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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…

This magnificent Georgian mansion, its various outbuildings and dependencies, and the historic ground which surrounds it represent a small preserve in which the entire scope of Virginia heritage can be understood and appreciated. Today Chatham is part of Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park. The buildings and grounds are open daily 9:00-4:30. Five of the…

George Brent’s home “Woodstock” was located a stone’s throw from the Brent Cemetery near Route 1 and the Crucifix.  Now it is an archaeological site, that discloses the fireplace hearth.  Due its location close to a marsh and mosquitoes, George Brent and his family rebuilt/relocated “Woodstock” on the hill located in today’s Aquia Harbour.  His…

After situating the former enslaved people by the Conway family in Yellow Springs, Ohio, Moncure Conway traveled to Boston.   He had speaking engagements along the way and visits with abolitionist activists Samuel Gridley Howe and Julia Ward Howe (author of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic”). Moncure was clearly astonished and impressed with the economic…

Conway brought this group of people his father formerly enslaved to Yellow Springs, Ohio, to settle in freedom.  Eliza and Dunmore Gwinn were the patriarchs of the group.  Eliza was mother of 19 children, 9 of whom she brought to Yellow Springs.  The picture is of the Gwinns in later years.

One of the Stafford men who had been enslaved by J. Horace Lacy of “Chatham” that escaped was Andrew Weaver.  He escaped in spring/summer 1862 and was later a soldier in the 23rd U. S. Colored Troops (USCT) Infantry Regiment.

For years Norman Schools (current owner of the Moncure Conway House), John Hennessy (chief historian of the Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania National Park), and Al Conner (of the Stafford County Historical Society) have been gathering names of people enslaved who sought freedom.  The following list is constantly changing when new names are discovered.    The photograph is of…

The path to freedom for the people that were enslaved by Conway: Georgetown, D.C. to Baltimore, MD.  to Pennsylvania to Columbus, OH. to Yellow Springs, OH.