Corduroy Road (Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this trailside historical marker:

Corduroy Road
George Mason University History Trail

Just across Braddock Road and alongside Ox Road, lie remnants of a Civil War-era corduroy (log) road. Corduroying was an age-old practice of laying small logs perpendicularly across roadbeds which frequently 'washed out' during rainy periods and then covering the logs with a thin layer of dirt or sand. While this improved the road, it also made for a bumpy carriage ride and was hazardous for horses due to loosened and shifting logs.

In 2014, remnants of the corduroy road literally came to light, when a public works project inadvertently uncovered a section of logs about six feet below today's Ox Road. The construction crew piled the logs near the then University Mall sign. Local authorities were notified, and they identified the discovery as a corduroy road and established a process to be followed for any future discoveries. Approximately 40 of the logs were taken to Historic Blenheim where they were stored pending further analysis.

The road from Fairfax Court House to Fairfax Station (an Orange and Alexandria Railroad station and depot established in 1852) was well-used. However, travel was problematic as the road was built on a ridge that did not drain well. Conditions were so bad that the Virginia Legislature authorized corduroying the road. Extensive military use during the Civil War reinforced the need for a reliable and usable road at all times. Hence, in the fall of 1862, Federal forces began corduroying the road to Fairfax Station. Subsequently, they extended the corduroy road to Wolf Run Shoals a strategic crossing point on the Occoquan River, where Federal forces were encamped.

In 2015, another section of the corduroy road was uncovered closer to the intersection and the established process was followed. The logs were measured, tagged on each end to document location and orientation, cut and removed in order to complete the public works project. They were then put back in their original locations and orientation, based on each log's tag information, and covered with the previously removed soil in order to preserve them.

The logs had been preserved through all these years due to the wet, acidic, and anaerobic soil covering them. In 2016, a dendrochronologist inspected the stored logs for dating purposes and determined that the logs did not contain enough growth rings (60+ rings required) to enable a scientifically valid age determination. However, these discoveries did confirm that a corduroy road had existed between Fairfax Court House and Fairfax Station.