At any rate, the Court was moved to Alexandria in 1752 and there it remained until 1799. The gallows remained at Freedom Hill. When a death sentence was passed, the prisoner was taken out The Little River Turnpike from Alexandria to Annandale, thence along "Court House Road" to the gallows. Eventually the name "Court House Road" was changed to "Gallows Road", which name a portion of the road bears today.
During the forty-seven years court was held in Alexandria, the building fell into such disrepair that it finally became an unfit place in which to hold business, thereby speeding the acceptance of a proposal by George Mason and other influential residents that the Court be moved to Fairfax.
At that time there lived in Fairfax a man by the name of Richard Ratcliffe who held large tracts of land in this area. His holdings began at the Ravensworth line and swept over and through all the area that the Town of Fairfax now occupies, traveling on into what is now Loudoun County.
When plans became final to move the Court House from Alexandria to Fairfax, Richard Ratcliffe sold to Charles Little, David Stuart, William Payne, James Wren and George Minor, for one dollar, four acres of land "to erect thereupon an house, for holding the Pleas of the said County of Fairfax, a clerks office for the safe keeping of the records and papers of the said County, a Goal and all and every other building and machine necessary for the Justices of the Peace for the said County from time to time to erect for the purpose of holding the pleas of the said County, preserving the Records and publick papers, securing and safe keeping of prisoners and reserving good order and the publick peace but for no other use or purpose whatever and also the undisturbed use of and privilege of all the springs upon the lands of Him the said Richard Ratcliffe ...", dated June 27, 1799.
Records show that a Richard Ratcliffe came to this country from England in 1637 along with John Bristoe, Robert Turner, Henry Warren, Thomas Clarke and Robert Throckmorton—Lord of the Manor of Ellington. It is assumed that the descendants of Ratcliffe and Throckmorton worked their way into the vicinity of the future town of Fairfax for their names appear often in the records and newspaper clippings.
The Richard Ratcliffe who gave the land for the court house came here from Maryland. He was the son of John Ratcliffe of "Poynton" and "Doyne" Manors, Port Tobacco, Charles County, Maryland.
He married Lucian Bolling who was from one of the families who had moved into this area from the Jamestown Colony. Her father was Girard Bolling who was one of 18 children and descended from Thomas Rolfe.
Mr. Bolling was a planter and merchant who owned a store in Fairfax. Ratcliffe became associated with his father-in-law in the mercantile business and took over the business after Mr. Bolling died. In Ratcliffe's will he left "the brick store and land lot to his sons for the purpose of keeping store in or on if necessary".
He and his wife had five daughters and four sons. Penelope married Spencer Jackson. Nancy married Stephen Daniel. Jane married Thomas Moss, a future clerk of the court. Patsy married Richard Coleman. Lucian married George Gunnell. His sons were Robert, who was Deputy Sheriff in 1801, Charles, John and Samuel. Two of his sons were evidently a disappointment to him for in his will he speaks of Samuel "having conducted himself badly for several years past" his debts were to be paid by the executors, who were Robert and Charles Ratcliffe, Thomas Moss, Gordon Allison and Roger M. Farr. He also stated that two of his sons had received more than his daughters but he hoped his sons would do better and his daughters would understand.
The Ratcliffe home place, "Mt. Vineyard" will be recalled by older citizens in the town as the Rumsey place, which burned years ago. The family graveyard still exists today. It is located on Moore Street.