Paciulli, Simmons & Associates’ history is rooted in tools like the compass and the chain tape, tracing its history to the mid 1700’s and firm founder, Henry Gunnell. In 1744, around the time that George Washington became the first surveyor for Culpeper County, Henry Gunnell was surveying a 160-acre tract of land for William Fairfax, neighbor of George Washington and cousin of Lord Fairfax, after whom Fairfax County was later named. Several years later, Henry Gunnell and George Washington’s vestrymen would join together to work on Gunnell’s Church, now known as Falls Church. Henry Gunnell would also go on to serve with George Washington and George Mason as members of the Fairfax County Committee on Safety.

Henry Gunnell, Sr., LS
(Founder)

Henry Gunnell, Jr., LS
(Henry Gunnell, Sr.'s Son)

George West Gunnell, LS (Henry Gunnell, Jr.'s Son)

J. Owens Berry, LS
(George West Gunnell's Son-in-Law)

Joseph Berry, LS
(J. Owen Berry's Son)

Orlo C. Paciulli, PE, LS
(Joseph Berry's Grandson-in-Law and Joseph Paciulli's Father)

Howell B. Simmons, PE, LS

Through the years, the family business would be handed down from Henry Gunnell through sons and son-in-laws. From Henry Gunnell; to his son, Henry Gunnell Jr.; to Henry Jr.’s son, George West Gunnell who would serve as County Surveyor for Fairfax County from 1831 to 1838. Later, George West Gunnell’s daughter, Mary Josephine Gunnell, would marry J. Owens Berry. J. Owens Berry continued running the business which was handed down from father-in-law George West Gunnell for a short period of time before he joined the G. Company 8th Virginia Infantry and served in the Confederate Army. After serving in the Civil War and returning back home, J. Owens Berry continued running the business with his son, Joseph West Berry, from the Ash Grove area of Fairfax County until his death in 1903. Like George West Gunnell, J. Owens Berry also served as County Surveyor for Fairfax County, holding this position from 1895 to 1903.

As Northern Virginia began its growth in the early 1900’s, so did the Berry reputation in land surveying. Often referred to as the grandfather of surveying, Joseph Berry mapped many portions of Fairfax County including large portions of what is now known as McLean, Vienna, Fairfax, Dunn Loring and Oakton.

In maintaining the family lineage, Joseph Berry introduced his son Gilbert Berry into the family business during the 1930s. Shortly after doing so, Gilbert Berry had to step away from the family business due to a crippling injury that occurred during work. Later, Gilbert Berry’s daughter (Joseph Berry’s granddaughter) would marry Orlo C. Paciulli who would eventually take over the business. Like George West Gunnell and J. Owens Berry before him had done, Joseph Berry served as the official Fairfax County Surveyor until 1951. Joseph Berry was the last individual to hold the position of County Surveyor for Fairfax County.

In 1958 Joseph Berry passed away and grandson-in-law Orlo C. Paciulli, an engineering graduate of the Naval Academy, took over the business and established the firm name of Berry Engineers. It was Orlo’s forward thinking and strong background in engineering that allowed him to quickly realize that significant changes were beginning to occur in the business environment and that he was going to need to make changes in order to succeed in this new expanding environment. In doing so, he modified the firm’s business direction from that of one that provided only surveying services to a more multi-discipline approach, providing surveying, engineering and land planning services.

In 1972, the firm’s name changed to Orlo C. Paciulli & Associates. Orlo’s son, Joseph G. Paciulli, joined the firm in 1976, just a few years before Orlo Paciulli would retire. Current President, Howell B. Simmons, became a partner in 1977 and at that time the firm name was changed to Paciulli, Simmons & Associates, Ltd. Howell Simmons became president of the firm in 1980 when Orlo retired due to medical reasons. Today, the firm’s family lineage is continued by the firm’s Vice President Joseph G. Paciulli, who is Henry Gunnell’s great, great, great, great, great grandson.

Paciulli, Simmons & Associates has been recognized as the oldest business in the Washington Metropolitan area.