Mantua is a
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
(CDP) in
Fairfax County,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
, United States. Mantua is a
bedroom community
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
serving as a suburb to the
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
metropolitan area. Most of the homes in Mantua were built between the 1950s and the 1980s. The population was 7,503 at the 2020 census.
Geography
Mantua is located in central Fairfax County at (38.852012, −77.257675).
It is bordered to the west by the city of
Fairfax, to the north by
Merrifield, to the east by
Woodburn, to the southeast by
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...
, and to the south by
Long Branch. The northern border of the CDP follows
U.S. Route 50
U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...
(Arlington Boulevard), the southern border follows
Virginia State Route 236
State Route 236 (SR 236) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs from U.S. Route 29 in Virginia, U.S. Route 29 and U.S. Route 50 in Virginia, US 50 in Fairfax, Virginia, Fairfax east to Virginia State ...
(Little River Turnpike), and the eastern border follows Prosperity Avenue. The
Capital Beltway
The Capital Beltway, designated as Interstate 495 (I-495) for its entire length, is an List of auxiliary Interstate Highways, auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Washington metropolitan area. The Ring road, beltway encircles Washington, D.C., ...
(Interstate 495) is to the east, and downtown Washington is to the east.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the Mantua CDP has a total area of , of which , or 0.91%, is water.
[ ] Accotink Creek
Accotink Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 15, 2011 tributary stream of the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County, Virginia, in the U ...
, a tributary of the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...
, flows through the northern part of the CDP, and Crook Branch, a tributary of Accotink Creek, flows through the southern part.
History
Texaco oil leak
An
oil distribution plant, located west of the community along
Pickett Road in
Fairfax City, was found in 1990 to have leaked approximately 200,000 gallons (approximately 4,700 barrels) of
petroleum
Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...
into of the soil and groundwater of the Crook Branch watershed.
At the time, the distribution plant was owned in part by a subsidiary of
Texaco
Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American Petroleum, oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its Gasoline, fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an Independ ...
.
The oil leakage may have occurred over up to twenty-five years,
as the distribution plant had opened in April 1965.
Four families were evacuated,
and approximately 100 homes were connected to public water and sewer lines.
The
Environmental Protection Agency
Environmental Protection Agency may refer to the following government organizations:
* Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland), Australia
* Environmental Protection Agency (Ghana)
* Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland)
* Environmenta ...
(EPA) directed the installation of a "pump-and-treat"
groundwater remediation
Groundwater remediation is the process that is used to treat polluted groundwater by removing the pollutants or converting them into harmless products. Groundwater is water present below the ground surface that saturates the pore space in the sub ...
system, which was augmented in 2000 by digging of horizontal infiltration wells, intended to wash contaminated groundwater into the remediation system.
Storm sewer
A storm drain, storm sewer (United Kingdom, United States, U.S. and Canada), highway drain, surface water drain/sewer (United Kingdom), or stormwater drain (Australia and New Zealand) is infrastructure designed to Drainage, drain excess rain an ...
s in the area were checked for leaks and relining was performed to prevent further contamination of surface water.
By 2013, a four-year temporary shutdown test had shown that
benzene
Benzene is an Organic compound, organic chemical compound with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar hexagonal Ring (chemistry), ring with one hyd ...
and
methyl ''tert''-butyl ether vapor intrusion in homes directly above the contaminated groundwater plume calculated from
sub-slab soil vapor sampling did not exceed the screening limit,
and that groundwater contamination east of the distribution plant had fallen to levels controllable by natural degradation. The offsite remediation system was removed by 2016, but cleanup at the distribution plant is ongoing.
The oil distribution plant remains in operation as of 2023 using nine reinforced
surface tanks,
despite objections that community members and a task force appointed by Governor
L. Douglas Wilder had raised at the time the leak was being investigated. All underground tanks have since been removed and piping for trucks to discharge oil residual into at the loading rack was installed in 1991:
both the underground tanks and the loading rack had been suspected sources of the leak.
Groundwater in the Crook Branch watershed continues to be tested annually by the EPA and storm sewers are inspected for cracks.
Demographics
As of the
2010 census, there were 7,135 people, 2,628 households, and 1,936 families residing in the CDP. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was 3,031.0 people per square mile. There were 2,766 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 73.5%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 19.7%
Asian, 2.6%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.3%
Native American, 1.2% from
other races, and 2.7% from two or more races.
Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 6.2% of the population.
The median age was 46.1 years. 25.6% of the population was under the age of 18, 6.3% was 18 to 24, 18.6% was 25 to 44, 31.7 was 45 to 64, and 17.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the community was 48.2% male and 51.8% female.
[
The median income for a household in the CDP was $112,008. About 3.8% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the ]poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 6.6% of those under the age of 18 and 7.2% of those 65 and older.[
]
Education
Primary and secondary schools
Public schools
The Mantua/Frost/Woodson School Pyramid is highly desired. Mantua's former principal, Jan-Marie Fernandez, was awarded the "2010 National Distinguished Principal for Virginia" and Woodson HS is ranked #280 in U.S. News & World Report's National Rankings.
The community is served by the Fairfax County Public Schools. Schools serving Mantua include:[Schools]
." ''Mantua''.
Elementary schools serving Mantua include:
Mantua Elementary School
Fairhill Elementary School
Secondary schools serving Mantua include:
* Frost Middle School
* Woodson High School
In addition, some Frost students may gain acceptance to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, often ranked in the top five high schools in America.
Private schools
Nearby private schools include:
Gesher Jewish Day School of Northern Virginia
(K-8)
St. Ambrose Catholic School
(K-8)
Notable residents
*Gerry Connolly
Gerald Edward Connolly (March 30, 1950 – May 21, 2025) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 11th congressional district from 2009 until his death in 2025. A Democrat, he was first elected in 2008 ...
, member of the United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
* Stephen E. Gordy, member of the Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...
[Gordy-Fairfield Heats Chilly Night in Fairfax City, ''Washington Post,'' Patricia Davis, October 10, 1985]
* Augusto and Michaela Odone, subjects of the 1992 film ''Lorenzo's Oil
''Lorenzo's Oil'' is a 1992 drama film directed and co-written by George Miller. It is based on the true story of Augusto and Michaela Odone, parents who search for a cure for their son Lorenzo's adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), leading to the d ...
'' starring Nick Nolte
Nicholas King Nolte (; born February 8, 1941) is an American actor. Known for his leading man roles in both dramas and romances, he has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award. Nol ...
and Susan Sarandon
Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actor. With a career spanning over five decades, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to ...
* Lorenzo Odone, notable ALD patient
References
External links
Mantua.org
{{authority control
Census-designated places in Fairfax County, Virginia
Census-designated places in Virginia
Washington metropolitan area