A Little Piece of Kamp Washington

If you happen to be at the Fairfax City Library in the near future, be sure check out the display case next to the elevator on the second floor for a little history on Kamp Washington and the Sherwood family.

Though most people outside of the city don’t have a name for the area around the intersection of Main Street, Fairfax Boulevard, and Lee Highway, for those of us inside the city it is known as Kamp Washington.  We call it this because of a small tourist camp that sat at that intersection for much of the first half of the 20th Century.  Despite being the namesake for one of the most prominent commercial areas of the city, it is difficult to find pictures or other documents that show what the original Kamp Washington was like.

Thanks to a donation of numerous memorabilia from the Sherwood family, and countless cataloguing hours from Ross Landis (current Planning Commission member), a lot of material on Kamp Washington is now held in the Virginia Room at the library, a sampling of which is temporarily on display.

The Sherwood family, who were active members of the Town of Fairfax community, owned a tourist home next door and eventually bought Kamp Washington.  The camp was eventually demolished to make way for commercial development, and the house was moved. 

The display has some great photos of the home and the camp, as well as various other memorabilia.  I’m not sure how long it will be up, so be sure to stop by soon.