Lorton's Old 'Welcome' Sign Soon to be Replaced

Out with the old, in with the new. Within the next two weeks, an eight-foot-tall "welcome" sign will be completed in Lorton, along northbound Route 1 near Gunston Road. The sign will carry the logos of 10 Lorton-area organizations and will read in bold letters, "Lorton, Virginia - 1875." 

"It's going to be a permanent fixture," said Shep Crow, a founding member of the South Fairfax Chamber of Commerce, who came up with the design and spent two years getting Fairfax County to sign off on the project. 

"One day I was driving up the road and I saw the old sign sitting on the side of the road. It was all rusted over and looked like it got hit by a Mack truck. It was a real eyesore and it didn't look good for Lorton at all," he said. 

Installing a new sign required a permit from the county and approval from the Virginia Department of Transportation, which owns the land. 

"The county wanted the sign to be able to withstand a 90 mile-per-hour wind storm. I told them that if it was that bad out, that there wouldn't be any townhouses standing up anymore," said Crow. "It's not going anywhere. The footings are three feet of solid concrete anchored into 4x4 timbers." 

Chamber member Paul Schmidt built the sign free-of-charge. The aluminum logos are currently being attached by Fast Signs in Springfield.