Stafford County(208) ► ADJACENT TO STAFFORD COUNTY Caroline County(64) ► Culpeper County(163) ► Fauquier County(119) ► Fredericksburg(364) ► King George County(22) ► Prince William County(658) ► Spotsylvania County(405) ► Charles County, Maryland(150) ►
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The sketch below, done by a Union soldier, shows the landscape in front of you as it looked in 1863. During the Civil War, this was the rear of Chatham—a functional space unadorned with gardens or architectural finery. Union soldiers had . . . — — Map (db m35387) HM
Joseph Burwell Ficklen purchased Belmont in 1824, just as he began making his mark as a mill operator in Falmouth. He did not marry until 1843, at age 43. Ellen McGehee Ficklen died in 1845. Her grieving husband buried her here along with their . . . — — Map (db m171445) HM
His second day of freedom,
Former Slave
John Washington
wrote about seeing the “side-by-side” burial of seven Union soldiers April 19th, 1862, in Falmouth’s Union Church Cemetery.
“The soldiers had a sad duty to . . . — — Map (db m49673) HM
The farm implements you see remind us that Gari and Corinne Melchers were farmers as well as artists and world travelers. With the help of caretaker Mason Dillon, who lived in the cottage across the road, they ran a small farm with cows, . . . — — Map (db m171439) HM
Union soldiers and officers gazing upon Fredericksburg from this spot in 1862 saw many of the same landmarks visible today. The skyline of this peaceful river town, population 5,000 in 1860, is still dominated by the three steeples of City Hall . . . — — Map (db m35390) HM
Slaves did virtually all the work that kept Chatham worthy of its widespread reputation for productivity, elegance, and hospitality. Before the Civil War, it’s unlikely that white residents ever amounted to more than 20 percent of Chatham’s . . . — — Map (db m35386) HM
When Confederate sharpshooters blocked his efforts to span the Rappahannock River with pontoon bridges, General Ambrose E. Burnside ordered his artillery to bombard the town. For eight hours more than one hundred cannon, some as large as the . . . — — Map (db m35392) HM
From construction of the main house ca. 1880, until the end of the Civil War, life at Belmont was intertwined with the institution of slavery. An 1815 Falmouth property list shows that then resident Susannah Knox owned four slaves over age 12. . . . — — Map (db m97372) HM
Chatham has watched quietly over Fredericksburg for almost 250 years—an imposing, 180-foot-long brick manor house once visible from much of town. It has witnessed great events and played host to important people. George Washington, Thomas . . . — — Map (db m35385) HM
This site, once part of the Phillips property and occupied by the Union Army in the winter of 1862-1863 became the launch site for Aeronaut Thaddeus Lowe reconnaissance balloons. The tethered balloon Eagle with General Edwin Sumner's staff officer, . . . — — Map (db m76275) HM
Conway House was the home of Moncure Conway who freed himself from the dogmas of his culture and became an abolitionist. He is the only descendent of one of our nation’s Founding Fathers to actively lead escaping slaves to freedom, thereby . . . — — Map (db m23147) HM
The Green family was established in Virginia when Duff McFuff Green's great-great grandfather, Robert Green, settled in Orange County in 1710. Duff McDuff Green was born in Stafford county on 2 August 1832 to Capt. Duff Green and Elizabeth Ann Payne . . . — — Map (db m76690) HM
Approximately one mile east at the junction of U.S. Route 17 and U.S. Route 1 is the town of Falmouth, which was established at the falls of the Rappahannock River and incorporated in 1727. Although a small town, Falmouth was one of the most . . . — — Map (db m48761) HM
During the Civil War, a railroad station stood on this site. The station consisted of a warehouse, a platform, quartermaster tents, and several sidings. Trains arrived and departed on the hour traveling to and from Aquia Landing. The station . . . — — Map (db m75944) HM
Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness, and Spotsylvania—this is the bloodiest landscape in North America. No place more vividly reflects the Civil War’s tragic cost in all its forms. A city bombarded, bloodied, and looted. Farms large and . . . — — Map (db m35378) HM
”The soldier assured me that I was now a free man…I never would be a slave no more.”
