The County itself was touched by battle on two occasions: (1) The Continental Army under General Lafayette crossed the Potomac near Chain Bridge and (2) Rochambeau's Army of French allies came up through the County over the old King's Highway to Alexandria, where French transports awaited them.
The country prospered after the war but economic levels changed. The new rich who had prospered by government contracts during the war took the place of men who had lost their business along the coast line and of men whose homes had been ramshackled by English troops. Currency fell and prices rose. The farmer, who had by now turned to wheat instead of tobacco for his livelihood, was receiving high prices and seemed to be getting rich. However, his labor supply was extremely limited and he found it difficult to raise enough crops to supply his own needs. What labor he could find demanded extremely high wages and the products which the farmer needed came at extremely costly prices. In spite of difficulties, however, the farmer saw the need for a good road to Alexandria, where he could export his wheat. Thus the farmers of Fairfax, Alexandria, and Loudoun Counties joined together to build The Little River Turnpike, which was one of the first improved roads in the United States. This road was completed in 1806 and as stated before, tolls were collected for it at Earp's Ordinary. Another strong factor in the completion of this road was the establishment of the County Court House at the present site in the Town of Fairfax.
VII. THE COURT HOUSE
In 1618 Gov. Yeardley established the prototype of the county court by an order stating that "county courts be held in convenient places, to sit monthly, and to hear civil and criminal cases." It determined rates of local taxation, registered legal documents, licensed inns and exercised control over their prices, directed the building and repair of roads, and rendered judgments in both civil and criminal cases.
While Fairfax County was still a part of the colony, the first sessions of Court were probably held in Colchester, a thriving seaport town where large quantities of tobacco were exported. Charles Broadwater, John Carlyle, Henry Gunnell, Lord Thomas Fairfax, George Mason, and George Washington were among the Gentlemen Justices during the period of 1742 to 1776.
The first entry of the Court's minutes were made in 1742 at a session held in Colchester. This was an order removing the county records from Colchester to the new court house two miles north of Vienna. This court house, where the Fairfax Resolves were written, was called "Freedom Hill". Ambiguously, a gallows was constructed here and death sentences were carried out promptly. The court house remained at Freedom Hill for ten years when it was moved to Alexandria.
There are many theories concerning the move to Alexandria: Roads were poor and slow; there was still Indian hostility—the treaty of Fontainebleau did not come until 1762; there was pressure from the more influential citizens of Alexandria to move it to that city.