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Vienna, Virginia
Vienna (/viˈɛnə/) is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Vienna has a population of 16,473.
European settlement in the region dates to the mid-18th century. In 1754, prominent soldier and landowner Colonel Charles Broadwater settled within the town boundaries. Broadwater's son-in-law, John Hunter, built the first recorded house there in 1767, naming it Ayr Hill to recall his birthplace, Ayr, Scotland. That name was then applied to the community. The town's name was changed in the 1850s, when a doctor, William Hendrick, settled there and the town renamed itself after his hometown, Phelps, New York, which at the time was known as Vienna.
On June 17, 1861, the Battle of Vienna, one of the earliest armed clashes of the American Civil War, was fought in Vienna. A Union army unit under Brigadier General Robert C. Schenck approached Vienna from the east by train but was ambushed and forced to retreat by a Confederate force led by Colonel Maxcy Gregg. Several historical markers in Vienna detail its Civil War history. In addition, in the town center lies the well preserved Freeman House; which, in 1861, was the polling place for the secession vote and was used during the war by both sides as a hospital. The house has been turned into a museum and gift shop.
The First Baptist Church of Vienna was founded in 1867, and the original church structure was built using Union Army barracks lumber obtained through the Freedmen's Bureau. This church building was also the town's first black public school. The first white public school was built in 1872.
A permanent black elementary school was built, and was later named for its long-time principal, Louise Archer. In fall 1965, Fairfax County Public Schools were completely desegregated.
Vienna lies in the Piedmont approximately 5.5 miles (8.9 km) southwest of the Potomac River. Wolftrap Creek, a tributary of nearby Difficult Run, flows north from its source in the eastern part of town. The Bear Branch of Accotink Creek, a Potomac tributary, flows south from its source in the southern part of town. Located in Northern Virginia on Interstate 66, Vienna is 12 miles (19 km) west of Washington, D.C., and 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of Fairfax, the county seat.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11 km2), all of it land. As a suburb of Washington, D.C., Vienna is a part of both the Washington metropolitan area and the larger Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area. It is bordered on all sides by other Washington suburbs, including Wolf Trap to the north, Tysons Corner to the northeast, Dunn Loring to the east, Merrifield to the south, and Oakton to the west. These communities are unincorporated, and portions of them lie in ZIP codes with Vienna postal addresses despite lying outside the town's borders.
Vienna has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa), where the winters are cool, and summers are hot. The town is situated in USDA Hardiness Zone 7, where the annual average minimum is 0-9 °F.
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Vienna, Virginia
Vienna (/viˈɛnə/) is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Vienna has a population of 16,473.
European settlement in the region dates to the mid-18th century. In 1754, prominent soldier and landowner Colonel Charles Broadwater settled within the town boundaries. Broadwater's son-in-law, John Hunter, built the first recorded house there in 1767, naming it Ayr Hill to recall his birthplace, Ayr, Scotland. That name was then applied to the community. The town's name was changed in the 1850s, when a doctor, William Hendrick, settled there and the town renamed itself after his hometown, Phelps, New York, which at the time was known as Vienna.
On June 17, 1861, the Battle of Vienna, one of the earliest armed clashes of the American Civil War, was fought in Vienna. A Union army unit under Brigadier General Robert C. Schenck approached Vienna from the east by train but was ambushed and forced to retreat by a Confederate force led by Colonel Maxcy Gregg. Several historical markers in Vienna detail its Civil War history. In addition, in the town center lies the well preserved Freeman House; which, in 1861, was the polling place for the secession vote and was used during the war by both sides as a hospital. The house has been turned into a museum and gift shop.
The First Baptist Church of Vienna was founded in 1867, and the original church structure was built using Union Army barracks lumber obtained through the Freedmen's Bureau. This church building was also the town's first black public school. The first white public school was built in 1872.
A permanent black elementary school was built, and was later named for its long-time principal, Louise Archer. In fall 1965, Fairfax County Public Schools were completely desegregated.
Vienna lies in the Piedmont approximately 5.5 miles (8.9 km) southwest of the Potomac River. Wolftrap Creek, a tributary of nearby Difficult Run, flows north from its source in the eastern part of town. The Bear Branch of Accotink Creek, a Potomac tributary, flows south from its source in the southern part of town. Located in Northern Virginia on Interstate 66, Vienna is 12 miles (19 km) west of Washington, D.C., and 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of Fairfax, the county seat.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11 km2), all of it land. As a suburb of Washington, D.C., Vienna is a part of both the Washington metropolitan area and the larger Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area. It is bordered on all sides by other Washington suburbs, including Wolf Trap to the north, Tysons Corner to the northeast, Dunn Loring to the east, Merrifield to the south, and Oakton to the west. These communities are unincorporated, and portions of them lie in ZIP codes with Vienna postal addresses despite lying outside the town's borders.
Vienna has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa), where the winters are cool, and summers are hot. The town is situated in USDA Hardiness Zone 7, where the annual average minimum is 0-9 °F.