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History · West Springfield

West Springfield’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of West Springfield. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
18recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

West Springfield is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 23,369 at the 2020 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 22,460 to 23,369 (+4%). Half of its homes were built before 1974.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of West Springfield yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start West Springfield’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how West Springfield’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from West Springfield

See all 2 →
Bryn RennerBryn RennerSportsLELars EckenrodeSports
By decade

West Springfield, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
Today18 photos
Shops in the Old Keene Mill Shopping Center 1CommonsShops in the Old Keene Mill Shopping Center 12022Mena Market inCommonsMena Market in2022Lake Accotink dam 2021CommonsLake Accotink dam 20212021Fairfax County Parkway Pohick Creek crossing 2021CommonsFairfax County Parkway Pohick Creek crossing 20212021Accotink Loop Trail lower crossing 2021CommonsAccotink Loop Trail lower crossing 20212021Braddock Road Accotink Creek crossing 2020cCommonsBraddock Road Accotink Creek crossing 2020c2020Braddock Road Accotink Creek crossing 2020bCommonsBraddock Road Accotink Creek crossing 2020b2020Braddock Road Accotink Creek crossing 2020aCommonsBraddock Road Accotink Creek crossing 2020a2020Accotink Loop Trail upper crossing 2020CommonsAccotink Loop Trail upper crossing 202020202018-10-30 13 21 51 View west at the west end of Virginia Route 289 (Franconia-Springfield Parkway) from the overpass f…Commons2018-10-30 13 21 51 View west at the west end of Virginia R…20182018-10-30 12 46 29 View east at the west end of Virginia State Route 289 (Franconia-Springfield Parkway) from the over…Commons2018-10-30 12 46 29 View east at the west end of Virginia S…20182018-10-30 12 43 18 View west along Virginia State Route 289 (Franconia-Springfield Parkway) at the exit for Virginia S…Commons2018-10-30 12 43 18 View west along Virginia State Route 28…20182018-10-29 12 48 31 View north along Virginia State Route 286 (Fairfax County Parkway) at the exit for Virginia State R…Commons2018-10-29 12 48 31 View north along Virginia State Route 2…20182018-10-29 12 47 28 View north along Virginia State Route 286 (Fairfax County Parkway) at the exit for Virginia State R…Commons2018-10-29 12 47 28 View north along Virginia State Route 2…2018Rolling Road at duskCommonsRolling Road at dusk2016Intersection of Rolling Road and Old Keene Mill RoadCommonsIntersection of Rolling Road and Old Keene Mill Road2016House inCommonsHouse in2016Entrance to a subdivisionCommonsEntrance to a subdivision2016
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in West Springfield is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean West Springfield has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Sydenstricker School in Burke, 1.4 miles away.

West Springfield and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = West Springfield. Tap a dot.
Sydenstricker SchoolOak HillSilverbook Methodist ChurchPohick ChurchGreen SpringD.C. Workhouse and Reformatory Historic District

Closest to West Springfield

Sydenstricker SchoolBurke · Building1.4miOak HillWakefield · Building3.3miSilverbook Methodist ChurchNewington Forest · Building3.5miPohick ChurchLorton · Building4.9miGreen SpringLincolnia · District5mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Sydenstricker School’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in West Springfield?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to West Springfield’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Fairfax📜 Occoquan📜 Falls Church📜 Alexandria

From Wikimedia Commons (18). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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