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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…

Historian John Tackett Goolrick described the Confederate “Secret Line”….. The famed “underground telegraph” of the Confederacy ran from Washington down the eastern shore of Maryland, across the Potomac to Aquia or Potomac Creek, or to the point most convenient, and through Stafford to Fredericksburg, and onward to Richmond. The Federals, even when they had a…

 War came unexpectedly to all Americans on December 7, 1941.  In 1942 world events profoundly impacted rural Stafford County.  The Marine Corps, on the brink of the Guadalcanal offensive, desperately needed to expand their training facilities at Quantico to accommodate the large influx of soldiers bound for deployment in the Pacific.  In 1918 the Marines…

Julius Garibaldi (Gari) Melchers was an award-winning American artist whose style encompassed elements of both realism and impressionism. Melchers and his wife, Corinne, purchased the Belmont estate in Falmouth, Virginia in 1916. The artist maintained his home and studio here until his death in 1932. At her death in 1955, Corinne Melchers bequeathed the Belmont…

During the Depression, in the 1930s, Stafford women learned how to extend food by cooking wisely and making their own clothes with home demonstration teams from Virginia Polytechnic Institute (known today as Virginia Tech). During World War II, Stafford women were led again by Home Demonstration and extension agents in programs to increase food production.…

Until Interstate 95 permanently altered the socio-economic make-up of Stafford, many residents lived on small family farms where they grew their own fruits and vegetables, kept hogs, chickens, geese, and a milk cow or two. A few folks, like Dr. John Churchill Gordon (1871-1949), operated small dairies that provided milk and cream to locals who…

New roads through Stafford County brought economic development potential. U.S. Route 1 actually brought on a celebration in 1927. By 1932, Stafford had something approaching a road network. Jefferson Davis Highway Opening Pagent Numerous businesses thrived in Stafford County on U. S. Route 1 between 1920 and the mid-1960s. One such local landmark was Victor’s…

Many drivers utilize GPS navigation systems to find their way around, having abandoned printed highway road maps. Prior to the maps, travelers used the Official Automobile Blue Book to find their way through unfamiliar territory. Publication of these early road guides commenced around 1912. For the most part, directions were given in a written format…