| Colchester, Virginia | |
| Settlement Type: | Unincorporated community |
| Pushpin Map: | USA Virginia Northern#USA Virginia#USA |
| Pushpin Label: | Colchester |
| Pushpin Label Position: | left |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Virginia |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Fairfax |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Population As Of: | 2000 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Coordinates: | 38.6686°N -77.2342°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP codes |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
Colchester is a historic unincorporated community on the Occoquan River in Fairfax County, Virginia.
Colchester is a former tobacco port established in 1753. The port town was located on the old post road and Thomas Mason (son of George Mason) operated a ferry across the Occoquan River here. In 1798, Mason built a wooden bridge across the river; the bridge was washed away around 1807.[1] Only one of Colchester's original buildings exists—the Fairfax Arms (10712 Old Colchester Road), which had been an ordinary and now owned by the Fairfax County Park Authority. The decline of the tobacco trade, silting of the river, and diversion of most shipping to the towns of Alexandria and Occoquan caused Colchester's decline.[2]
It was a stop on the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad which was replaced by, CSXT. Interstate 95, and the Jefferson Davis Highway (U.S. 1) are located directly to the west of the Colchester area.
Portions of roads that accessed Colchester still exist. Colchester Road in Clifton is part of SR 612, and Old Colchester Road, which runs north and becomes Telegraph Road leading to Alexandria, is part of SR 611. Farther to the northwest, the Snickersville Turnpike was historically named Colchester Road before it was improved in the early 1800s.[3] The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors nearly renamed the county's portion of Braddock Road to Colchester Road in 1989.[4]