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Stafford’s First Telephone System In 1887, the Northern Neck Telegraph and Telephone Company was formed, providing Lancaster County and part of King George County wired communication. Not until July 1904 was a telephone company established in Stafford. Called the Toluca and Fredericksburg Telephone Company, it was founded by Robert Ambler Moncure (1864-1923), the father of…

Lt. James Nelson Decker, Company D, 2nd New York Cavalry Private  Patrick Devlin, Company M, 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry Private John Heslin, Company L, 2nd New York Cavalry Private Josiah Kiff, Company H, 2nd New York Cavalry Private John Murphy, Company G, 2nd New York Cavalry Private Thomas Norton, Company M, 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry Private George…

Standing on the northeast corner of the intersection of Eskimo Hill Road and U. S. Route 1 is a small brick building. Hundreds of cars and trucks pass by it daily on their way to the county landfill. There are few visible clues remaining to let passers-by know that this little building was one of…

This Union soldier from the 95th Regiment, N.Y.S.V., describes some of the people of Stafford as well as some of the terrible things he heard that North Carolina Confederate troops did while they were in the county. AQUIA CREEK, VA, May 21 [1862]. I stole away from my squad last Sunday, after working an hour,…

By the 1870s, after the Civil War, Stafford had its first two black schools with a total of 99 students; both had white teachers. By 1883, there were eight one room schools for blacks, some of which had black teachers; by 1904, all of Stafford’s black schools were taught by blacks. Some notable black educators…

At the beginning of the Civil War, Stafford was a very rural, agricultural community. The largest portion of the population of 8,633 people (1860) were farmers and the average farm was 300-400 acres. These modest farms produced food for the farmer families and produce which could be sold in nearby markets. Produce included corn, garden…

Black Outs – Rationing – Saving Stamps – War Bonds by Marion Brooks Robinson Stafford County joined the rest of the nation in responding to World War II. Citizens were enrolled in Community Civil Patrols. County citizens volunteered as War Bonds salesmen, going to homes in their neighborhood to encourage financial support. Schools began selling…

Stafford provided troops for war against the Axis Powers of Germany, Japan and Italy. For example, William Weedon Cloe’s oldest son, of the same name, served in the Army engineers. The Cloes received $8,500 compensation for their farm and moved further south in Stafford. Weedon Cloe took a job with the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac…

The Stafford homefront contributed to the war effort with bond drives, victory gardens and recycling campaigns. Representative of the spirit of the homefront was Miss Edmo Corbin Lee. She was a daughter of Civil War veteran Daniel Murray Lee. Born at “Westwood,” she had taken over the running of “Highland Home” after her father’s death.…

Two centuries ago Spotted Tavern was one of the best-known landmarks in Stafford County.  It stood on the main road leading from the Falmouth/Fredericksburg area to Fauquier Courthouse.  Today we’re accustomed to going west through lower Stafford via US Route 17.  Years ago, travelers headed to Culpeper or lower Fauquier followed the Warrenton Road to…

In 1942 there were only two paved roads in Stafford County, U. S. Route 1 and U. S. Route 17. All others were unpaved and proved difficult to impossible to traverse in all but the driest weather. In January 1898, the local newspaper made the following comment: “The condition of the roads through the county…

Dr. Hawkins Stone (1816-1903)—born in Stafford, he was descended from Thomas Stone of Maryland, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Thomas provided medical care to the residents of northern Stafford for about 60 years. He lived on a farm that is now the site of the Giant Food Store and Home Depot…