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Historic Tours & Programs

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Historic Tours

Ratcliffe-Allison-Pozer House guided tours for all ages are provided on a walk-in basis by a knowledgeable docent at the oldest residence in Fairfax City (10386 Main St.). The house is open from noon to 3 p.m. Saturdays from April through September, as well as during many city-sponsored events, such as the Fall Festival.

Old Town Fairfax Guided Walking Tours .  2025 Schedule to be announced in the Spring!

Self-guided tours of Old Town Fairfax are available with A Walk Through History, a free brochure available on the city website (click here) and from the Museum and Visitor Center, 10209 Main St.

Group Tours

Guided adult tours for groups of eight people or more at any city historic sites may be reserved for a $25 fee per group.

Guided youth tours for students and scouts are available; please make reservations at least one month in advance. Cost is $3 per child, chaperones free, no charge for schools located within the City of Fairfax. Programs are tailored for different age groups and educational needs, and incorporate hands-on activities. Space and staff scheduling limits apply.

  • Fairfax Museum and Visitor Center tour information: email, 703-385-8414
  • Historic Blenheim and the Civil War Interpretive Center tour information: email, 703-591-6728
  • Ratcliffe-Allison-Pozer House tour information: email, 703-385-8414

 

A Material World: Photographs of the 1980s

  • Date: -  
  • Location: Fairfax Museum and Visitor Center
    10209 Main Street
    Fairfax, Virginia 22030
  • Introduction: Richmond Times-Dispatch photographs featured in "Material World" were important when they appeared in the 1980s as evidence of news being reported at the time. They help us understand today’s culture shaped by ’80s kids who are bringing that decade’s values, worldviews and attitudes back.

Fairfax Museum and Visitor Center, Gano Gallery.  Free.

“’Cause we are living in a material world, and I am a material girl.”  Madonna, 1984

From hair to defense budgets, shoulder pads to tax cuts, the 1980s were BIG.

After a defeat in war, disillusionment, advances in civil rights in the 1950s and 1960s, and disco, Americans became status seekers and shopaholics—the “Me Generation” was born and Madonna’s “Material Girl” was their anthem. The Eighties are remembered by many as a time of excess and extremes. But this materialism was not embraced or experienced by all Americans, and many pushed the boundaries of what was conventional.

Photographs from the Richmond Times-Dispatch are featured in the A Material World: Photographs of the 1980s exhibition from the Virginia Museum of History and Culture. They were important when they appeared in the 1980s as evidence of news being reported at the time. Today, they make real what has become legend to a generation who know the events of the decade were important without knowing why. They also help us understand today’s culture, which is being shaped by ’80s kids who are bringing that decade’s values, worldviews, and attitudes back.

Return to full list >>

 

Educational Programs

 The Office of Historic Resources offers a wide variety of history-related programs.  Programs are free and in person unless otherwise noted.

'I have no doubt...He will Prove Himself an Able Commander,' George Armstrong Custer’s Path from Lieutenant to Brigadier General

Historic Blenheim
Nov. 23, 2 p.m.

Join author Robert O'Neill as he discusses his book George Armstrong Custer’s Path from Lieutenant to Brigadier General.  Through in-depth research, the author will focus on Custer’s soliciting support to become a general in the Fairfax Court House area. O'Neill most recently published Small but Important Riots: The Calvary Battles of Aldie, Middleburg, and Upperville. He also runs the Civil War Cavalry blog, Small But Important Things. Free; books will be available for purchase.

A Material World: Photographs of the 1980s

  • Date: -  
  • Location: Fairfax Museum and Visitor Center
    10209 Main Street
    Fairfax, Virginia 22030
  • Introduction: Richmond Times-Dispatch photographs featured in "Material World" were important when they appeared in the 1980s as evidence of news being reported at the time. They help us understand today’s culture shaped by ’80s kids who are bringing that decade’s values, worldviews and attitudes back.

Fairfax Museum and Visitor Center, Gano Gallery.  Free.

“’Cause we are living in a material world, and I am a material girl.”  Madonna, 1984

From hair to defense budgets, shoulder pads to tax cuts, the 1980s were BIG.

After a defeat in war, disillusionment, advances in civil rights in the 1950s and 1960s, and disco, Americans became status seekers and shopaholics—the “Me Generation” was born and Madonna’s “Material Girl” was their anthem. The Eighties are remembered by many as a time of excess and extremes. But this materialism was not embraced or experienced by all Americans, and many pushed the boundaries of what was conventional.

Photographs from the Richmond Times-Dispatch are featured in the A Material World: Photographs of the 1980s exhibition from the Virginia Museum of History and Culture. They were important when they appeared in the 1980s as evidence of news being reported at the time. Today, they make real what has become legend to a generation who know the events of the decade were important without knowing why. They also help us understand today’s culture, which is being shaped by ’80s kids who are bringing that decade’s values, worldviews, and attitudes back.

Return to full list >>