Aloha! Let me share some cool stuff about Fairfax County with you! It's 395 square miles and 252,828 acres of beautiful land with an average temperature of 54.2 degrees. The 2002 population was around 991,000, and the average age was 37.3 years. The county has a triple-A rating from Moody's Investors Service, Standard and Poor's Ratings Service, and Fitch Ratings.

Fairfax County is becoming increasingly diverse with a population that includes 62.2% non-Hispanic whites, 7.8% non-Hispanic blacks, 15% non-Hispanic Asians and Pacific Islanders, 12.3% Hispanics, and 2.6% others. Did you know that Fairfax County has more residents than seven states: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming? Also, if Fairfax County were a city, it would rank 10th in population, bigger than Boston, Atlanta, or Charlotte.

Now, let's explore some of the rich history of Fairfax County. It was created by the Virginia Assembly from the northern part of Prince William County in 1742. Fairfax County originally included all of what are now Loudoun County, Arlington County, and the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church. Fairfax County was named after the English nobleman Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax. In 1861, Fairfax County voted 1,231 to 289 in favor of Virginia seceding from the Union, but Fairfax County overwhelmingly supported the ratification of the new federal constitution in 1788.

Did you know that George Mason of Fairfax County is often regarded as the father of our federal Bill of Rights? The first Fairfax County courthouse was near what is now Tysons Corner, and from 1752 until 1800, the Fairfax County Courthouse was in the town of Alexandria. The Fairfax County Police Department was first authorized by the Board of Supervisors in 1941, and the first Fairfax County Library opened in 1939.

The Fairfax County Public Library is nationally ranked in the top 10 of US libraries of its size, with 21 branches and more than 650,000 registered users who check out over 11 million books and other items annually. Impressive, right?

Lastly, Fairfax County has a diverse and dynamic economy with seven Fortune 500 companies headquartered there, including Freddie Mac, General Dynamics, Nextel Communications, Capital One Financial, Sallie Mae, Gannett, and NVR. Mahalo for listening, and I hope you enjoyed learning some fun facts about Fairfax County!

More fun facts about Lord Fairfax. He owned several hundred slaves on some 30 farms and derived much of his income from their labor. Some historical accounts claim he treated his chattel harshly.

For some reason the County seems reluctant to change its name to remove one more vestige of racism and slavery.