During the 18th Century, most of what is now Fairlington belonged to Colonel John Carlyle, a prominent Alexandria citizen and owner of the celebrated Carlyle House. Around 1770, this friend of George Washington established a plantation and constructed a large white house know as Morven. Its site is in North Fairlington at the end of 31st Street just north of Route 7. In 1774, George Washington purchased a land grant that included a small parcel of land in North Fairlington near Abingdon School and South 28th Street. He frequently used Carlyle's grist mill, sending his grain upstream on Four Mile Run.¹

Source: http://www.fairlingtonvillages.com/about-history.html