Established by two Black entrepreneurs and their families, who provided the economic engine for its initial success, the village of Ilda flourished as a racially integrated community before the Jim Crow era. More than simply a history of a racially and socially pioneering community, this remarkable book tells a broader story, recounting the Black experience in Fairfax County over generations and shedding new light on the racial, economic, political, and bureaucratic factors that drove the development of Northern Virginia and the nation as a whole. Weaving together accounts of horse thievery, attempted murder, savage beatings, hate crimes, and a long-forgotten cemetery, this gripping and often moving narrative provides a rich and unusually detailed record of the rise, decline, and rediscovery of a crossroads whose secrets and mysteries depict an America that might have been, and might still be.
The compelling history of a racially integrated, and now forgotten, community in northern Virginia

Established by two Black entrepreneurs and their families, who provided the economic engine for its initial success, the village of Ilda flourished as a racially integrated community before the Jim Crow era. More than simply a history of a racially and socially pioneering community, this remarkable book tells a broader story, recounting the Black experience in Fairfax County over generations and shedding new light on the racial, economic, political, and bureaucratic factors that drove the development of Northern Virginia and the nation as a whole. Weaving together accounts of horse thievery, attempted murder, savage beatings, hate crimes, and a long-forgotten cemetery, this gripping and often moving narrative provides a rich and unusually detailed record of the rise, decline, and rediscovery of a crossroads whose secrets and mysteries depict an America that might have been, and might still be.

Winner of the Nan Netherton Prize from the Fairfax County History Commission