Stafford County (Va.)

In Stafford County: Omens of 1675
17th century, Bacon's Rebellion, cicadas, Doeg Indians, History Feature Articles, Indians of the Eastern Woodlands, Rappahannock River, Robert Hodge, Smith Fort, Stafford County (Va.), Virginia History, History Blog
03/19/2010 - 8:50am

In the year 1675 four interesting events were recorded in Stafford County. Three of these were considered omens of the fourth, and the fourth was considered of significance to the history of our area.

The first event was in the heavens. In the southwestern sky, for more than a week, each day appeared a large comet with a long tail resembling that of a horse on a windy day. The Indians and the whites alike wondered what might be the meaning of this heavenly sign.

The Aquia Train Robbery
LibraryPoint Blog, 1890s, 19th century, Aquia Creek, Crime, History Feature Articles, Quantico, Railroads, Robert Hodge, Stafford County (Va.), Trains, Virginia History, History Blog
03/16/2010 - 10:04am

This account has been compiled from the Free Lance newspaper of Fredericksburg, Virginia, October 16, 1894 through September 27, 1895, by Robert A. Hodge.

Colonial Virginia
African American, Businesses, Colonial Virginia, Craftsmen, Education, Games, George Washington, Holidays, Jamestown, Kids Homework Help, Medicine, Recipes, Slavery, Teacher Resources, Virginia History, Virginia history for kids, Virginia Johnson, Williamsburg
03/15/2010 - 10:56am

What was it like to live long ago when Virginia belonged to England? When there were no cars, no computers, no hospitals and no public schools?

Without cars, trains or airplanes, people traveled by boat, horseback or on foot by "shank's mare". The reason so many colonial towns were located next to rivers is that often the roads were terrible seas of mud. It was so much easier to travel on the rivers!

Mary Ball Washington: "His Revered Mother"
18th century, Autobiography and Biography, Barbara Crookshanks, Fredericksburg (Va.), Genealogy, Genealogy, George Washington, Historic sites, History Feature Articles, Lafayette, Stafford County (Va.), Virginia History, Women
03/04/2010 - 4:18pm

Fredericksburg's Mary Ball Washington was an intrepid 18th-century woman who raised five children alone. The oldest became the first President of the United States.

Mary Washington's name and heritage are alive and well in the Fredericksburg area and beyond. Her home is at the corner of Lewis and Charles streets; the Mary Washington Monument is on Washington Avenue, which was originally Mary Washington Avenue.

The Good Doctor Was a Spy: The Lively Times of Robert Wellford
LibraryPoint Blog, 18th century, Alexander Spotswood, Fredericksburg (Va.), George Washington, History Feature Articles, Lewis family, Physicians, Robert Wellford, Spies, Spotswood family, Virginia History, Virginia Johnson, Wellford family, Whiskey Rebellion, History Blog
01/13/2010 - 2:55pm

One of Fredericksburg's leading citizens was either a patriot or a traitor, depending on whether you favored coats of Tory red or Revolutionary blue.

Sinners, Saints, and Soldiers in Civil War Stafford
LibraryPoint Blog, Civil War - U.S., New in Virginiana, Stafford County (Va.), Virginia History, Virginia Johnson
01/11/2010 - 10:25am

Stafford County was the southernmost part of the Union occupation of Virginia for much of the Civil War and as such it drew all sorts of characters to its farmlands and creeksides. General Daniel Sickles--described by his contemporaries and historians as a scoundrel, murderer, rapscallion, rogue, and adulterer--took charge of the 2nd Brigade of Hooker's Division, Army of the Potomac. He enjoyed scouting the enemy by hot air balloon and held extravagant parties for his officers while in Stafford.

Historic Government Island to Become a Park
LibraryPoint Blog, 18th century, 19th century, Aquia Church, Architecture, Buildings, D.C., Quarries, Slavery, Stafford County (Va.), Virginia History, Virginia Johnson, Washington, History Blog
12/18/2009 - 12:42pm

The new 17-acre park, located in northern Stafford County near Aquia Harbor, will become part of the county's own park system when it opens next year. Government Island is historically significant as the source of Aquia sandstone, used in such structures as the White House, the U.S. Capitol, Aquia Church, Gunston Hall, Kenmore, and Christ Church in Alexandria. In 2002, the House passed a resolution recognizing the historical significance of Aquia sandstone quarries on Government Island.

Marlborough Point: In the Stream of History
LibraryPoint Blog, 18th century, American Revolution, Civil War - U.S., Colonial Virginia, fossils, French and Indian War, Genealogy, History Feature Articles, Marlborough Point, Mercer family, Natural World, Powhatan Indians, Regional, Stafford County (Va.), Virginia History, Virginia Johnson, History Blog
12/09/2009 - 11:41am

Follow Marlborough Point Road down to the eastern tip of Stafford County, and you will pass by lots of new housing mushrooming into the forests and fields that were once favored by both the Native Americans and colonial settlers.  This section of the county is home to not just centuries of local history but millennia.

W. Hansford Abel
Natural World, Regional, Stafford County (Va.), Virginia History
12/08/2009 - 1:14pm

This interview with W. Hansford Abel was conducted on August 8, 1986, by Pearle E. Young. This interview is part of the Stafford County Oral History Project.

T. Benton Gayle
Oral History, Regional, Stafford County (Va.), Virginia History
12/08/2009 - 1:09pm

This interview with T. Benton Gayle was conducted on November 6, 1986, by Margaret Mock. This interview is part of the Stafford County Oral History Project.