Barrington Homeowner's Association

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Community News & Information

Check out the Pool page to cheer on the Blue Fins Swim Team this summer.

Or join Barrington's MOB who are Virginia's version of the Sopranos - well actually, they are the Mothers of Barrington, who plan such activities as the Easter Egg Hunt, the adult Pool Party, a Halloween Parade for the children, National Night Out which emphasizes neighborhood crime watch and safety, and a Christmas Party. Do you know when the trash is picked up or how the recycling is handled? What about what the contractors are going to be doing next? Check our website, committees page and our calendar of events for this and more info.

The Barrington Community has a committee called the Regional Affairs Committee whose goal is to keep all the Barrington members well-informed on those regional issues that affect living in this area.

Barrington Online Bulletin

The Barrington Online Bulletin is an informal newsletter distributed via email to Barrington residents. Regular features include, upcoming community events, opportunities for community service, editorials, births, new neighbors, Barrington Services Rated, and classifieds. This is a forum for anything residents want the rest of Barrington to know about. To get on the distribution list, send your email address to Margene Simms. To contribute to the Barrington Online Bulletin, please contact Kim Earle.

Barrington Driver Safety

Barrington Driving Safety... - It's everyone's responsibility!

Because of speeding within the Barrington subdivision, there have been a number of events reported that were near accidents or pedestrian strikes. This has created significant concern amongst the residents of our community especially those with younger children who ride bikes or play with their friends in the streets of Barrington.

We are all responsible to remind members of our families to be cautious when driving on our roads.

It is easy to say that it is the young people in Barrington who are the major contributors to the problem. However, as was reported to the MOB in 2003, we have during the past two years employed the use of a radar gun at peak hours of travel on subdivision roads to determine what average speed is being used and who are the most significant speeders. On both occasions the average speed between 0700-0900AM and 0400-0600PM during a weekday was 42.5 mph, well in excess of the posted 25mph. The drivers employing these speeds covered a broad spectrum of community members both young and old, many of who were frequently talking on cell phones when checked by the radar gun. One person of note nearly struck the officer with the radar gun at a speed of 46mph because she was looking at her child in the back seat of her van while passing Haddington Court (she also had a cell phone to her ear at the time). Clearly a child riding a bike or chasing a missed ball into the street would have had no chance in this situation.

Drinking and driving in a subdivision is also considered a significant problem that is equally dangerous to us all. The number of empty beer cans and bottles of liquor that are picked up at the entry, streets, and walking paths around Barrington is significant and asks the question - Do you know where your children are and what they are doing? This problem has been documented in multiple articles recently in the Washington Post and on local TV and radio networks. The homeowners association has had to use community funds to repair landscaping that has been destroyed by individuals. We all need to be aware of these problems and work to eliminate them before we are confronted by a great tragedy.

As a result of the information noted above several members of the community have requested that alternatives be investigated that will deal with the continuing problem of speeding. Speed bumps, speed platform crosswalks, stop signage at regular intervals on Braymore circle are just some of the considerations.

Remember driving safety is all our responsibility!!!

Fairfax County Public Schools

Please go to the Fairfax County School website for the latest information about our surrounding schools.

A note from the Archives ...
Barrington in the Washington Post!

In Barrington, Life Revolves Around Fun
By Ann Cameron Siegal
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, July 10, 2004; Page G01

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Many residents of Fairfax Station's Barrington community spend a lot of time going around in circles.

The 476 houses in Barrington are all on streets that connect to the community's "social circle," Braymore Circle, which is nine-tenths of a mile in circumference. Walkers and joggers often stop to catch up on news with their neighbors.

Barrington is made for those seeking quiet streets and lots of exercise. Paige Robertory said her family enjoys the miles of biking and hiking trails surrounding the community. Paved paths through wooded areas connect Barrington to the nearby 43-acre Lake Mercer as well as to South Run recreation center and Burke Lake.

"Sometimes we just put on backpacks and go for an adventure," Robertory said.

