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This photo was taken April 17, 1863 — one week after President Lincoln returned from his Stafford visit to the Army of the Potomac. His bond with the soldiers, forged in hospital visits and grand reviews, became solid and permanent. It paid enormous dividends in the election of 1864 and for many decades afterward. Most…

While the automobile was developed in the very early 20th century, the lack of paved roads delayed its arrival in many areas of the country. The first “roads” were cut through Stafford’s forests in the 1600s, but these were little more than trails wide enough to walk on or ride a horse over. As more…

At the end of his April 4-10, 1863 visit to the Army of the Potomac in Stafford, Lincoln sat in the headquarters’ tent of Major General Oliver Otis Howard, commanding the XI Army Corps. Looking up, Lincoln saw the first verse of the 23rd Psalm written on a board.  Howard, known as “The Christian General”…

The original home, the “Fleurrys,” is believed to have been built in the 1700s by the Peyton family.  The large front portion of the house was built around 1859 by John H. Suttle.  On the back side of the house and not visible from the road was a small, earlier dwelling that probably dated from…

Author, Eric Foner, in his book “Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877″ wrote about the changes from slavery to the modern day: “Over a century ago, prodded by the demands of four million men and women just emerging from slavery, Americans made their first attempt to live up to the noble professions of their political creed…

Sears was born in Rochester, Ulster County, NY, on July 27, 1843, the son of Dr. Samuel James Sears and Clara Gertrude Sears. Educated at Montgomery Academy, he became a New York City store clerk. In 1861, he joined the 71st Regiment in New York City and served until he was mustered-out the same year.…

At least 329 Stafford men and women served in the First World War (Musselman). During that war the Quantico Marine Base was established, beginning a long relationship with Stafford County. The Quantico Marine Corps Reservation now occupies approximately 51 square miles of the northern portion of Stafford County and constitutes about 18 percent of the…

At the core of every community is a gathering place, a location where people can get together and drink, dance, or play. Walkers Inn was the embodiment of this, being a place to drink and dance, as well as a place to watch baseball or races. The Stafford Athletic Club (SAC) was a period of…

From the late 1600s to around 1930, Stafford County was one of Virginia’s most industrialized counties. Major industries conducted here included sandstone quarrying, fishing, iron making and forging, timbering, gold mining, pyrite mining, and flour milling. Logging and sawing lumber commenced shortly after the county was settled in the 1650s and continued as a major…

Stafford County’s earliest telephone service was provided by the Toluca and Fredericksburg Telephone Company. While this was the first such venture in Stafford, residents and businesses in other regions had had telephones for years. With the formation of the Northern Neck Telegraph and Telephone Company in 1887, Lancaster County and part of King George were…

During the 1930s and 1940s, Stafford County hadn’t money to fund a school athletics program. In 1939, attorney Frank P. Moncure (1889-1969) organized a few of his friends and bought a 15-acre parcel of the old Atchison tract on which they constructed a ball field and bleachers. This became known as the Stafford Athletic Club…

This little 20th century tavern was built on the edge of Wayside Farm that belonged to Col. Thomas Conway Waller (1832-1895). Wayside house stood on the north side of Garrisonville Road (Route 610) where Stafford Market Place shopping center is now located. This was a large, 1 ½-story frame building with a large chimney and…