About Us

The Herndon Historical Society was founded in 1971. Its purpose, as stated in the Society's constitution, is “…to bring together those people interested in history, and especially in the history of the Herndon, Virginia, area.”

The Society established a museum in conjunction with the Town’s centennial celebration in 1979. The museum, which is open from 12:00 noon to 3:00 PM on Sundays March through mid-December, is located in Herndon’s historic train depot adjacent to the WO&D trail in the heart of the downtown. The museum contains an array of materials and collectables that illustrate the life, conditions, events, and activities of Herndon and the surrounding area.

When We Meet 

The museum is the location for Historical Society meetings and for other special functions. The Society holds meetings three times per year—on the 4th Wednesday in January, May, and September. The meetings, which are free and open to the public, feature guest speakers—including authors, journalists and historians—who focus on topics of local historical interest. For information about meeting dates, times, and topics contact us at HerndonHistoricalSociety@gmail.com.

What We Do

The Society is involved in many activities beyond maintaining the museum. For example:

• The Depot

The Herndon Historical Society maintains a museum in the Herndon Depot in downtown Herndon on Lynn Street. Although the Town of Herndon owns the depot, the Historical Society has from time to time expended funds to help maintain it and to fund other projects. Some of those projects include:  restoration of the original railroad semaphore that is fixed on the depot roof;  installation of a replica telegraph sign on the outside the depot; and replace damaged wooden boards on the antique baggage in front of the depot.

*Projects

In addition to the projects listed above, The Herndon Historical Society also does fundraising to complete other projects which include: renovate the gas house on Lynn Street; renovate the spring house on the golf course; stall an explanatory plaque by the antique railroad whistle post near the caboose; installed panels on the historic Carroll House in Runnymede Park; create and sell Herndon holiday ornaments which highlight Herndon’s history; participated in a Town of Herndon committee which created the historic markers that can be seen throughout town.

• Historic Homes Registry

The Society sponsors the historic home registry program designed to increase public awareness of Herndon’s older homes and buildings and their contribution to the Town’s distinctive character and spirit. Once an owner documents the history of the home and demonstrates that it satisfies certain criteria—such as the original structure being 50 or more years old and compatible with the character of Herndon, as well as being of historical or architectural significance to the Town—the homeowners receive a plaque for their home. All documentation becomes part of the Society’s research library, and a picture and brief history are placed on the Historical Society’s website. Click here for more information about applying for the Registry.

• The Caboose

In 1989, longtime Society member and railroad aficianado George Moore located a surplus Norfolk and Western caboose, arranged for it to be transported to Herndon, and coordinated with the Herndon Department of Public Works to install the section of track on which it sits. The Historical Society raised funds to do some of the initial renovation of the caboose. The caboose is located adjacent to the W&OD trail, formerly the W&OD railroad line. Although the caboose was built in Ohio and served railroads in the northern United States, the caboose serves as a reminder of the town’s rail history. The caboose is now the property of the Town of Herndon the Society continues to monitor its condition and to fund the interior maintenance. Following his death in 2003, the caboose was dedicated in George’s memory. In 2008, the interior was restored and the windows were improved to make them water tight. The Caboose is open during the annual Model Train Show, during the town’s Farmers’ Markets, and by appointment.

• Annual Model Train Show

Each December, usually the second weekend, the Herndon Historical Society, sponsors an Annual Model Train Show and Caboose Open House. The show features N-Scale model trains and is typically held either at Arts Herndon, the Herndon Fortnightly Library, or at the Herndon Municipal Center, as advertised each year. 

• The Gas House Mini Park

In 1999, the Historical Society funded restoration and improvements at the gas generating facility located on Lynn Street across from Herndon’s Municipal Center. Improvements included a display that explains how the facility operated, along with landscaping for the mini-park that surrounds it. The park is dedicated in memory of former Society president Larry Clarity, and the benches it contains were donated in memory of another longtime member, Bill Moffett.

