Besides the Brents, the Masons were another English family that settled early in Stafford. George Mason (I) left England along with his cousins, Thomas and Gerard Fowke of Staffordshire. George Mason (I) was the great-grandfather of the famous George Mason (IV). Originally, they moved to Westmoreland County. Later, they settled on a hill by Accokeek Creek at the juncture of today’s Marlborough Point Road and Brooke Road. He named his plantation, “Accokeek.” Oral history holds that George Mason (I) was associated with the naming of Stafford County when it was formed from Westmoreland County in 1664. Mason’s Accokeek Plantation started out as 650 acres and gradually increased to 1,150 acres.

George Mason (II) was born at Accokeek Plantation. In 1691, the town of Marlborough was laid out and he was granted many lots. Like his father, Mason (II) served as a colonel in the Stafford County militia and represented Stafford in the House of Burgesses. He also held county offices as sheriff, justice of the peace, and county lieutenant between 1699 and 1700. After his father’s death, Mason (II) moved to Chopawamsic Creek, by today’s Hilldrup Van and Storage. He called this area “Chopawamsic Farm” and grew tobacco, had an orchard, and raised cattle.

George (III) served as colonel in Stafford County’s militia and represented Stafford at the House of Burgesses. Later he served as Stafford’s County Lieutenant and sheriff. He acquired large land holdings in Stafford, Fauquier, Prince William, and Fairfax. His income came from agriculture, fisheries, and a ferry service carrying people across the Occoquan River. A few years after his marriage, he and his wife and their new family moved to Maryland. Dying at an early age during a ferry accident in the Potomac River, his widow, Ann, and their three children moved back to Stafford and their Chopawamsic Farm.

George (IV) was only ten years of age at the time of his father’s death. Later he was schooled at his uncle John Mercer’s Marlborough Point library. Mason (IV) is credited with writing Virginia’s Declaration of Rights, the forerunner of the Bill of Rights.

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