Esthetician School in Hybla Valley, VA

The Mason family’s Hollin Hall plantation, just south of Alexandria, had become the property of several owners, including Edward Curtis Gibbs and the Wilson family. Thomson Dairy had been founded on the land in the late 19th century, and lasted until Merle Thorpe purchased it in the early 20th century. The various dairy farms, such as Sherwood Farm, Hybla Valley Farm, and Popkins Farm were converted into suburban neighborhoods, while plans for the construction of the George Washington Air Junction and the Hybla Valley Airport began. The civilian airport was proposed to be the largest in the world, yet the land, which had once been dairy farm, was abandoned and is currently Huntley Meadows Park. During World War II, the famous Hollin Hills subdivision, to the east of U.S. Route 1 towards the Potomac River, was completed by designers Charles Goodman and Robert Davenport. Also during the war, the princess of Norway sought refuge from the conflict in Europe and wished to purchase the property of Hollin Hall; President Roosevelt personally inspected the land for her, yet his assistant, Thorpe, became its new owner in the end. The land surrounding it became a turkey farm, and was eventually bought by the Mount Vernon Unitarian Church. In 1978, the Mount Vernon Unitarian Church donated land within Hollin Hills to create the wealthy Mason Hill subdivision. The west side of Hybla Valley has developed over the years, including construction of Mount Vernon Plaza in 2002.

In 1833, Gum Springs was founded by West Ford, a freed slave, skilled carpenter, and manager on George Washington’s plantation, Mount Vernon. Ford was able to develop this 214-acre farming community in Fairfax County from the sale of land he inherited from Hanna Washington, the sister-in-law of George Washington. By 1866, Ford was the second richest free black farmer in Fairfax County, Virginia. Gum Springs Farm became the nucleus of an African-American community throughout the 1800s. Gum Springs was established along what is now Route 1 (Richmond Highway) and in 1991 a historical marker was erected from the Department of Historic Resource (Marker Number E-04).

Since the early 2000s, the Hybla Valley area has experienced a significant growth of its Hispanic population. As of the 2010 census, the Hispanic population exceeded the African American population in Hybla Valley.