Stacy H. Snowden: Mount Vernon Supervisor

This is the second in a series of posts on the Snowden Family and their connections to the history of our area.  Of at least 5 homes occupied by the Snowdens from 1859-1949, only two are left:  Wellington and Collingwood.  The current owners of Collingwood have applied for a permit to regrade the property which would involve demolition of the mansion.

Before there was Dan Storck, before there was Gerry Hyland….a long time before these men, there was Stacy H. Snowden.  The Quaker farmer, the inventor, the owner of Collingwood was the Mount Vernon Representative on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors from 1883-1885.   

Just a couple of years after his arrival from New Jersey in 1859, Snowden went to the village of Accotink to vote with his Mount Vernon neighbors on the issue of secession. It was May 23, 1861. Their precinct defeated the measure 76-19, one of only 3 areas to do so in Fairfax County which, as a whole, overwhelmingly approved the Ordinance of Secession 1231-289. More than a decade after the Civil War ended, Stacy Snowden would represent his neighbors, the citizens of Mount Vernon, in a structure of local government inspired, in part, by his home state.

At the time of Snowden’s election, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors was a relatively new institution.  Its existence was mandated by Virginia’s new Constitution developed during the Convention of 1868.  This document, sometimes referred to as the “Underwood Constitution” was a prerequisite, along with ratification of the 14^th and 15^th amendments, for readmission of the state of Virginia into the Union after the Civil War.  In addition to establishing free public education and enfranchisement of all male citizens, black and white, over the age of 21, the Underwood Constitution sought to reform local governments based on the model found in New England civil townships.

When first constituted in December 1870, the Board of Supervisors had 6 members, one each from the townships of Centreville, Lee, Mount Vernon, Falls Church, Providence and Dranesville.  The duties included setting tax rates, promoting the county’s agricultural development, appropriating funds for the care of the county’s less fortunate residents, building and operating a network of public roads and setting up and maintaining the required system for public education.

Stacy Snowden was well-qualified as the Mount Vernon Supervisor.  At the time of his election, he had been farming in the area for 15 years.  He was an active participant in and frequently hosted the Woodlawn Agricultural Society at his home.  In the early 1870s he had donated some of his land for the building of a school to serve neighborhood children: The Snowden School.

Transportation was also on Snowden’s mind as he promoted steamboat travel on the Potomac to supply produce to Washington, DC and deliver tourists to Mount Vernon. The wharf at Collingwood was a popular stop for both. He applied to the county for roads connecting riverside farms to the Accotink Turnpike.  Current area residents know a portion of that Turnpike as Sherwood Hall Lane.  The road connecting his home, Collingwood, to this thoroughfare was for a long time known as Snowden Lane.   It is currently referred to as Collingwood Road and as it nears the intersection with Sherwood Hall, it is Parkers Lane. It seems fitting that the office of the Mount Vernon Supervisor is now located there, on the path from Stacy’s place.