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Marker inscription: In 1664, a colonial road here probably followed the trace of an old Indian path. Two years later, the road was extended to Aquia Creek. It became a post road in 1750, and in Sept. 1781 Gen. George Washington passed over it on the march to Yorktown. By 1900, a crude dirt road…

Marker inscription: Stafford Training School, later known as H. H. Poole School, was constructed in 1939 by the Public Works Administration after African American parents raised money to buy the land. During the segregation era, this was the only school in Stafford County offering black students an education beyond seventh grade. After an earlier attempt…

Marker inscription: Stafford’s First African American Church. Founded May 16, 1818 near Roseville by Rev. Horace Crutcher, along with five others. Original place of worship was a slab wood arbor. Recognizing the importance of enlightening individuals both spiritually and academically, the Mt. Olive Community founded Mt. Olive School soon after the Civil War. “They hewed…

Marker inscription: Organized in June 1825 by the Winchester Presbytery as Yellow Chapel Church, the brick church was constructed between 1857 and 1859. It became Hartwood Presbyterian Church in 1868. During the Civil War an engagement took place here on 25 Feb. 1863. Confederate Brig. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, commanding detachments of the 1st, 2d, and…

Marker inscription: Near here are located ten of the nineteenth century gold mines of Stafford County. The best-known were the Eagle, Rattlesnake (Horse Pen), Lee, New Hope, and Monroe mines. The Eagle Gold Mining Company, Rappahannock Gold Mine Company of New York, Rapidan Mining and Milling Company of Pennsylvania, United States Mining Company, and Stafford…

Marker inscription: Located south of here on the Rappahannock River, stood Hunter’s Iron Works, founded by James Hunter and was in operation by the 1750s. With the outbreak of the American Revolution, the Rappahannock Forge there supplied the Continental army and navy with muskets, swords, and other armaments and camp implements. Due to its wartime…

Marker inscription: Nearby to the northwest is the childhood home of renowned abolitionist, writer, and lecturer Moncure Daniel Conway (1832-1907). In 1838 his family moved into this Federal-style house. Conway graduated from Dickinson College in 1849 and Harvard Divinity School in 1854 and became outspoken in the abolitionist movement. During the Civil War, Conway lived…

Marker inscription: This site, once part of the Phillips property and occupied by the Union Army in the winter of 1862-1863 became the launch site for Aeronaut Thaddeus Lowe reconnaissance balloons.  The tethered balloon Eagle with General Edwin Sumner’s staff officer, Lt. Col. William Teall ascending to the heights of 900 feet to observe and…

VR Explore and experience Stafford’s history during the Revolutionary War period using Virtual Reality. History in Stafford Explore the past with our interactive historical map, featuring artifacts and locations throughout history. Zoom in to discover more information and click on markers to learn more about specific time periods and places. Get Involved Discover Stafford is…

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William S. White was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, the only son of Capt. Chester B. and Fannie W. White. After graduating from college, he taught school for a few years before commencing the study of law in the office of his brother-in-law, Judge John Tackett Goolrick. He was admitted to the bar in 1875 and…

William J. Wallis was the son of Alfred Wickliffe Wallis (1823-1894) who came to Stafford County, Virginia around 1870 from Canada. The family settled on Windsor Forest, the old Downman family farm on the southwest side of Garrisonville Road (Route 610) between Joshua Road (Route 643) and Rock Hill Church Road (Route 644). The eastern…