Burke

History

Burke is named after Silas Burke (1796–1854), who built a house on a hill overlooking the valley of Pohick Creek in approximately 1824. Burke was a farmer, merchant, and local politician. He was a judge, sheriff, director of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad Company, president of the Fairfax Agricultural Society and the Fairfax Turnpike Company, among other leadership titles. He was also an overseer of the Fitzhugh’s plantation, which meant that he managed the Fitzhugh’s slaves and farming tasks. Burke also had personal slaves for his own farm. The Silas Burke house still stands. When the Orange and Alexandria Railroad was constructed in the late 1840s, the railroad station at the base of that hill was named "Burke's Station" after Burke, who owned the land in the area and donated a right-of-way to the railroad company. The community that grew up around the railroad station acquired a post office branch in 1852. The railroad tracks located on the same historical line are owned by the Norfolk Southern Railway and form part of the Manassas Line of the Virginia Railway Express commuter rail system, which has two stations (Rolling Road and Burke Centre) in the Burke area. The original Burke Station building can still be seen in the community, turned 90 degrees from its historical footprint. During the Civil War, the railway station was garrisoned by Union troops. The Bog Wallow Ambush occurred nearby in 1861. On December 28, 1862, Confederate cavalry under General J.E.B. Stuart raided the station. Stuart seized supplies from the area, destroyed a nearby bridge, monitored Union messages passing over the telegraph lines, and then famously sent a telegram to Union Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs complaining of the poor quality of the mules he had captured.…

Geography

Burke is located south of the center of Fairfax County at (38.781480, −77.270750). The Burke CDP is bordered by the CDPs of Burke Centre to the west, Kings Park West to the northwest, Long Branch and Wakefield to the north, Kings Park to the northeast, West Springfield to the east, Newington Forest to the south, and South Run to the southwest. Burke Lake Park, which borders the Burke CDP to the southwest and is not part of any CDP, is a large recreational park operated by the Fairfax County Park Authority, featuring a golf course and woodland surrounding Burke Lake. According to the United States Census Bureau, the Burke CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.22%, is water. Most of the water making up Burke consists of artificial ponds and lakes.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• LAKE BRADDOCK SECONDARY
  High · Burke · 4,377 students · 16.8:1 ratio
• ROBINSON SECONDARY
  High · Fairfax · 3,607 students · 16.6:1 ratio
• HAYFIELD SECONDARY
  High · Alexandria · 3,145 students · 16.7:1 ratio
• OAKTON HIGH
  High · Vienna · 2,701 students · 17.5:1 ratio
• WEST SPRINGFIELD HIGH
  High · Springfield · 2,663 students · 17.6:1 ratio
• CENTREVILLE HIGH
  High · Clifton · 2,623 students · 17.6:1 ratio
• WOODSON HIGH
  High · Fairfax · 2,478 students · 15.3:1 ratio
• JUSTICE HIGH
  High · Falls Church · 2,362 students · 16.2:1 ratio