Near Triangle in Prince William County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Historic Routes

Photographed by Connor Olson, March 23, 2022

1. Historic Routes Marker

Inscription.
The old roadbed to your right was a forerunner of today's interstate highways. American Indians made a path through the woods so they could travel between villages and their hunting and fishing grounds along tidewater creeks. European settlers widened it into a roadway—known as the Potomac Path—to transport tobacco and passengers to the port of Dumfries. During the Revolutionary War, American and French troops marched through on their way south to Yorktown. In the Civil War, Confederates attacked Union picket lines along the road. This section of road was abandoned in the 1930s.

(Captions)
Stagecoaches carried passengers to and from Dumfries
The route Rochambeau and Washington's troops took extends more than 600 miles from Newport, Rhode Island, to Yorktown, Virginia.
As they walked toward Yorktown, George Washington's Continental soldiers had to be on alert for surprise attacks.

Erected by National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Roads & Vehicles • War, US Civil • War, US Revolutionary.

Location. 38° 33.528′ N,

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77° 20.534′ W. Marker is near Triangle, Virginia, in Prince William County. It can be reached from Park Entrance Road north of Joplin Road, on the right when traveling north. Located on the Crossing Trail in Prince William Forest Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Dumfries VA 22025, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area,

in Northern Virginia,

and in the Piedmont.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. 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 walking distance of this marker: The Crossing Trail (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); A Tradition of Conservation (approx. 0.3 miles away);

Photographed by Connor Olson, March 23, 2022

2. Historic Routes Marker

Historic Preservation and Maintenance (approx. 0.3 miles away); Almost Extinct (approx. 0.4 miles away); Saplings of Hope (approx. 0.4 miles away); Piedmont Forest Trail (approx. 0.4 miles away); Flowering Dogwood (approx. 0.4 miles away); Eastern Red Cedar (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Triangle.

Also see . . . Prince William Forest Park. National Park Service. (Submitted on November 27, 2022.)

Credits. This page was last revised on September 30, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 26, 2022, by Connor Olson of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 323 times since then and 15 times this year. Last updated on September 30, 2025, by N. Jozsa of Woodbridge, Virginia. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 26, 2022, by Connor Olson of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.