Site Search

Colonel Giles Brent arrived in Maryland from England in 1638. He became Lt. Governor, Lord of the Manor at Kent Fort, Magistrate and Chief Captain of the Providence of Maryland. He married Kittamaquad, a Native American Piscataway Princess. At the death of her father, Brent claimed all Piscataway lands, which was most of Maryland. After…

George Washington was born at his father’s plantation on Pope’s Creek in Westmoreland County, Virginia, on February 22, 1732. His father, Augustine Washington, was a leading planter in the area and also served as a justice of the county court. Augustine’s first wife, Janet Butler, died in 1729, leaving him with two sons, Lawrence and…

The town of Falmouth was established by act of Assembly in 1728 on land owned by William Todd (c.1685-1736) who in 1721 had built a tobacco warehouse there. Typical of these types of towns, the Assembly appointed a small group of men to act as trustees. They were responsible for selling lots and overseeing the…

The famous George Mason IV, namesake of the university, was a fourth generation Staffordian. His great grandfather, George Mason I, left Staffordshire, England around 1652 and settled near the Potomac River. His home, Accakeek Farm, was located on the southeastern corner of today’s Brooke Road and Marlborough Point Road. (State Routes 621 and 608) All…

Augustine Washington (1694-1743)—was the father of George Washington. As a very young man he became interested in iron making and worked briefly with the operators of Bristol Iron Works in King George County. In 1720 a group of English investors established the Principio Iron Company and sent representatives to Maryland to seek deposits of iron…

These two concepts divided the Founding Fathers more than any other. Federalists argued for a constitutional central or national government which would provide for finances, defense, and foreign policy for the new republic. The liberty and rights of the people would be secured by common values. Federal, state, and local governments would thus be defined…

Alexander Scott (1686-1738)—was rector (minister) of Overwharton Parish from 1706 until his death in 1738. Alexander followed John Waugh (1630-1706) as rector of Overwharton. Scott was born in Dipple Parish, Scotland and named his Stafford farm Dipple. This stood at the junction of Chappawamsic Creek and the Potomac River. During the years that Scott lived…

By Marion Brooks Robinson There are several interesting “oral history” stories from the Civil War period in Falmouth that have been passed down through several generations of my family. One concerns the period after the Battle of Fredericksburg in the spring of 1863. Celebrations of the Confederate victory in December of 1862 had been private…

John Washington was “born enslaved” in Fredericksburg on May 20, 1838.  As the Union Army approached Falmouth and Fredericksburg on April 18, 1862, John M. Washington, a 24 year old Black man working in a Fredericksburg hotel, left his enslaver, walked along the Rappahannock River until he was directly across from Falmouth Beach. There Union soldiers…

In the spring and summer of 1862, as many as 10,000 slaves crossed the Rappahannock River to freedom. The Trail to Freedom retraces their route. Many slaves saw the arrival of the Union army in Stafford, opposite Fredericksburg, in April 1862 as a chance for freedom. During the Union occupation that spring and summer, slaves…

This was a typical sight at Aquia Landing.  Note the (U.S.M.R.R.) United States Military Railroad railcar, stacked rations boxes, and commissary clerks.

Early documents of Stafford County do not reveal any kind of courthouses. Some types of court sessions were held in private homes. In 1691, The House of Burgesses created a public port in Stafford County. A town known as Marlborough was created and served as a seat of government and port for Stafford County. A…