The idea Armfield Farm subdivision started in July 1973 when their heirs of Mr. J.B. Armfield sold the acreage for development. Here is a look back on the history of the land and the namesake of the community.
Back at that time, this area was part of Stafford County, which would later be parsed out to become Prince William County, Fairfax County, Loudoun Countyiii, and finally when the political boundaries was set to be Fairfax County.
On the entire tract, though not specific to where, grew tobacco, apples, and peaches.
After several divisions of the land and inheritances, over 1500 acres north of the Little River Turnpike (present day Lee Jackson Memorial Highway – US Highway 50) was allocated to Cornelia Lee Turberville in May 1817 who with her husband, Charles Calvert Stuart, later built the original Chantilly Mansion.
Cornelia likely named the estate after her maternal grandfather, Richard Henry Lee, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and one of Virginia’s first US senators. R.H. Lee had named his estate in Westmoreland County, Virginia also by the name of Chantilly. 1800s Chantilly may have been pronounced with a heavy southern accent as “Chantilla,” as suggested by maps of the time that use the incorrect spelling.
After Stuart’s death in 1843, their son, Sholto, managed the affairs of the farm, which at that time was heavily leveraged to their neighbor, Francis Lightfoot Lee, then-owner of the Sully plantation. Based on the drawing below, the present subdivision is to the left of NW/SE line from Frying Pan Road (later redesigned to Centreville Road) and Flat Lick, with the Leith/Bokel section being south of Flat Lick.
The Civil War was very difficult for Chantilly, and was occupied from until 1863 primarily as a Federal cavalry headquarters. It was the starting point of a brigade’s march into the Battle of Chantilly (aka Battle of Ox Hill) in September 1862 and it was the site of a daring raid by Confederate then-Captain John S. Mosby in March 1863. Circa February 1863, Union troops set fire to the Chantilly Mansion.
After the War, a number of debts were secured against the property and at the time of Cornelia’s death in 1883, the farm needed to be sold. Advertisements for the sale noted four tenement houses, one of which is the stone house that exists today on the property of the International Country Club.
1727 – 1890 Turberville/Stuart
On December 4, 1727 Captain (later Major) George Turberville of Westmoreland County received a patent of over 4,000 acres of land on Flat Lick Run (now Flatlick Branch of Cub Run) from Thomas Lord Fairfax.i The acreage covered what is the present day Brookfield subdivision and continuing southwest; the Foxfield and Franklin Glen subdivisions; and portions of Washington Dulles International Airport.Back at that time, this area was part of Stafford County, which would later be parsed out to become Prince William County, Fairfax County, Loudoun Countyiii, and finally when the political boundaries was set to be Fairfax County.
On the entire tract, though not specific to where, grew tobacco, apples, and peaches.
After several divisions of the land and inheritances, over 1500 acres north of the Little River Turnpike (present day Lee Jackson Memorial Highway – US Highway 50) was allocated to Cornelia Lee Turberville in May 1817 who with her husband, Charles Calvert Stuart, later built the original Chantilly Mansion.
Cornelia likely named the estate after her maternal grandfather, Richard Henry Lee, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and one of Virginia’s first US senators. R.H. Lee had named his estate in Westmoreland County, Virginia also by the name of Chantilly. 1800s Chantilly may have been pronounced with a heavy southern accent as “Chantilla,” as suggested by maps of the time that use the incorrect spelling.
After Stuart’s death in 1843, their son, Sholto, managed the affairs of the farm, which at that time was heavily leveraged to their neighbor, Francis Lightfoot Lee, then-owner of the Sully plantation. Based on the drawing below, the present subdivision is to the left of NW/SE line from Frying Pan Road (later redesigned to Centreville Road) and Flat Lick, with the Leith/Bokel section being south of Flat Lick.
The Civil War was very difficult for Chantilly, and was occupied from until 1863 primarily as a Federal cavalry headquarters. It was the starting point of a brigade’s march into the Battle of Chantilly (aka Battle of Ox Hill) in September 1862 and it was the site of a daring raid by Confederate then-Captain John S. Mosby in March 1863. Circa February 1863, Union troops set fire to the Chantilly Mansion.
After the War, a number of debts were secured against the property and at the time of Cornelia’s death in 1883, the farm needed to be sold. Advertisements for the sale noted four tenement houses, one of which is the stone house that exists today on the property of the International Country Club.
1890-1913 Weaver
Following Cornelia’s death and subsequent litigation, a portion of the Chantilly farm was sold to Joseph Weaver in November 1890 and later sold equal shares to his three brothers. Then Joseph was adjudged insane by the Supreme Court of DC and his brothers took over the handling of the estate. When Joseph was released from the Government Hospital in 1910, he wanted his property restored to him, including income for the years he was in the hospital. Before that took place, a portion of the property was sold to H.B. Derr and J.W. McLane in November 1909. Joseph Weaver died in June 1912. The property was reclaimed by the living Weaver brothers in foreclosure in February 1913 and sold to C.C. and G.F. Carr.
1913-1914 Carr
The Carrs sold 154 acres to J.B. Armfield on June 1, 1914 for $4,312.1914-1973 Armfield
John Bynum Armfield was born on January 12, 1872 and raised in Surry County, North Carolina. It is not known what specifically brought J.B. to Fairfax County in the early 1910s when he bought the land the Community now sits in 1914. The Armfields paid off the mortgage to the property by May 1918.J.B. Armfield was known as a prominent dairy farmer, often cited for his productive herd. However, life on the farm was not without its struggles. In July 1934, his hay barrack and a cow barn on the neighboring Lee farm were both struck by lightning and burned.
J.B Armfield was married to Dora P. Speas from the neighboring Yadkin County, North Carolina. They had three children, Elizabeth born in 1908, J. Bynum born in 1914 in Virginia, and Mary born in 1916 on the farm.
J.B. died on January 25, 1964 at the age of 92. His obituary read:
John B. Armfield of Fairfax Route 5, died Saturday last. He was one of the oldest residents of the County and had been active until a short while before his death. He is survived by his wife, two daughters, Mrs. Elizabeth Bokel and Mrs. Mary Leith, and a son John B. Armfield Jr. His funeral took place on Monday at 10am and burial was in Chestnut Grove Cemetery.Dora died in 1969 and is buried next to J.B.
Elizabeth became a school teacher and married Paul Bokel in Baltimore, Maryland in 1937. They had a daughter, Mary, in 1938. Unfortunately, Paul died shortly after that and by the 1940 census, Elizabeth and Mary Bokel returned to the farm. Elizabeth died in 2005 and is buried next to her parents.
Bynum was more civically minded involved in Democratic politics in the 1940s and was appointed manager for the Town of Herndon in 1948. During the 1950s, he had moved to Richmond and was working as an accountant for the Immigration and Naturalization Service. He was married to Helen Schlegel and he died prior to Elizabeth, in 1980.
Mary married Carroll Leith. She died in January 2011 and is buried in Middleburg, Virginia.
1973-Present Development of Armfield Farm
Once sold by J.B.’s children in 1973, the farm underwent development by multiple builders. The section containing Leith and Bokel Drives, marked in the county land records as the subdivision of Armfield Estates, was first developed circa 1982. Later, the Armfield Farm subdivision plots on Springhaven Drive near Lees Corner Road started the build out of the community from east to west and on Armfield Farm Drive near Centreville Road from north to south with most construction complete by 1994..The Armfield Farm Homeowners Association was formally incorporated on November 18, 1980. The community consists of 470 single-family houses, a pool and pool house, two tennis courts, one volleyball court, three basketball courts, four playgrounds, one large ball field, numerous other open spaces, and walking paths.