• And More…

The Society continues to engage in educational and preservation-oriented activities designed to ensure that the public remains interested in and aware of the history of the Herndon area. For example, Society members were actively involved in working with the Town to ensure that the historic “yellow house” was relocated from behind Adams Green Funeral Home to a new site at the corner of Oak and Pearl Streets and made available for sale when it was slated for demolition. The Society also maintains a website, Facebook page, Instagram account, and writes monthly stories about Herndon history. Additionally, the Society collaborates with the Town of Herndon staff and town residents to assist them with researching various historic properties in Herndon.

A Brief History of the Town of Herndon

In 1649, King Charles II of England granted five million acres, known as the Northern Neck to seven of his supporters. In 1681, Thomas, Lord Culpeper, acquired all rights to the land. At his death in 1689, his interest passed to his daughter, Catherine, who married Thomas, 5th Lord Fairfax. Robert “King” Carter was the chief Virginia land agent for the Proprietary of the Northern Neck from c. 1702 to 1732. Fairfax County was formed in 1742 from the northern part of the Northern Neck proprietary, named after Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron. A small portion of this immense grant became the land on which Herndon is located.

The first sign of settlement in Herndon was the construction of two homes in c. 1776 and c. 1783. There was also the construction of two early mills, one along Sugarland Run Stream in today’s Runnymede Park in c. 1820s, and one in a hollow along a stream near today’s intersection of Locust and Spring Streets in c. 1850s.

The coming of the railroad in the late 1850s spurred Herndon’s development. The village post office that would be established at the new railroad depot, built in 1860, needed a name. Residents met and, according to legend, a survivor of the wreck of the S.S. Central America in 1857 was present and recounted the heroism of the ship's commander, William Lewis Herndon, who had gone down with the ship. The impressed group decided that the new post office would be named for Commander Herndon, a native of Fredericksburg, Virginia. He had become a national hero as the result of a well-publicized disaster at sea off the coast of the Carolinas in 1857.

Commander Herndon was the captain of the steamer Central America, which ran the New York-Panama route, the sea route of the Gold Rush 49ers. Steaming north on that ill-fated journey, the ship encountered a hurricane off Cape Hatteras and sank. She carried 575 passengers and crew, and a reported two to three million dollars in gold. The women and children and a few men who manned the lifeboats survived, but Commander Herndon and 425 other men were lost. The stranger at that long-ago meeting is believed to have been one of the male survivors.

The new Herndon Post Office was established in 1858. 

At the outbreak of the Civil War, the Union Army seized the railroad and secured it for their use as far as Vienna. Most of the remaining tracks and bridges were destroyed or damaged, but Herndon was spared. The only known Civil War military action in Herndon was a raid conducted on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 1863, by legendary Confederate Captain John S. Mosby against a contingent of the First Vermont Cavalry posted at the Herndon Depot.

When the Town of Herndon was incorporated on January 14, 1879, it encompassed 4.25 square miles, with the Depot/Post Office located roughly at the center. The town government was to be a council of seven, which included a mayor. At the time of Herndon’s first federal census in 1880, the town’s population was 422. The railroad defined the Town, with dairy farms located in and around Herndon, shipping their milk daily to Alexandria and Washington for processing and distribution. The railroad also transported city dwellers looking for respite in the countryside, with several spacious summer houses appearing in Herndon. Likewise, Herndon residents used the railroad to commute to work in Washington.

A devastating fire on March 22, 1917, destroyed some of Herndon’s downtown, including 16 businesses and two homes. The downtown was quickly rebuilt with structures made of brick and stone instead of wood.  By the 1920s, Herndon would have its won fire department.

With the advent of cars, trucks and better roads, the railroad became less of a necessity for Herndon farmers and residents. The construction of Washington Dulles International Airport and Reston in the 1960s caused Herndon’s biggest population boom in the 1970s. What was once a sleepy farming town, became a suburban town. The last big job for the railroad was hauling sand to be used in the concrete mix for the runways at the airport. The last train left the Herndon Depot in August 1968.