A Near Tragedy

A Near Tragedy. Belmont Bay. , The land and water before you are significant in Prince William County's history. Dogue Indians once lived along the Occoquan Creek. The King's Highway passed the County's first courthouse, which stood nearby., On April 7, 1791 George Washington neared tragedy as he crossed the Occoquan Creek on the ferry. His carriage horses fell overboard. The horses swam, pulling the carriage and our first President safely to shore., First Courthouse , Prince William County's first courthouse stood near the foot of the modern railroad trestle on this side of the Occoquan Creek. The courthouse was chartered in April of 1731, one month after Prince William County was established. The new County included land within today's Fairfax, Arlington, Loudoun and Fauquier Counties., River Crossings , The Potomac Path, or King's Highway, was a major route that paralleled the Potomac well into the 20th century. Occoquan Creek divided the road between the creek bank in front of you and Colchester. In 1684, officials ordered Colonel George Mason to provide a ferry across the Occoquan for military purposes. The mason family operated the ferry beginning in 1691. In 1795, a wooden bridge was built in its place. The town of Woodbridge is named for this early structure.,

On application of the inhabitants of Prince William…it is ordered that the court of the said county be held on the upper side of the Occoquan River near the ferry landing, and that the justices of the said county take care that a court house, prison, pillory and stocks according to the law be erected at that place with all convenient speed.

, In 1773, patriot George Mason IV willed Occoquan Plantation to his son Thomas, ,

…together with the right and benefit of keeping the ferry over Occoquan from both sides of the river, which has been vested in me and my ancestors from the first settlement of this part of the country and long before the land there was taken up and patented.

, The courthouse complex was established near the ferry landing on the lower shore of the Mason family's Occoquan Plantation. It remained the center of County government until 1743, when the County seat moved to Cedar Run., [Captions:] , George Washington often traveled by carriage between Alexandria and Dumfries via Mason's Ferry., To read George Washington's account of this event, follow this path eastward where you will find a display inside Osprey's Landing., This detail from John Wood's 1820 map of Prince William County shows where the Stage Road (King's Highway) crossed the Occoquan River.