John Pimmit (also known as Pimett[4][5] Pimmett,[6] or Pymmett[7][8]) and Thomas Browne were deeded 100 acres of land on 12 March 1672 by Elizabeth Alexander, wife of Captain John Alexander. The land was sold "for 5,200 Pounds of Tobacco and caske payd by Charles Hickes", witnessed by John Higinson and Thomas Elsey. The deed was recorded in Stafford County, Virginia, on 8 November 1680.[7]
Pimmit was an overseer in 1675 for William Fitzhugh (1651–1701).[9] Fitzhugh, who immigrated to Virginia from England about 1670, was a lawyer, public official, plantation owner, and investor in land.[10]
John Pimmit drowned in February 1688 in the Potomac River near the mouth of the stream that was named for him. ..."an Indian that founde him drowned" was paid with a matchcoat (a long woolen coat, or blanket coat). Further compensation was made to "ye old Frenchman for lookinge after ye Children [John, Margaret, and William] since their Fathers Drowninge".[11] Seven pence was "paid to an Indian takeing 7 p & burying ye said JOHN PYMMET at ye Courts Direccon".[12]
Larger homes are replacing 1950s era ramblers.
Development
The area that is now Pimmit Hills was primarily farm land until the sub-division was built beginning in 1950.[13] The houses in Pimmit Hills were mostly built during the 1950s for World War II and Korean Warveterans and their families. Most of the houses were originally built as three bedroom, one bath dwellings of 833 square feet. Their initial price in 1950 was $9,950.[13] George Offutt began construction of the first 500 Pimmit Hills houses in 1950. His Offutt Construction Company completed the first two sections by 1954. Other builders completed sections 3-6, while Offutt built sections 7 & 8 under a different company. The subdivision was fully built out by 1957-58, with 1675 homes on 663 acres. Houses are mostly single family detached dwellings, with an average property size of 1/4 acre (1,000 m²) with some third acre lots. When the homes were first built, many areas were treeless former farm fields.[14] Decades later, the area is known for its population of large oaks, Tulip trees, and other trees.
Olney Park is one of several parks with playgrounds and fields in Pimmit Hills.
Current real estate values mirror the rest of Northern Virginia, with extreme value appreciation within the last several years. The median sale price of a Pimmit Hills home was $1.1 million in May 2023, according to redfin.com, reflecting the large number of larger, new homes that replaced the original 1950s homes. Pimmit Hills abuts the emerging city of Tysons with its upscale retail, restaurants, performance venues, and businesses, including many Fortune 500 companies. It is within walking distance to the Silver Line Metro and a short distance to Washington, DC. Fairfax County offers magnificent parks, playgrounds, and year round activities for all age groups.
Add-ons to the original one story houses, such as second floors, basements, and same-floor expansions, are common. Many new homes have been built in the neighborhood, and, on any given block, one can find several tear downs and rebuilds. This accelerated trend on tear downs is expected to continue, although many of the older houses built in the mid-1950s with less than 1000 square feet remain.[15]
Several proposals have been presented by commercial developers to buy Pimmit properties and convert them to higher-density housing, such as condominiums or town houses, but, thus far, these have been resisted by homeowners. The comprehensive redevelopment plans for the Tysons area contemplates the preservation of the neighborhood as a community of single-family homes.
Pimmit Barn
The Pimmit Barn, built in 1937, was a dairy barn on the Smith family farm in what is now Pimmit Hills.
Friends of Pimmit Barn successfully arranged with Fairfax County Parks Authority to preserve the historic building on Cherri Drive in Pimmit Hills for recreational use by the community through a Memorandum of Understanding on 9 October 2018.[16] Since then, outdoor movies, Fall Festivals, and other events have been held there annually. Prior to the MOU, Pimmit Hills neighbors opposed "placing large industrial gas equipment at the site".[17][18]
"The barn was built by Lisle Smith, who ran a dairy farm at the site for 15 years. The Fairfax County Water Authority (now called Fairfax Water) acquired the property in 1960. A well at the site was the primary water source for several hundred homes in the vicinity... The Water Authority deeded the site to the Park Authority in 1997 in exchange for a water-line easement within Cub Run Stream Valley Park"[19]
Lisle Archibald Smith
"In 1941, Smith purchased 108 acres of land from George Johnson in Vienna, Virginia. He named the farm’s two story dwelling built in c. 1840 “Spring Glade”. This was one of three dairy farms that Smith operated including a farm in Pimmit Hills which later became the site of the Pimmit Hills neighborhood.[20]
Smith was "a counsel for the [United States] Department of Agriculture. During the Roosevelt administration, Smith was appointed Assistant to the Attorney General, Homer Cummings. He later returned to the Department of Agriculture and retired in 1941."[21]
^Steve Dryden Papers on Pimmit Run Research Box 1 Folder 9
John Pimmit (also spelled Pymmett) - 17th Century Events & People, 1998 MSS 06-65, Virginia Room, Fairfax County Public Library
^William Fitzhugh, Virginia Museum of History and Culture, Virginia's Colonial Dynasties, Fitzhugh Family
^"Recorded in ye County Court records of Stafford ye 10th day of Febry 1691/2", Stafford County Virginia, Deed and Will Book 1689-1693, The Antient Press, p. 230 March 21
^Stafford County, Virginia, Deed and Will Book 1686-1689; The Antient Press p. 120
^The Lisle A. and Neitah Smith Collection on Spring Glade Farm, 1944-1964 Fairfax County Public Library, The Virginia Room MSS 06-96. The Lisle A. and Neitah Smith Collection on Spring Glade Farm consists of 0.5 linear feet, and spans the years 1944-1964, and consists of a guest book from Spring Glade Farm, photo albums, spreadsheets, photocopies of correspondence with President and Mrs. Truman, and a White House invitation card from Mrs. Truman.
