Speakers, objects and hands-on activities will fill multiple rooms in the Fairfax County Government Center, Saturday, April 18, 2026, for an all-day history event exploring Fairfax County's experience of the American Revolution. Tied to the nation's 250th birthday, the program includes talks by three George Mason University history professors with ties to the Center for Mason Legacies as well as several CML graduate students.
This free conference, chaired by Sue Kovach Shuman, is part of the Virginia American Revolution 250th Commemoration (VA250) and hosted by the Fairfax County History Commission. REGISTRATION suggested.
Presentations will explore causes, conflict and consequences of the Revolution while asking how our own county shaped—and was shaped by—this pivotal moment in history. Alongside famous figures, participants will hear stories, ideas and actions from everyday people. Featured George Mason faculty include CML Director George Oberle (a conference co-chair), Professor Cynthia Kierner, and University Professor Rosemarie Zagarri, speaking on politics, daily life and slavery. (Program details follow below.) CML graduate students will present scholarship drawn from Mason family records and other local narratives and artifacts.
The day also offers activities for young people to learn about the Revolutionary experience and interactive projects for all ages, including hands-on archaeology activities, genealogy sessions, digital research tools, student research exhibits and opportunities to connect with local history organizations. Additional conference partners include Fairfax 250, the county's Parks Authority and the Historical Society of Fairfax County.
Program
morning session
8:30 a.m. - Registration
9 a.m. - Keynote, Richard Bell, author of The American Revolution and the Fate of the World
10:45 a.m. - History Commission Awards presentation, followed by panel presentation, The Big Picture
- Rosemarie Zagarri: Politics in Revolutionary Fairfax
- Cynthia Kierner: Living the Revolution
- George Oberle: Slavery in Fairfax County in the Revolutionary Era
noon - 2:30 p.m. - tabling featuring local non-profits and history organizations, including
- Fairfax County Public Library Virginia Room
- George Mason University Libraries
- Fairfax County Dept. of Planning & Development
- Burke Historical Society
- Friends of Colvin Run Mill
- Gum Springs Historical Society and Museum
- Pohick Church Docents Guild
- Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation
12:15 pm - lunch break and opportunity to visit information tables
afternoon sessions (concurrent)
1:30 - 3:45
- Live Like a Colonial (for all ages) - Try whirligigs, dressing and slang, getting a job, writing with quills and other hands-on colonial experiences
- Our Talented Students (for all ages) - Middle and high school students interpret history
- In Your Own Words (for all ages) - What does freedom mean to you? Contribute to a poster.
1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
- Impacts of the Revolution - presentation by CML doctoral students of original research
- David Armstrong: “Not Satisfied with the Provisions Made for Her”: Elizabeth Mary Ann Barnes Hooe, the Mason Family, and the Transfer of Property in Early Virginia
- Anne Champlin: The Mason Family Account Book and Revolutionary Virginia, 1774-1783
- Allesandra DelDonna: “An Agreeable Companion, Prudent Mother, and Humane Mistress:” Ann Eilbeck Mason as the ‘Planter’s Wife’ in 18th-Century Virginia
- High School Trivia Competition: “It’s Revolutionary" (for all ages)
- Archaeology Artifacts Game, "What Is It?" (for all ages) - with Fairfax County Park Authority's Archaeology and Collections Branch
2:45 - 3:45 p.m.
- Workshop: Land Records and Racial Covenants - Interactive research and mapping workshop with Krystyn Moon, author and professor of History and American Studies at the University of Mary Washington
- Find Your Roots (for all ages) - Interactive session with the Fairfax Genealogical Society
- African American Cemeteries - Historian Mary Lipsey explains burial traditions and preservation while providing insight on some of those interred locally
- A.I. for the Humanities (for all ages) - Mason scholars explain uses of Artificial Intelligence for research in the humanities
March 17, 2026