Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Series 4, Boxes 30-31, contains restricted donation records for the “Save Evans Farm” initiative comprising of photocopied personal checks dating from 1998-2000.

Use Restrictions

Consult repository for information.

Preferred Citation

Lilla Richards Collection, MSS 06-97, Virginia Room, City of Fairfax Regional Library, Fairfax County Public Library.

Acquisition Information

In August 2015, Lilla Richards transferred this collection to Merrily Pierce and Paul Kohlenberger, who temporarily deposited it the following month with Fairfax County Public Library’s Virginia Room. It was officially donated by Pierce and Kohlenberger in March 2019.

Processing Information

Eric G. Grundset, 2018-2019
EAD generated by Ross Landis, 2021

Historical and Biographical Information

Lilla Dunovant McCutchen Richards was born in Washington, D. C., on March 17, 1939. She was the daughter of James M. McCutchen, an electrical engineer, and Emily Dunovant, natives of South Carolina. Lilla grew up in Arlington County, Virginia, after her family moved there in the early 1940s and was educated in Arlington County Public Schools. She received a B. S. degree from the University of South Carolina. During her childhood, she spent the school year in Northern Virginia and parts of the summers in South Carolina.

Lilla married Stanley I. Richards on July 24, 1965, in Alexandria, Virginia. From 1965-1971, the Richards lived in Tysons Corner, Virginia, and in 1971 moved to nearby McLean. She became involved in civic-association activities while simultaneously working as an editor for the Federal government. Her keen interest in civic affairs lead to her departure from the government position in 1973 and an increasingly deep involvement in local politics.

Richards was involved with the McLean Citizens Association for over 40 years, serving as its president (1977-1978). She served as the second vice president, first vice president, and then president of the Fairfax County Federation of Civic Associations between 1979 and 1982. Richards also served as a member of the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board.

In 1987, she was elected as a Democrat to serve on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors as the member for the Dranesville District encompassing McLean, Tysons Corner, Lewinsville, Great Falls, and other communities in northern and northeastern Fairfax County bordering the Potomac River. Her term ended in 1991, but Richards remained active in civic affairs from many years thereafter into the early twenty-first century. She died on September 22, 2020, in Arlington, Virginia.

Scope and Content

The Lilla Richards Collection consists of 51 linear feet and 92 manuscript boxes and spans 1914-2016. The earliest materials cover the development of organizations and institutions in the area of McLean, Langley, Great Falls, Lewinsville, and adjoining areas of northern and northeastern Fairfax County, Virginia. Most of the collection concentrates on the 1970s to the 1990s, however, and focuses on every type of development issue that has challenged the McLean community during a period of rapid and intense population growth. The bulk of this collection consists of correspondence, public documents and reports, maps, newspaper clippings, photographs, newsletters, and other materials relating to the growth and development of the McLean, Virginia, area.

When placed in the library for processing, the collection had been loosely arranged into broad subject areas. During the rearrangement of the papers in the 42 banker boxes, many stray items were found scattered throughout requiring considerable sorting. It should also be noted that some papers from McLean Citizens Association past-presidents Conrad Clark and Theodore Gray were incorporated into the collection when donated. Researchers should note that there were some undated papers in the collection.During the sorting process into chronological order of many sections, undated papers were left with the previous dated document as a general date indicator. Every effort was made to date materials from internal information or context in their original order, but some materials defied assignment of year of creation.

Researchers would do well to search this guide for terms of interest because many topics are scattered throughout the collection and could not be gathered into one location. The collection now maintains a considerable amount of the original order of the materials therein, but many files and papers were relocated to represent specific topics when possible. Any one document could contain multiple subjects, especially government documents and MCA or MCF publications, minutes, and associated papers.

Series 1: Biographical Files, 1968-2016, Boxes 1-3 and Oversize

This series contains biographical files on Lilla Richards, her personal calendars, material on the proposed “McLean Room” at the Dolly Madison Library, newspaper clippings on Northern Virginia debutant activities and events, and the original box inventories of the 42 banker boxes that arrived in Fairfax County Public Library’s Virginia Room in September 2015. Also, a caricature of Lilla Richards and some humorous bumper stickers not specifically related to McLean or Fairfax County are included.

