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These eight ladies in their matching uniforms constituted the WPA Ladies Sewing Group. The photograph may date from the 1940s. The names of five of them are known. On the front row, left to right, are Temple (Chewning) Powers (1879-1970), Dora B. Cooper (1871-1955), Nellie (Raines) Spicer (1896-1992), Daisy (Shackelford) Armstrong (1884- 1970). On the…

From the 1760s until about 1810, a Quaker settlement spanned the area through which Poplar and Ramoth Church Roads pass. This was known as the Poplar Settlement, and it included a meeting house and cemetery. Many of those of that faith who resided there were employed at James Hunter’s Iron Works and its subsidiary, Rappahannock…

From the Evening Star (Washington, DC), May 20, 1917. “Dalecarlia Transferred There From Anacostia Channel. For the time being the United States army engineer service dredge Dalecarlia has stopped work on the Anacostia river improvement near Benning and has gone to Aquia creek, a Potomac tributary, to deepen the water in that stream. The dredge…

In an effort to help Virginia’s low-income farmers who were struggling as a result of the Great Depression, the Farm Security Administration established Home Industries Markets in various areas of the state. One of these was located in Stafford County on U. S. Route 1 near Potomac Run and was operational by June of 1940.…

Walter Lee Watson was the son of John Russell Watson (1842-1901) and Sarah Grigsby of Stafford. He operated a store near the Brooke railroad underpass and did a wholesale-retail business there. A railroad side track ran next to his building, which provided easy unloading of feed, fertilizer, and other commodities. Mr. Watson butchered his own…

Many early place names in this region are corruptions of Indian names or words. These include Potomac River, Chappawamsic Creek, Aquia Creek, Accokeek Creek, Rappahannock River, Occoquan River, Quantico Creek, and many others. English explorers and settlers struggled to find spellings for sounds in the Indian language that didn’t match the English alphabet. “A New…

By the late nineteenth century, granite quarrying in Virginia was a growing business. There were large deposits of the stone on both sides of the Rappahannock River above Falmouth and in the general vicinity of the Interstate 95 bridge across the river. As one drives south across the Rappahannock, a significant quarry pit survives near…

Have you ever wondered where, exactly, Garrisonville is located? Or perhaps you’ve been curious about who or what the area was named for. We assure readers that despite the sign forewarning of yet another new shopping center on Route 610, there was never a military garrison at Garrisonville. While the name Garrisonville presently refers to…

Nathaniel Waller Ford (1820-1880), who signed his personal letters “Waller,” was the son of Capt. William Ford (1788-1834) and Elizabeth Allen Hore (1792-1822) of Stafford. Nathaniel married Margaret Ursula Waller (1821-1901) of Bloomington. Part of the Bloomington tract is now occupied by Patawomeck Park in Widewater. In 1843, Nathaniel purchased Woodstock on Aquia Creek. Part…

Interracial marriage wasn’t legal in Virginia until 1967, but Stafford had several mixed-race families living in Stafford. Nancy Ross (1839- 1924) was enslaved in Stafford County. At some point, she came to live with Alexander Morson Green (1827-1904), the son of Falmouth industrialist Duff Green (1792-1854). The 1870 Stafford census listed Nancy as Alex’s cook.…

Who was Shelton and Where Was His Shop?  Over the years, people have asked about the location and history of Shelton’s Shop. We learned the story from long-time county resident, Mr. Kenny Kendall, of the location of Shelton’s blacksmith shop. Shelton Shop Road (Route 648) is named for Gustavus “Gusty” Thomas Shelton (1874-1967) who ran…

Driving south from Stafford Courthouse you may have noticed an abandoned bridge tucked back in the woods to the immediate south of the Rowser Building. This was part of the U. S. Route 1 project and was built around 1920 at a cost of $9,000. It was abandoned around 1933 when Route 1 was shifted…