County Description - 1843

*Fairfax, County, Va. Situated in the n. e. part of the state. Potomac r. and the District of Columbia bound it on the e. It contains 450 sq. ms. The surface is hilly and broken, and the soil in some places good, but mostly sterile. Ocoquan cr. runs on its s. w. border, and Difficult cr. runs through it N. into the Potomac. Capital, Fairfax C. H. There were in 1840, neat cattle 12,501, sheep 6,513, swine 9,803; wheat 24,630 bush, produced, rye 5,943, Indian corn 158,012, buckwheat 1,594, oats 66,806, potatoes 7,812, tobacco 13,4S0 pounds; 1 tannery, 2 colleges, 61 students, 1 acad. 20 students, 8 sch. 245 scholars. Pop. whites 5.469, slaves 3,453, free col'd 448; total, 9,370.

*Source: A Complete Descriptive And Statistical Gazetteer Of The United States Of America, By Daniel Haskel, A. M and J. Calvin Smith, Published By Sherman & Smith, 1843.