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George Washington grew up at Rappahannock Farm (currently known as Ferry Farm).  He lived in this area from age 6 through age 21.  He received a rudimentary education at home and in Fredericksburg. Unlike George Mason (IV), a man of ideas, Washington was inclined to learn from practical experience as a surveyor, militia officer, and…

John Mercer (1704-1768)—immigrated to America in 1720 from Dublin, Ireland, settling first in Maryland, then in Virginia. He soon became a prominent entrepreneur, attorney, and landowner. John arrived in Stafford around 1725 and almost single-handedly rebuilt the failed town of Marlborough. On the site he built houses, a racetrack, distillery, warehouses, and a windmill for…

The June 12, 1993, re-dedication of Stafford County Courthouse featured a rare appearance of Mason (IV)’s draft manuscript of the Virginia Declaration of Rights. Because of its fragile condition and historical importance, the Declaration has seldom been removed from Virginia State Archives.  On display at the same time was the clerk’s copy of the first…

America’s “First Arsenal of Democracy”, the Rappahannock Forge, a subsidiary of Hunters Iron Works, was located on the banks of the Rappahannock River in Stafford County during the Revolutionary War.   Ironies abound as James Hunter relied on enslaved labor to produce armaments and equipment for our liberty and depended on pacifist Quakers for his skilled…

Pig iron were an important step in the manufacturing process. Iron ingots, or large rods, were a product of blast furnaces that could be refined into finished iron and steel products like swords and musket parts such as barrel and flint lock components.

Hunter, an undoubted patriot and major contributor to the success of the American Revolution, produced all types of weapons and equipment such as camp kettles, spades, shovels, and anchors.  His foundry created muskets, pistols, carbines, and wall guns.  Wall guns were large caliber, smooth bore muskets which were too heavy to be fired from the…

Horse pistols were usually issued in pairs.  The set would be carried in holsters draped across the pommel of a saddle.  They weighed several pounds each and were so long they could not comfortably be carried on the hip.  There are only 15 of these horse pistols made in Falmouth that still exist.  They are…

Aquia Church was built around 1751 in the shape of a Greek cross. It is considered one of the most significant colonial churches in America. It is noted for its three-tiered pulpit and Aquia Stone trim. It served as a parish church, established by the colonial government. Landowners paid required taxes to the parish in…

Captain John Smith and the Early Citizens of the Tidewater Region Tidewater, Virginia has a long history of occupancy by FFV’s (First Families of Virginia) noted for their generous hospitality. Captain John Smith’s encounters with some of the first families along the Rappahannock found that not all were quite so gracious back in 1608. We…

For years, the most common mode of land transportation in Stafford County was horse or horse and wagon, or stagecoach. If one wished to travel north it was a long journey which depended upon the weather, as the eastern Chopawamsic Creek area in northern Stafford became a swampy, muddy bog after rain and impeded traffic…

By Marion Brooks Robinson Carlton is an early 19th century plantation house built on a hill above the town of Falmouth. When I was a little girl the unmarried “O’Bannon girls,” Miss Nannie and Miss Ellen lived there along with the O’Bannon ghost. All three, Miss Nannie, Miss Ellen, and the ghost had been there…