Great Falls in Fairfax County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
The Kelley Home
Seneca Connector Trail
| | Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority | |
The half-buried stones you see here were part of a house once occupied by Irish-born Stephen and Eliza Kelley. Although Kelleys owned 190 acres nearby, they were living in this house on Gilbert Vanderwerken's property in the 1870s.
The red Seneca sandstone lining the house's cellar was quarried nearby. Neighbor Riehard Walker once described the Kelley dwelling "an old shanty," adding that the Kelleys had "a small corn patch and a small potato patch."
Stephen Kelley worked as a merchant and farmer. After Stephen died in 1873, his wife Eliza lived here until 1898. She harvested timber from the Kelley property for income.
These stones remind us of the many people from generations and centuries past who called this place "home."
[Captions:]
Above: Front and back of a piece of 19th century transfer ware found near the home site. Below: Spanish coins dated 1777 and 1791 there found along the old Patowmack Canal, about ½ mile north of here. Foreign currency was common in early America. Background: An 1879 postal area map identifies local residences including Eliza Kelley's.
Erected by NOVA Parks.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture
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Location. 39° 3.044′ N, 77° 19.992′ W. Marker is in Great Falls, Virginia, in Fairfax County. It can be reached from Seneca Connector Trail east of Seneca Road (Virginia Route 602), on the left when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 101 Seneca Rd, Sterling VA 20165, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area and in Northern Virginia. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Potomac Connections (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Seneca Tract (about 400 feet away); Rowser's Ford (about 400 feet away); Crossing the Potomac at Rowser's Ford (about 400 feet away); Washington's Canal (approx. 0.6 miles away); Seneca (approx. 1.3 miles away in Maryland); a different marker also named Rowsers Ford (approx. 1.3 miles away in Maryland); Seneca: Average Mans Resort (approx. 1½ miles away in Maryland). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Great Falls.
Other markers no longer nearby. Watering the Canal (was approx.
Credits. This page was last revised on May 15, 2022. It was originally submitted on May 15, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 494 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 15, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
