The 78-acre Annandale Campus of Northern Virginia Community College is land that changed ownership many times between 1649 and its purchase by the state of Virginia in 1966 and 1971. Forty-one transactions are accounted for, thanks to title research by Cindie Pappas.1
Today’s view (in Google Maps)
Seven overlays map key changes in ownership of land on which the Northern Virginia Community College Annandale Campus is located. Blue lines denote the two parcels the State of Virginia acquired for the campus in 1966 (larger parcel) and 1971. The larger parcel was a remnant of the “Malone Farm” (hazy yellow area) – 476 acres that William H. Gooding sold his son-in-law John Malone in 1868. William H. and his father, William Gooding, Jr. assembled the land in several purchases, including the large orange outlined parcel in 1821 and the yellow bordered tract in 1839. The two small orange outlined parcels are 1-acre lots that William Gooding willed to his daughters Jane Coyle and Maria Howard in 1861. These already small parcels changed hands and were subdivided several times. The State of Virginia acquired the various pieces, which have been added to the campus and also likely to widening Little River Turnpike and Wakefield Chapel Rd. View NOVA Annandale Campus, History of the Land in a larger map.
Chronological Chain of Ownership, 1649 to 1971
| Owner | Method | Date | Reference | Acres | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietors, Northern Neck | Grant | 1649 | Part of vast Northern Neck Grant from King Charles II | ||
| John Matthews and others | Grant | 1649 | Original grant lost | ||
| William Fitzhugh (the Immigrant) (1651-1701) | Purchase | 1685 | Plantation later known as Ravensworth. Fitzhugh's purchase document lost but known from his letters. | ||
| William Fitzhugh (the Immigrant) (1651-1701) | Grant | 1694 | Deeds NN2:14 NNV:280 | 21,996 | Regranted by Northern Neck proprietors. Price: 21.9 pounds, annual rent. |
| Henry Fitzhugh (Captain) (1686-1758) | Inherit | About 1704 | will | 11,000 approx | North half of Ravensworth - bequeathed in his father William's will. |
| Henry Fitzhugh (Colonel) (1723-1783) | Inherit | 1758 | 11,000 approx | Land passed undivided from father to son. | |
| Mordecai Cooke Fitzhugh (1767-1858) | Inherit | 1797 | Deed A2:186 | 2291 | Land divided into 7 parcels among Mordecai and four other sons by Henry Fitzhugh (Colonel)'s will (died 1783); deed (1797) includes survey (1792) and plat. |
| Giles Fitzhugh (1773-1853) | Sale | 1798 | Deed A2:465 | 2291 | Essentially a trade of inherited land between brothers, as Giles also "sold" Mordecai 2 adjacent tracts totaling 2268 acres. |
| Andrew Scholfield and Jonathan Scholfield | Sale | before 1814 | 1626 | Deed lost, see deed V2:21. Scholfields financed with promissory bonds secured by trust held by Nicholas Fitzhugh. | |
| Jonathan Scholfield | Partition | 1814 | Deed N2:265 | 1332 | Deed lost, see deed V2:21. Andrew received 294 acres, Jonathan the remainder and assumed full responsibility for paying promissory bonds. |
| Assign-ment of trust | Before 1821 | Deed V2:21 (1824) cites assignment to John Lloyd by Giles Fitzhugh of the trust held by Nicholas Fitzhugh and another to Robert Taylor, enabling Lloyd to sell Jonathan Scholfield's land to satisfy unpaid bonds. V2:21 is Lloyd's release of Andrew Scholfield from responsibility for payment of bonds and also clarifies each party's title. |
The Gooding Family
The next five transactions are key changes in creating parcels acquired by the Gooding Family that form today’s NOVA Annandale campus. They are mapped in Today’s View (in Google Maps).
