Lake Barcroft is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, Lake Barcroft had a population of 9,770. It is also the name of the privately owned lake—part of the Cameron Run Watershed—around which this population is located. The lake is named for Dr. John W. Barcroft, who owned and operated a mill on Holmes Run during the mid-19th century.
History
thumb|280px|right|The masonry dam across [[Holmes Run that creates Barcroft Lake, Fairfax County, Virginia, 22 October 2017|alt=A high dam of irregular square black stone. The top of the dam is an orange primered spillway held in position by hydraulic jacks built into notches in the dam face. A spillway runs down both sides of the dam into a small rocky pond at the foot of the dam. The dam is in the forest and some trees intrude into the picture.]]
In 1913, the Alexandria Water Company began construction of the Lake Barcroft Dam on Holmes Run to create a drinking water reservoir for the city of Alexandria. Construction of the dam was completed in 1915, putting a 620 million-gallon reservoir into service. In 1942, the company installed 24 gates at the top of the dam to raise the spillway elevation five feet, increasing the reservoir size to 800 million gallons.
In 1949, the City of Alexandria began to draw its drinking water from the Occoquan Reservoir. A year later, Colonel Joseph Barger and Associates purchased the reservoir, dam, and 680 adjacent acres of land for $1 million from the Alexandria Water Company. A year later, Barger and Associates began developing the into a residential community. During the early 1950s, residents formed a homeowners association called the Lake Barcroft Community Association (LABARCA). In 1970, community residents purchased the lake, dam, and common grounds for $300,000, and established the Barcroft Lake Management Association (BARLAMA).
In 1972, Hurricane Agnes passed over the area. The hurricane caused so much rain that the lake level rose above the top of the dam by . This resulted in the lake overflowing and eroding the western, earthen shoulder of the dam. The rush of water deepened the washout, but the slow erosion protected downstream interests from the wall of water that would have resulted from a total dam collapse.
To restore the dam and lake, residents voted to establish the Lake Barcroft Watershed Improvement District (LBWID) to set up a taxing authority to fund repairs. The LBWID is a quasi-governmental entity headed by three state-appointed trustees who are residents of Lake Barcroft. The lake was dry for two years during the early 1970s while the damaged dam was rebuilt. A new gate improved the operation of the dam and is now fully automatic. The dam meets all Commonwealth dam safety requirements.
The Lake Barcroft Association (LBA) came into being in 1992 when LABARCA and BARLAMA joined up into one private entity. Lake Barcroft has excellent fishing. Largemouth bass, catfish, sunfish and a rare (non-stinging) fresh water jellyfish all inhabit Lake Barcroft. Ospreys, fishing birds of prey, are now on the lake as well.
Geography
Lake Barcroft is located in eastern Fairfax County at (38.851412, −77.155654). It is bordered to the northeast by Seven Corners, to the east by Bailey's Crossroads, to the south by Lincolnia, to the southwest by Annandale, and to the northwest by West Falls Church. Downtown Washington, D.C. is to the northeast. The CDP border follows Sleepy Hollow Road to the west, Leesburg Pike to the north, various roads along its border with Bailey's Crossroads to the east, and Columbia Pike to the south.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the Lake Barcroft CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 8.34%, is water.
The local high school is Justice High School.
The boundaries of the Lake Barcroft CDP are somewhat more expansive than those of the LBA. The former includes several apartment buildings, condominiums, and businesses along the streets that form the border. The latter includes exclusively single family homes.
Demographics
2020 census
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Lake Barcroft CDP, Virginia – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |Pop 2020
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|5,993
|5,831
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,463
|67.29%
|61.01%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |55.92%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|425
|474
|style='background: #ffffe6; |773
|4.77%
|4.96%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |7.91%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|12
|10
|style='background: #ffffe6; |20
|0.13%
|0.10%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.20%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|852
|1,087
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,140
|9.57%
|11.37%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |11.67%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|4
|3
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5
|0.04%
|0.03%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.05%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|14
|64
|style='background: #ffffe6; |51
|0.16%
|0.67%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.52%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|295
|292
|style='background: #ffffe6; |456
|3.31%
|3.06%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.67%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|1,311
|1,797
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,862
|14.72%
|18.80%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |19.06%
|-
|Total
|8,906
|9,558
|style='background: #ffffe6; |9,770
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2000 census
As of the census