Series 2: McLean Citizens Association Administrative and Subject Files, 1914-2010, Boxes 4-17

A large collection of material relating to Lilla Richards’ long-time involvement with the McLean Citizens Association (MCA) constitutes this series. Every aspect of the organization’s activities and policies is covered. MCA has been an informal “town government” for McLean and has had a significant impact on the area’s development through most of the twentieth century. The history of MCA from its formation in 1914 into the early twenty-first century is represented by Richards’ notes, correspondence, copies of MCA newsletters and committee reports, and countless newspaper clippings and related items detailing many subjects such as transportation, zoning, schools, trees, subdivision names, Tysons Corner, McLean’s Central Business District, the McLean Community Center, taxation, politics, and civic awards.

Series 3: McLean Citizens Foundation Administrative Records, 1975-2014, Boxes 18-27

Every aspect of the work of the McLean Citizens Foundation (MCF) is detailed in these files. The organization was created in 1978 to manage money raised by the MCA to support numerous civic improvement projects in McLean. These include grants for parks, such as the McLean Central Park; schools; the McLean Community Center; Little League fields; and the Claude Moore Farm at Turkey Run. Grant papers, foundation minutes and reports, bylaws, and brochures populate the files in this series. In 2009, the organization’s name became the McLean Community Foundation.

Series 4: Evans Farm Controversy Files, 1969-2000 (bulk 1998-2000), Boxes 28-31

For decades, the Evans Farm Inn and its surrounding grounds provided a park-like atmosphere for local residents to have a meal and let their children feed ducks. It was a very popular location but started to decline in the 1990s. Following the death of the original owner, Bayard D. Evans, in 1980, the family eventually decided to sell the property in the late 1990s. This created a firestorm of opposition from the surrounding community that resulted in a court case that failed to prevent the sale. This series contains a large quantity of material on these efforts to stop the transaction. Lilla Richards was involved in these efforts. Materials include notes, newspaper articles, correspondence, bumper stickers, donor lists, and zoning materials. The donation records in Boxes 30 and 31 are restricted due to containing personal checks and signatures.

Series 5: McLean Planning Committee Files, 1967-2001, Boxes 32-33

This series contains Richards’ collection of clippings, correspondence, committee reports, and related materials that detail the workings of the McLean Planning Committee (MCP). The committee focused largely on the long struggle to plan and remake the McLean Central Business District.

Series 6: Fairfax County Planning Files, 1957-2013

Sub-Series 6-1: PLUS Plan, 1970-2001, Boxes 33-40
This sub-series contains extensive material on the Fairfax County PLUS Plan of the 1970s that sought to create a master county zoning plan. Richards was heavily involved in land use planning in Dranesville District and Fairfax County as a whole. Included are notes, studies, reports, news articles, and other documents.

Sub-Series 6-2: McLean Planning District, 1963-2002, Boxes 40-46
This sub-series contains files on the McLean Central Business District and plans and studies for its redevelopment. Included are reports, studies, notes, news articles and other documents.

Sub-Series 6-3: Dranesville District Rezoning Applications, 1957-2002, Boxes 47-53
This sub-series contains individual rezoning, and other development applications in Dranesville District. These files include reports of the Department of Planning and Zoning, correspondence with Fairfax County, developers, and residents, architectural drawings and plats, meeting materials, newspaper clippings, and other documents.

Sub-Series 6-4: McLean Subdivisions, 1970-2013, Boxes 53-54
Richards maintained information on McLean-area subdivisions throughout her career. Included in this sub-series are correspondence, notes, news articles, plat maps and other documents.

Sub-Series 6-5: Tysons Corner, 1962-2006, Boxes 55-59
This sub-series contains Richards’ files concerning the development of Tysons Corner. Included are studies, newspaper articles, maps, and other related documents.

Series 7: Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Files, 1957-2005, Boxes 60-78

Lilla Richards was deeply involved in transportation planning efforts during the 1970s-1990s. This series reflects this involvement and provides insight into the role of local residents, and Richards herself specifically, in trying to grapple with the constant changing of an older and increasingly heavily populated suburb of the Nation’s Capital. Transportation planning included interstate highways, such as I-495 (The Capital Beltway) and I-66; the Dulles Access and Toll Roads; Metro; DART, and Dulles International Airport. The intensity of the transportation development in Fairfax County in the late twentieth century is the main focus of this series.

