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The burning of Richland was the Fredericksburg area’s only known Revolutionary War fighting between organized units. The shooting part of the Revolution came to Stafford in July 1776, 15 months after Virginia’s Royal Governor, John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, declared his colony in rebellion and a year after he moved the seat of his…

On April 19, 1775, the American Revolution started at Lexington and Concord. On October 19, 1781, six years later, Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown. On September 3, 1783 the final treaty recognizing American independence was signed in Paris. After eight long years, the Americans had won their independence. Over 300 Staffordians are listed in rosters as…

James Hunter’s Iron Works also provided hardware for the building of several warships, including the Dragon, that was built on the Rappahannock River a short distance downstream from Falmouth. Hunter supplied naval stores for ships built on the Eastern Shore, at Mattaponi, Smithfield, and Fredericksburg (Morgan 142, 188, 1120, 1312).  The best known of these…

The Patawomeck tribe of Virginia Indians was based in Stafford County, Virginia, along the Potomac River (Patawomeck is another spelling of Potomac). The Patawomeck tribe was granted state heritage recognition in February 2010. In the 17th century, at the time of early English colonization, the tribe was a component of the Powhatan Confederacy. At times…

The county has owned the 1840s-era building on the corner of Gordon Street and River Road since 2006.  The Counting House is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and sits within the Falmouth Historic District, which is already on both the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register.  The Counting…