| Owner | Method | Date | Reference | Acres | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Gooding, Jr. (1768-1861) | Sale | 1821 | Deed S2:417 | 100 | Sale by Jonathan Scholfield with concurrence by John Lloyd and Robert Taylor. The NOVA Annandale campus is almost entirely within this tract. |
| William H. Gooding (1804-1872) | Sale | 1839 | Deed E3:259 | 213 | Sale by John Lloyd from Scholfield's former holdings of two adjacent parcels to William H. on the east border of his father William Gooding, Jr.'s 1821 purchase. The NOVA Annandale campus slightly overlaps this border. |
| William H. Gooding (1804-1872) | Inherit | 1861 | Will A2:466 | 98 | His father's will bequeathed him all of William Gooding, Jr.'s real estate south of Little River Turnpike, except for two parcels of one acre each reserved for his sisters Jane Coyle and Maria Howard. |
| Jane E. (Gooding) Coyle (1813-?) | Inherit | 1861 | Will A2:466 Deed Q4:504 | 1 | Bequests in her father William Gooding, Jr.'s will include 1 acre on south side of Little River Turnpike within the NOVA Annandale campus. |
| Maria (Gooding) Howard (?-?) | Inherit | 1861 | Will A2:466 Deed R4:171 | 1 | Bequests in her father William Gooding, Jr.'s will include 1 acre on south side of Little River Turnpike within the NOVA Annandale campus. |
After 1861, the chain of ownership split into two separate paths:
- Land owned by William H. Gooding
- Land owned by Jane Coyle and Maria Howard
1. William H. Gooding’s Land: Source of Almost All of the Campus
| Owner | Method | Date | Reference | Acres | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Malone (1812-1885) | Sale | 1868 | Deed I4:471 | 476 | The sale by William H. Gooding is to his son-in-law, husband of Ann R. Gooding, of land he had inherited and bought south of Little River Turnpike. |
| Ann R. (Gooding) Malone (1829-1890) | Life estate | 1885 | Deed L4:329 | 476 | The deed (1869) placed the property in trust for Ann for her life and for named heirs upon her death. |
| Malone heirs | Inherit | 1891 | Deed L5:105 | 476 | Upon Ann (Gooding) Malone's death, the trust ended and title passed to named heirs: Edward E. Malone, Mary F. Brandon nee Malone, Maggie E. Farr nee Malone, William P. Malone, Stephen W. P. Malone. |
| Frank Hume | Sale | 1896 | Deed W5:415 | 1/4 interest, 476 | As result of lawsuit, Hume v. Malone, Edward E. Malone's share was sold at auction to Hume. |
| Eugenia Smith Brookfield | Sale | 1902 | Deed N7:476 | 1/4 interest, 476 | Ownership of Hume's 1/4 interest transferred to Brookfield. |
| William Worth Smith | Sale | 1904 | Deed P6:637 | 3/4 interest, 476 | Smith bought the other Malone heirs' 3/4 share. |
| William Worth Smith | Sale | 1910 | Deed H7:53 | 1/4 interest, 476 | Smith bought Brookfield's 1/4 share, thus gaining full title to the 476-acre tract. |
| Stella V. Kefauver | Sale | 1913 | Deed O7:615 | 272.5 | ..."sale in gross and not by the acre" of the "residue of the Malone farm". William Worth Smith had previously sold about 204 acres to Lucy Smith Price in 1910, deed I7:220. |
| Maude I. Pope | Sale | 1914 | Deed S7:335 | 272.5 | "residue of the Malone farm" sold undivided. |
| John A. Smith | Sale | 1919 | Deed 197-252 | 272.5 | "residue of the Malone farm" sold undivided. |
| William O. and Jayne Pruitt | Sale | 1937 | Deed 304-521 | 77.8476 | John A. Smith's widow, Stella V. Smith, children and heirs-at-law, sold this portion of the 177.89 acres that remained at John's death in 1935. |
| VA Department of Technical Education | Sale | 1966 | Deed 2758-542 | 76.7997 | Parcel, acquired for the campus, is mapped in Today's View (in Google Maps). Slightly reduced acreage in this deed may be due to a more precise survey. |
The 76.7997-acre parcel acquired in 1966 forms the Annandale campus except for a few additional small pieces that total less than two acres, the title of which is traced in the following sections.
