Herndon, Virginia

Herndon is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area of the United States. The population was 21,655 at the 2000 census, which makes it the largest of three towns in the county.

History
Herndon was named for Commander William Lewis Herndon, American naval explorer and author of Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon. Commander Herndon captained the ill-fated steamer SS Central America, going down with his ship while helping to save over 150 of its passengers and crew. The settlement was named Herndon in 1858. In the 1870s, many Northern soldiers and their families came to settle in the area, taking advantage of moderate climate and low land prices. Herndon also offered a group of friendly and local native Americans who helped the town to prosper via trade and instruction.

Originally part of the rural surroundings of the Washington, D.C. area, the town of Herndon developed into a hub of dairy farming and vacationing for area residents, aided by its presence along the Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad (later to become the Washington and Old Dominion (W&OD) Railroad). When the railroad was converted into a hike-and-bike trail, Herndon capitalized on history and small-town feel (in a major metropolitan region) by converting its train station into a museum and visitors center by relocating a Norfolk Southern Railway caboose to a nearby site and repainting it in W&OD livery.

Although the caboose does not resemble anything that ever traveled through Herndon, it remains an iconic part of the downtown area that both locals and tourists visit daily. The caboose and station offer a taste of the original town that has since faded into the suburban countryside.

On January 14, 2004, the Town of Herndon commemorated its 125th anniversary.

The town of Herndon was part of a nationally reported controversy involving illegal immigration beginning in 2005. The controversy revolved around a day labor center called the Herndon Official Worker Center (HOW Center), constructed by the town and operated by Reston Interfaith's Project Hope and Harmony under a grant from surrounding Fairfax County. The HOW Center was created in response to daily gatherings of Hispanic workers at a local 7-Eleven store and resulting allegations of gang activity, public drunkenness, and public urination. What had started as a local issue became national news when the Minuteman Project anti-illegal immigration group joined the local groups opposing the day laborers and watchdog group Judicial Watch sued the town and county to block the center's construction. The HOW Center opened in December 2005, on the site of the former Herndon Police headquarters. The 2006 election for Mayor and Town Council revolved mainly around the issue, and resulted in unseating the pro-center Mayor and two councilmembers. The center closed after less than two years of operation, in September 2007. The Town Council had demanded that any operator of the day-labor center check the laborers' identification, and a subsequent court decision required the town to open the center to all workers. The Town Council chose instead to close the center entirely.

Geography
Herndon is located at °N, °W (38.971478, -77.388675). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.2 square miles (10.9 km²), all of it land.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 21,655 people, 6,962 households, and 4,970 families residing in the town. The population density was 5,129.9 people per square mile (1,981.3/km²). There were 7,190 housing units at an average density of 1,703.3 per square mile (657.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 57.89% White, 9.51% Black, 0.42% Native American, 13.86% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 12.95% from other races, and 5.32% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 26.01% of the population.

There were 6,962 households out of which 41.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.8% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.6% were non-families. 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.11 and the average family size was 3.54.

In the town the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 38.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 3.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 111.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $72,912, and the median income for a family was $79,140 (these figures had risen to $92,947 and $108,446 respectively as of a 2007 estimate ). Males had a median income of $44,197 versus $35,548 for females. The per capita income for the town was $26,941. About 4.7% of families and 8.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.1% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.

Economy
Herndon is part of the Dulles Technology Corridor, which Fortune magazine named the "Netplex" because of the presence of the headquarters of such companies as AOL, XO Communications, Verizon Business (formerly MCI, formerly WorldCom, originally UUNET), and Network Solutions, which began as the INTERNIC — the registry where every domain name was once administered.

Some of those companies are within Herndon. For example, Airbus North America.

Others have Herndon mailing addresses, but are located in unincorporated Fairfax or Loudoun counties, e.g., south of the Dulles Toll Road. These include Deltek and K12.

Top employers
According to the Town's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Government
The town is organized as an incorporated town by the Commonwealth of Virginia, and is governed by an elected Mayor and Town Council who serve on a part-time basis. The current Mayor is Stephen J. DeBenedittis, first elected in 2006 and re-elected in 2008 and 2010. The Mayor chairs the Council and heads the executive branch of the town government. On May 4, 2010 Herndon elected its first ever female majority Council when Connie Hutchinson, Lisa Merkel, Sheila Olem and Grace Wolf were elected along with Jasbinder Singh and Bill Tirrell, to serve for the 2010 - 2012 term. The Mayor and Council are supported by a full-time professional staff headed by the Town Manager (Art Anselene as of 2007). The Police Department, independent of the county police department, is headed by Colonel Toussaint E. Summers, Jr. and consists of 70 sworn officers along with the assistance of the Herndon Police Citizen Support Team. The Herndon Police Department achieved national recognition on November 8, 1986 by becoming the 7th police agency in Virginia and the 42nd police agency in the United States to be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.

Attractions
Herndon boasts a wide variety of diversions and celebrations year round. Among the community events are:

Herndon contains the Herndon Depot Museum, the site of "Mosby's Raid on Herndon Station", which was a Civil War skirmish that took place on St. Patrick's Day, 1863. Also within the town is a golf course, community art gallery, community center with basketball and racquetball courts, and an aquatic center. Adjacent to the community center is Bready Park, with indoor tennis courts. Additionally, every residence within the town borders is within a mile or less of a public park.

Nearby attractions include the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum (which houses the Enola Gay B-29 Superfortress, a Concorde supersonic passenger airplane, an SR-71A Blackbird plane and the Space Shuttle Enterprise), Frying Pan Park, Sully Plantation, Reston Town Center, Mount Vernon, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, Colvin Run Mill, Aldie Mill, Oatlands Plantation, Manassas National Battlefield Park and the Washington and Old Dominion Trail (which runs through the town).

Primary and secondary schools
Herndon is within the Fairfax County Public Schools district.

Public schools serving students within the Herndon town limits are: :
 * Aldrin Elementary School
 * Clearview Elementary School
 * Coates Elementary School
 * Dranesville Elementary School
 * Herndon Elementary School
 * Hutchison Elementary School
 * McNair Elementary School
 * Herndon Middle School
 * Herndon High School

Public libraries
Fairfax County Public Library operates the Herndon Fortnightly Library in Herndon.

Famous residents

 * Ferenc Nagy, former Prime Minister of Hungary
 * Scottie Reynolds, former Villanova Wildcats basketball player
 * Wesley L. Fox, USMC Colonel Retired, Medal of Honor recipient, and former Deputy Commandant Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets

Sister cities
Its sister city is Runnymede, England, United Kingdom.