Series 8: Election Files, 1971-1991

Sub-Series 8-1: Local Election and Political Topics, 1971-1991, Boxes 79-81
Richards was involved in elections from the local civic association level to the county-wide and state level. She was elected the president of the McLean Citizens Association and other groups. Included here are her files on local elections and associated political topics. As a politician, Richards maintained information on her allies and opponents, and so this series contains files on John T. (Til) Hazel, J. Hamilton Lambert, Audrey Moore, John Shacochis, and Robert T. Thoburn.

Sub-Series 8-2: Lilla Richards 1987 and 1991 Campaigns, 1987-1991, Boxes 81-83
In 1988, Richards ran for Dranesville District Supervisor and won. She lost her re-election bid in 1991 and did not pursue elected office after that. This series includes files containing research, campaign issues, financial information, and newspaper articles relating to her campaigns. Included is a copy of her campaign newsletter, The Richards Record, Vol. 1, No. 1 (1987).

Series 9: Organizations Files, 1973-2016, Boxes 83-85

During her involvement with local civic association activities and community, county, and state politics, Richards maintained files on various organizations. The contents of this series vary in size depending on the topic of contact and how Richards needed to handle it. Files mostly contain newspaper articles, newsletters, and correspondence. The Fairfax County Committee of 100 is well represented in this material with thirteen files.

Series 10: Dranesville District Supervisor Correspondence, 1988-1991, Boxes 86-89

Memorandum, correspondence and accompanying documents to and from Richards while Dranesville District Supervisor are included in this series.

Series 11: McCloud Brandon Hodges, Jr Scrapbooks on Arlington and Fairfax Counties, 1958-1969, Boxes 90-92

M. B. Hodges, of Arlington, Va., created scrapbooks of newspaper clippings on Arlington and Fairfax County development issues, land use, taxation, planning, transportation, roads, and more. These scrapbooks are not indexed, but they are mostly in chronological order. Hodges gifted these to Lilla Richards at some point in her career.

Series 12: Poster Boards, 1980-1997, Oversize Drawers

For presentations at various events, Lilla Richards and her staff created story boards of clippings and photographs on numerous local development and planning subjects. They are contained in oversize drawers.

Related Material

McLean Citizens Association Records, MSS 05-16, Virginia Room, Fairfax County Public Library

Separated Material

Duplicate and extraneous material.

Index Terms

• Buckley, Lynda Van Devanter (1947-2002)
• Chesterbrook (Va.) - History
• Clark, Conrad
• Coalition to Save Evans Farm
• Dranesville (Va.) - History
• Dulles Toll Road
• Duval, Clive L., II (1920-)
• Evans Farm Inn (McLean, Va.) - History
• Fairfax County (Va.) - Annexation
• Fairfax County (Va.) - Civic Associations
• Fairfax County (Va.) - Government and Politics
• Fairfax County (Va.) - Land use and planning
• Fairfax County (Va.) - Roads
• Fairfax County (Va.) Board of Supervisors.
• Fairfax County (Va.). Board of Supervisors
• Fairfax County Parkway (Va.) - History
• Falls Church (Va.) - Annexation
• Georgetown Pike
• Gray, Theodore L. (1922-2020)
• Great Falls (Va.) - History
• Hazel, John T. (Til) (1930-)
• Herndon (Va.) - History
• Hodges, McCloud B., Jr. (1919-2003)
• Lambert, Jefferson (Jay) Hamilton (1940-)
• Langley (Va.) - History
• Lewinsville (Va.) - History
• McLean (Va.) - Government and Politics
• McLean (Va.) - History
• McLean (Va.) - Parks
• McLean Citizens Association - History
• McLean Citizens Foundation - History
• McLean Community Center - History
• McLean Community Foundation - History
• McLean Planning District PLUS Task Force
• Milliken, John G. (1945-)
• Moore, Audrey Campbell (1928-2018)
• Pimmit Hills (Va.) - History
• Potomac View Secondary School (Proposed) (Va.) - History
• Richards, Lilla Dunovant McCutchen (1939-)
• Roads - Virginia - Fairfax County
• School and Civic League of McLean (Va.)
• Shacochis, John (1915-2004)
• Thoburn, Robert L. (1929-2012)
• Tysons (Va.) - History
• Tysons Corner (Va.) - History
• Tysons Corner Center (Tysons I) - History
• Tysons Corner Center (Tysons II) - History
• United States. Central Intelligence Agency - History
• Washington Dulles International Airport
• Washington National Airport

Adjunct Descriptive Data