Sometimes, they go by bicycle. It's three miles through the woods to Burke Lake from their house -- without crossing a street -- and five miles around the lake, so they might pack a picnic and make a day of it.

Being in a community with only one road in and out removes worries about through traffic. "It makes it easy to have parades through the streets," said Pam Jones, a resident since 1992. The numerous cul-de-sacs and pipe stems -- private driveways shared by two or more houses -- offer pockets of safe romping space for children.

"We have 15 to 20 kids on our cul-de-sac," said Susan Tesorero, a mother of two. "People open up their homes to each other. It's like an extended family."

Jones said: "This is the kind of place everyone wants to live in, but doesn't know it exists anymore."

Barrington is a social community with a love of acronyms. Many of its activities are organized by the MOB -- Mothers of Barrington -- and communicated through BOB -- the Barrington Online Bulletin. About 350 residents have signed up for BOB, where they learn about opportunities for community service, meet new neighbors, or give cheers and boos to local contractors.

The MOB is a casual women's group where popcorn appetizers are as welcome as salmon mousse and where keeping on top of regional issues is as much of a focus as sponsoring neighborhood celebrations.

Eugenia McGroarty, one of the group's founders, said the group's formal name -- everyone calls it the MOB -- is a misnomer because she doesn't have children and neither do several other active members. McGroarty describes the group as reflecting Barrington's diversity when it comes to family make-up and interests. While some members have no children, others "have babies, preteens, teens, young adults or grandchildren," she said.

Tesorero, a former Fairfax County teacher who is community service manager for the MOB, said that when her family moved to Barrington in 1999, the group offered her a quick way to meet people and get referrals for doctors and dentists. Since then, she said, she has found a generosity among her neighbors that amazes her.

"This is such a giving community," she said. "When the call goes out for help, this community comes through time and time again with tons of stuff."

For several years, residents have stuffed countless backpacks with school supplies for needy children. "I just imagine the students' faces as they opened those," Tesorero said.

When Tesorero set out a collection box in her front yard and put out a call for winter coats to help the underprivileged, the box was soon overflowing.

The first of Barrington's houses was built in the late 1980s, before the nearby Lorton area became developed and local schools began bursting at the seams. Barrington's middle and high school students are bused to Hayfield, 12 miles away. However, a new South County secondary school for 2,500 students is slated to open nearby in the fall of 2005.

Even though home construction was not completed until 1999, Barrington today has an established look. Paul Hietanen, out walking with his 6-year-old daughter, said, "The builders left a lot of trees. It looks mature from a landscaping point of view."

The large, executive-style houses have brick or stone fronts and two-story foyers. Nine years ago, front and rear stairwells and the openness in one home sold Howard and Margaret Boone on Barrington. Their kitchen provides visibility into the dining room, the two-story family room and on out to the deck, making for easy entertaining.

With eight grandchildren coming to visit throughout the summer and their membership in a progressive-dinner-party club, the Boones get a lot of use out of their space.

Although the neighborhood's four-bedroom houses are situated on quarter-acre lots, they don't appear to be on top of each other. Kathy and Troy Churchman's deck is rather close to their neighbors', but their house is angled to minimize the appearance of closeness. Avid gardeners, the Churchmans have made the most of their corner lot, planting 350 day lilies around their home -- all set to bloom in mid-July.

In warm weather, much of the community gathers at the pool, where more than 100 children are members of the Blue Fins swim team. Open to ages 5 to 18, the only requirement to be on the team is the ability to swim the length of the pool using any stroke -- even the dog paddle. Although the team has had several winning seasons, those involved say competition is not as important as encouraging each swimmer to have fun and reach a personal best. Annual team-sponsored whipped cream fights in the parking lot or wacky relay races in the pool are among the favorite social events.

Kenneth Reinshuttle, executive director of the Fairfax Education Association, helped start the swim team 11 years ago. "Kids have grown up through the team," he said. "They stayed to become lifeguards and coaches and went on to do well in high school and college. They're role models now. This was a good healthy place for them to be."