Renaming Lee Highway
and Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway                            

                                                                                                                                                 Fairfax County Government

In 2020, the Board asked the History Commission to create an inventory report of Confederate monuments, street names and places in Fairfax County. The report, completed in December of 2020, explains why some county locations have Confederate associated names and lists 157 locations within the county where they exist. The report did not include federal property, public schools, places of worship, or cemeteries. Lee Highway and Lee Jackson Memorial Highway were the primary Confederate named highways on the list.

Some community member concerns about the appropriateness of these names prompted the Board of Supervisors to establish the Confederate Names Task Force to examine the issue and make recommendations. A distinction was made of those names of individuals who helped to create this nation and those who attempted to destroy it.

The Confederate Names Task Force is recommending both Lee Highway (Route 29) and Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway (Route 50) get new names. Appointed by the Board of Supervisors in July 2021, the task force met regularly from August to December and discussed whether two roadways, named after Confederate generals, should keep their names, or be renamed. Chaired by Evelyn S. Spain, the task force includes residents, and representatives from civic organizations, homeowner associations, faith groups, historical groups, and the business community.

Meeting dates, video recordings of task force meetings and a complete list of task force members are available online. The task force voted to recommend changing both ro

• Confederate Names Task Force is recommending both highways be renamed, provides five new name suggestions for each highway.
• Department of Transportation will conduct additional outreach to residents and businesses along both corridors.
• Any formal change to the highway names would need to ultimately be approved by the Commonwealth Transportation Board.

Name Recommendations