doned property, with the
Court's permission, and upon the division of that denomination in
1840 the Jerusalem Baptist Church (new school) was organized in the
building and continued to use it until 1862.
[Illustration: TRURO EPISCOPAL CHURCH
_Photo by Ollie Atkins_]
At that time Federal troops camped in the vicinity tore the church
down brick by brick and used the material to build chimneys and
hearths for their winter quarters. A small frame Baptist church now
covers part of the original foundation of Payne's church. A model of
the original Payne's Church can be found in the design and
construction of the present chapel at Truro Episcopal Church in
Fairfax.
During the development of the parish and its move northward and
inward, the Court in 1752 ordered Lewis Ellzey, Hugh West Jr., James
Hamilton, James Halley and others to view and mark a road to be
cleared for the most convenient way from Alexandria to Rocky Run
Chappell.
This road is now locally known as the old Braddock Road, named after
General Braddock who presumably traversed it on his way to Ft.
Duquesne. Although historians disagree on the authenticity of this
route being taken by Braddock, around the road has grown a legend of
"buried treasure".
The story goes that the road was impassable and the weather
extremely inclement when Braddock and his men used it. They had to
cut down trees and other growth to clear their way. Added to this
was the fact that they were carrying a chest of gold coins, with
which to pay the men. They had two cannons, which were proving
extremely burdensome, and were constantly becoming bogged down in
the mud.
Finally, having lost so much time due to the condition of the road
and the heaviness of his cannons and gold, Braddock decided to
lighten his load. Taking the gold coins, he stuffed the nozzles of
both cannons with the coins and then buried the cannons near a
spring on the road near Centreville. The story continues that the
spring has since dried up and although many people, including the
British, have searched for years for the "buried treasure", it has
never been found.
Near the intersection of Ox Road and Braddock Road was a tract of
land (the future site of George Mason College, the northern Virginia
branch of the University of Virginia) which was owned by the Farr
family. The large home on this tract of land was burned by Union
forces during the Civil War in retaliation for a very brave act by
the young f
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