The historic home at 9617 Burke Lake Rd. was the residence of Lieutenant Colonel Silas Burke, his wife, Hanna Coffer Burke, and their two children. Silas Burke had this house built close to the time of his marriage in 1824. Burke was a successful entrepreneur and operated a store, mill, and a blacksmith shop. He was a director for the Fairfax Turnpike Company and the Orange & Alexandria Railroad, and served as Chief Justice of the Fairfax County Court. Burke's efforts brought the railroad through his property and his neighbors'. Additionally, Silas Burke served as a county sheriff, a lieutenant colonel in the county militia, school commissioner, and president of the Fairfax Agricultural Society.
In 1891, John Marshall, owner of Burke's general store, purchased the home. In the early 1900s, Henry Copperthite purchased the property. Copperthite was the owner of the local race track and, in 1925, William and Nellie Simpson purchased the Silas Burke House. In 2016, the Simpson-Fowler family entrusted the house to Sunrise Senior Living.
This project would not have been possible without the guidance, support, and cooperation of many people from Fairfax County and from Burke Historical Society.
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