2. Jane Coyle’s and Maria Howard’s Two Acres: Divided and Added to the Campus in Small Pieces
| Owner | Method | Date | Reference | Acres | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philip Howard ((?-?) | Sale | 1874 | Deed R4:171 | 1 | Maria's son Philip acquired all of her inherited land, including the 1-acre lot. |
| Kate B. Howard (?-?) | Sale | 1874 | Deed D5:9 | 1 | Kate acquired Jane's 1-acre lot, which was a small part of the land transferred. |
| James R. Caton (?-?) | Sale | 1883 | C5:317 | 1 | Maria's 1-acre lot was part of about 102 acres Caton acquired as result of court action in chancery case Kennedy vs. Howard. |
| James R. Caton (?-?) | Sale | 1893 | Deed O5:294 | 1 | Caton acquired Jane's lot from Kate Howard, thus joining ownership of Jane's and Maria's lots. |
| S. Linnie Robinson | Sale | 1906 | Deed T6:302 | 2 | The lots, now joined together, were identified as lots 3 and 4 of five parcels totaling 100+ acres. |
| F. V. Boughman | Sale | 1908 | Deed Z6:509 | 2 | Described as 2.2 acres and being lots 3 and 4 from prior transaction. |
| Harry C. Boughman | Sale | 1913 | Deed P7:659 | 2 |
After 44 years of unity, the property was again divided and sold in two parcels
| Owner | Method | Date | Reference | Acres | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarah F. and William H. Slater | Sale | 1937 | Deed M12:35 | 1.7 | Boughman sold 1.7 acres. |
| Luther A. and Nettie Overstreet | Sale | 1938 | Deed W12:369 | 0.5 | The residue of the property was conveyed as result of court chancery case Browne vs. Knight in Prince William County. |
The 0.5 Acre Parcel
| Owner | Method | Date | Reference | Acres | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luther A. and Nettie Overstreet and Elizabeth U. O. Petty | Sale | 1954 | Deed 2914: 569 | 0.5 | Elizabeth U. O. Petty added to title |
| Undine O. Petty | Sale | 1967 | Deed 2953: 633 | 0.5 | Petty gained sole title from Minnie P. Overstreet. |
| Louise P Bartholow | Sale | 1970 | Deed 3344: 169 | 0.4 | 0.5 acre parcel, less 0.1 acre portion for road widening. |
| Commonwealth of VA, Board for Community College | Sale | 1971 | Deed 3530: 588 | 0.4 | This small parcel, acquired for the Annandale campus, is mapped in Today's View (in Google Maps). |
More to the Story: What About the Remaining 1.7 Acres?
Sarah F. and William H. Slater’s 1.7 acre parcel, which they bought in 1937, was apparently incorporated into the campus and into widening the adjacent Little River Turnpike and Wakefield Chapel Road by the state of Virginia. This conclusion is supported by an examination of Today’s view (in Google Maps) and derives from the following:
- The Jane Coyle/Maria Howard two acres were an island surrounded by the 76.7997 acre campus parcel on three sides and Little River Turnpike on the fourth.
- The smaller campus parcel (0.4 acres, after taking 0.1 acres for road widening) was carved from this island and is itself an island within the campus.
- Other than roads, there appear to be no other state facilities adjacent to the campus.
- Fairfax County official property records identify only the two parcels (76.7997 and 0.4 acres) as sources of the land that forms the Annandale campus. However, county records would not show mergers of property once it was owned by the state.
- The chain of title information from 1861 forward was compiled by Cindie Pappas over many hours and several trips to the Fairfax County Circuit Court’s Historical Records Room. ↩