Dunn Loring is a census-designated place (CDP), located near Fairfax, VA, in Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. At the time of the 2010 census, the population was 8,803. Dunn Loring was established in 1886 and is believed to be the earliest platted community in Fairfax County and maybe the whole Commonwealth of Virginia. From L. B. Clarke and his wife, on June 8, 1886, General William McKee Dunn and his wife, Elizabeth Lanier Dunn, purchased around 600 acres (2.4 km2) of land located along the Washington, Ohio and Western Railroad (now the Washington and Old Dominion Regional Trail) in what is now Virginia.

It was transferred to the Loring Land and Improvement Company on September 22, 1886, which was formed by General Dunn, then a retired Army brigadier general and former Judge Advocate General; George B. Loring, a former congressman and Commissioner of Agriculture; and George H. LeFetra, a Washington temperance hotel proprietor. In 1887, the town of Dunn Loring was promoted for sale as a residential subdivision.

The Loring Land and Improvement Company constructed a train station and a post office, but General Dunn died shortly afterwards, and the development came to a halt. It was during World War II that the establishment of Camp Russell A. Alger spurred development and prosperity in Dunn Loring. Among the troops trained at Camp Alger was the famed author and poet Carl Sandburg, in honor of whom Sandburg Street was named.

After purchasing the interests of the developers, Fairfax Shield McCandlish united the sections and subdivided the site into its current platting in 1912. It began to develop as a component of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. after World War II as part of the growing metropolitan area.

It wasn’t until the mid-1990s that significant tracts of land were turned into horse farms and plantations, before they were transformed into residential neighborhoods.

Several major highways, including Interstate 66 and Interstate 495, constitute the southern and eastern boundaries of Dunn Loring, respectively, and serve as the primary means of access to the community.

It is almost equidistant between Washington Dulles International Airport (16 miles to the west) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (12 miles to the east) while traveling to and from the area. The area is also served by the Dunn Loring station on the Orange Line of the Washington Metro system.

Annandale
Critical Control – Restoration Service