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Dorothea Lynde Dix was among the Civil War women of note who were also in Stafford during the “Valley Forge”-period and was one of the more famous women in the war. Widely known before the war as a social reformer, she had worked tirelessly for better treatment for the mentally ill and women in prison.…

If the “cruel war” had not come and changed America forever, Ellen Harris, then 45 years of age, would probably have lived a happy matronly life in middle-class obscurity. Like so many ladies before the war, she was a member of a number of charitable groups, earnestly engaged in helping the destitute and ignorant in…

Our Privacy Policy: We are committed to protecting your privacy. Your privacy and the integrity of any information you provide are important to us. We have developed the following policy pursuant to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, 2000 c.5. (the “Privacy Act”). This page sets out our privacy policy and describes why…

Jethro Kloss was one of America’s earliest and most creative soy foods pioneers. Early Years (1863-1923). Born on 27 April 1863 in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, the ninth of eleven children, Jethro Kloss was a devout Seventh-day Adventist. He was deeply influenced by the books and teachings on diet and health of Ellen G. White. As a…

In 1814, the Capitol looked nothing as it does today.  There were two large square Aquia stone buildings, the Senate and House of Representatives, connected by a wooden walkway.  During the British burning, the walkway was burned too.  Although the center of the Capitol, the Rotunda, was designed in 1793, it took from 1818 until…

Aquia stone that was quarried with steam driven equipment at the George Washington Stone Corporation in the 1920-30s was shipped as far away as Nebraska.  Seven years after completion, the Joslyn Art Museum was listed as one of the one hundred finest buildings in the United States.  Most of the three-level interior was constructed from…

Unlike most colonial Virginia plantation houses, Mount Airy was constructed of gray sandstone indigenous to the area.  White sandstone from Aquia Creek was used for contrasting trim.  It can be seen in string courses, or horizontal bands, quoins, window enframements, rusticated center pavilions, and pedestals at the top of terrace steps that support a pair…

Gunston Hall was constructed in Fairfax, Virginia, from 1755 to 1758.  It was the home of George Mason, author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the forerunner of the Bill of Rights.  In the Georgian home of brick, laid in Flemish bond, freestone was used in quoins, chimney caps, the water table, and as keys…

This moated fortification was built between 1819 and 1835.  The fort is constructed mostly of granite, but the Main Sally Port is composed of sandstone.  Some of the brick residences located within the fort and just outside are trimmed with freestone.  Records from the National Archives list the ships that carried the freestone but not…

This elegant Georgian mansion was home to Betty Lewis, George Washington’s sister and the wife of wealthy plantation owner Colonel Fielding Lewis.  The red brick house was built between a pair of detached wings around 1775.  The portico, facing the Rappahannock River, was made with Aquia Stone. The classic simplicity of the exterior is in…

Built as Planters National Bank in 1927, it later went by the names of Farmers and Merchants and First Virginia.  In 2004 BB&T, which acquired the property, worked with the neighboring museum for acquisition.  The Aquia stone trim came from the George Washington Sandstone Corporation on Aquia Creek.

This Georgian Palladian-style manor house, overlooking the Potomac River, was completed in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1753 by John Carlyle, a wealthy Scottish merchant.  Originally constructed entirely out of Aquia stone, it was the only solid stone house in Alexandria at the time.  In 1755, British General Braddock occupied Carlyle’s house as headquarters to plan the…