History

While Burke, Virginia, is not an incorporated town or city, it is a very special area of the county, with its own unique identity, history and community spirit.

The area that it now called Burke can be traced back to land belonging to Lord Fairfax in the early 1700's. Lord Fairfax made land grants to numerous families including Henry Ward and Francis Coffer. Henry Ward built Burke's first house, portions of which are now part of the Woods community center in Burke Centre. Hannah Ward married Silas Burke, a wealthy and prominent figure in the Burke area. During the mid 1800s, Silas Burke increased the family land holdings to over 600 acres and was responsible for diverting construction of the Orange & Alexandria Railroad from nearby Fairfax City to Burke. These tracks are now owned by the Norfolk Southern Railroad and are being used by our new commuter rail system, The Virginia Railway Express.

At the turn of the century, the little village of Burke thrived. Horse racing fans from as far away as Alexandria flocked to Burke to enjoy its racetrack and to stay at Henry Copperhites country resort (located on property east of the old Burke Post Office). In the 1950s residents successfully fought plans to locate what is now Dulles Airport in the Burke area [from History of The Braddock District].

The world's first service club, the Rotary Club of Chicago, Illinois, USA, was formed on 23 February 1905 by Paul P. Harris, an attorney who wished to recapture in a professional club the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his youth. The name "Rotary" derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among members' offices.

Rotary's popularity spread throughout the United States in the decade that followed; clubs were chartered from San Francisco to New York. By 1921, Rotary clubs had been formed on six continents, and the organization adopted the name Rotary International a year later.

Rotary as a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders provides humanitarian service, encourages high ethical standards in all vocations, and helps build goodwill and peace in the world. Approximately 1.2 million Rotarians belong to more than 31,000 Rotary clubs located in 166 countries.

The Rotary Club of Burke was organized by Brian Tilbury and chartered June 14, 1984. The Club met in the Assembly of God Church in Burke, whose Pastor, Roscoe Leach, was a Charter member. The Club soon moved to Burke Lake Gardens and was chartered by Rotary International on June 30, 1984, with twenty-two members (two are still with the Club). After moves to Vinnie's Restaurant and the Country Club of Fairfax, the Club settled at Fritter's Restaurant in Burke in October of 1988. Fritter’s was sold and renamed Hopsfrog Tavern in 1997. Then in August 2001, the management of the Hopsfrog found that they were unable to continue to support the morning meeting so the club moved to its current location at Brion’s Grille at the University Mall across from George Mason University.

The Burke Rotary Club meets every Tuesday morning from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. (sharp). Many members arrive early for coffee and fellowship. The club is a popular make-up venue for members of many of the surrounding clubs who live in the Burke area. Meetings begin with breakfast, followed by a program designed to inform, provoke or entertain members and guests.