Washington Dulles Airport is located on the border of Fairfax and Loudoun Counties in Northern Virginia approximately 26 miles west of the Washington D.C.^[1]

The airport currently inhabits nearly 12,000 acres of land housing 4 runways, 5 concourses, and 2 air traffic control towers which help transport over 23 million passengers per year to and from 127 destinations worldwide.^[2][3]

Since its opening in 1962, Dulles has provided the D.C. metro area access to the world and stimulated much economic growth in the region. The collection of commercial offices surrounding the airport's access highway known as the Dulles Technology Corridor is home to much of the region's high-tech business sector.^[4] The resulting growth of commercial enterprise in the area has undoubtedly contributed to Northern Virginia's transformation from a rural countryside to a bustling and self-sufficient megalopolis.

Dulles Airport is the product of the United States Congress' passing of the Washington Airport Act of 1950, which proposed the construction of a second airport in the Washington area to alleviate congestion of Washington National Airport (now known as Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport) and provide an international hub for the nation's capital and surrounding region.^[5]

The final site was selected by retired Lt. General Elwood Quesada, then president Dwight D. Eisenhower's aviation advisor.^[6] This site was located on the border between Fairfax and Loudoun Counties, both of which were largely rural locales at the time.

The area within and surrounding the proposed airport contained a number of established villages that epitomized multiple eras in American history. A few of these communities met their demise directly or indirectly as a result of the airport's construction. Willard Crossroads, a largely black community settled at the turn of the 20th century, was demolished to make way for tarmac, concourses, and runways.^[7] Disruption of other communities like Pleasant Valley, Chantilly, and Floris resulted in an irreversible decline in their agriculture leading either to their suburbanization or to their fate.

The Dulles Area Historical Database is dedicated to the comprehensive study of development around and within the territory that now houses Dulles International Airport.

The land examined for historical study is bounded by latitudes 38° 59' 14.0424" (North) and 38° 51' 53.3046" (South) and longitudes -77° 33' 44.9598" (West) and -77° 23' 33.6228" (East). This 58.17mi² zone partally includes zip codes 20105, 20120, 20143, 20148, 20151, 20152, 20164, 20166, 20170, 20171, and 22033. The area of study comprises of approximately 23mi² of Fairfax and 35mi² of Loudoun counties, respectively. The modern-day communities of Brambleton, Sterling, Arcola, Pleasant Valley, South Riding, Conklin, Centreville, Chantilly, Oak Hill, and Herndon are either partially or fully included in this zone.

View c. 1957 map of historical sites within the area of study.

1. "About Dulles International Airport," last modified 12-02-2010, http://www.metwashairports.com/dulles/208.htm.
2. "About Dulles International Airport."
3. "Security 'Segways' at Washington's Dulles International Airport," last modified 12-05-2010, http://activerain.com/blogsview/1263496/security-segways-at-washington-s-dulles-international-airport.
4. "The Dulles Technology Corridor," last modified 05-27-2010, http://www.dullestechnologycorridor.com/faq.html.
5. "History" last modified 12-02-2010, http://www.metwashairports.com/dulles/661.htm.
6. "History of Dulles Airport," last modified 02-22-2010, http://www.loudounhistory.org/history/dulles-airport-history.htm.
7. "History of Dulles Airport."