records-center/finding-aids/fairfax-county-slavery-index.

9. Beth Mitchell and Edith Moore Sprouse, Fairfax County in 1860: A Collective Biography (Fairfax, VA: Fairfax County History Commission, 1996).

10. Edward Coleman Trexler Jr., Endowed by the Creator: Families of Fairfax Court House, Virginia (Fairfax, VA: James River Valley Publishing, 2003).

Lucas Gimm