Lake Braddock

Lake Braddock was formed from a pond on the Greenfield dairy farm.


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Here follows an excerpt from the Braddock Heritage website:

Judge Abner Ritchie built Greenfield in 1885 and named it for the green fields on the property. Judge Ritchie was a gentleman farmer; however, when the Kincheloe family bought Greenfield in 1943, it became a 220-acre working dairy farm. During World War II, the dairy relied on horses until the Kincheloes found a used tractor.

To the right of the house, there appears to be trench-like earthworks. The entrenchment is not from the Civil War, but is a ground silo where animal forage was stored. Most folks are familiar with upright silos but this is in ground. In 1900, Fairfax County was the number one dairy county in the State.

Paul Kincheloe grew up on the Greenfield Farm his father bought in 1943. Now an attorney, he talks about his memories of growing up on a working dairy farm, his childhood chores, education, and recreation.

Around 1965, the Kincheloe's sold part of the property, which later was developed into Lake Braddock and Greenfield subdivisions. One pond on the farm became Lake Braddock.


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Here follows an excerpt from the Washington Post newspaper on May 16, 1969 entitled, "Pact Signed for Pohick Watershed Dam":

Lake Braddock is a reservoir in the community of Burke in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Lake Braddock is created by an impoundment on a tributary stream of Pohick Creek, itself a tributary of the Potomac River.

In 1969, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and the Northern Virginia Soil District signed contracts which allowed the construction of the dam impounding the tributary of the Pohick creek in Burke. The $138,500 cost of the dam, intended as the first of eight to control soil erosion and flooding in the Pohick watershed, was split between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Yeonas Development Corporation, the latter of which intended to build a 1000-unit development on the surrounding 400 acres (160 ha).

The ultimate cost of the dam creating the 19 acres (7.7 ha) lake was $93,000 to the U.S. Government and $104,000 to Yeonas.

The fact that the lake included no public recreation facilities despite being financed with public money was the subject of controversy, and led to the amendment of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act in 1972 to require public access to all such facilities constructed in the future.