- John Washington, a Fredericksburg slave
”Our camps are now flooded with negroes, with packs on their backs and bound for . . . — — Map (db m32391) HM
Artist Gari Melchers and his wife Corinne were booklovers. Despite the demands of his studio schedule, Gari Melchers devoted his morning to newspapers, made time for a good novel, and enjoyed studying the pages of his many art books. Corinne . . . — — Map (db m171444) HM
Overlooking the Falls of the Rappahannock River on a major 17th and 18th century trade route, this site became the setting for the artist's internationally acclaimed early 20th century paintings celebrating the lives and character of the citizens of . . . — — Map (db m77688) HM
Just northeast, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, commander of the Union Army of the Potomac, kept his headquarters, Jan. - June 1863, amid a vast city of tents and camps. It was here he rehabilitated he Union army after its catastrophic defeat in the First . . . — — Map (db m9216) HM
Founded in 1727 as a trading center for the Northern Neck. Hunter’s iron works here were an objective in the Virginia campaign of 1781. The Army of the Potomac camped here from November, 1862 to June, 1863 and moved hence to Chancellorsville and . . . — — Map (db m1671) HM
The town of Falmouth was established here in 1727 at the falls of the Rappahannock River. One of Virginia's busiest ports during the 18th and early 19th centuries, the town offered a tobacco inspection station, tobacco and cotton warehouses, flour . . . — — Map (db m171437) HM
In 1930, this 1880s log cabin was moved to its present location from the corner of Butler Road and Carter Street. The Falmouth historic community saved it with the help of noted architect Edward Donn, for they believed it was similar to the type of . . . — — Map (db m49662) HM
Located south of here on the Rappahannock River, stood Hunter’s Iron Works, founded by James Hunter and was in operation by the 1750s. With the outbreak of the American Revolution, the Rappahannock Forge there supplied the Continental army and navy . . . — — Map (db m2729) HM
Owner of the famed Hunter Iron Works in Stafford County, which manufactured most of the camp utensils and weapons for the Virginia forces during the Revolutionary War.
A true patriot, he received little, if any, compensation. — — Map (db m32392) HM
On 11 December 1862, Union engineers began the construction of pontoon bridges here so the army could cross the Rappahannock River to Fredericksburg. They began in the morning, hidden by fog. Soon the fog lifted, however, and Confederate . . . — — Map (db m1674) HM
The Magistrate’s Office is the oldest existing municipal building in Stafford County. Originally built for the town of Falmouth, the structure has been used as a courthouse (magistrate’s office) and voting place. Traditionally referred to as the . . . — — Map (db m2545) HM
In the spring of 1862, a passing Union soldier was shot and wounded, allegedly by someone at this house. His enraged comrades broke down the door to ransack and burn the place, but one who had known Moncure Conway earlier recognized his portrait. . . . — — Map (db m148080) HM
Three Stafford High graduates competed in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Jeff Rouse won a gold and a silver medal swimming. Mark Lenzi received a gold medal in diving. Conrad Adams was the captain of the U.S. Olympic Pentathlon Team. In . . . — — Map (db m75946) HM
Guard Duty in Falmouth:
Eight members of Company "F" 2nd Regt. U.S. Sharpshooters pose for a photograph in front of the O'Bannon House on Caroline St. (current day Butler Road) in Falmouth, Virginia, about May or June of 1862. They are . . . — — Map (db m36873) HM
This cottage is an example of an 18th century working man's home and was named for the family that owned it for several generations. A unique feature of the cottage is a central fireplace, more commonly seen in New England. — — Map (db m76276) HM
For most of its existence, Chatham had an unchanging rhythm: sow, tend, and harvest, each according to the crop. Most of Chatham’s slaves lived out their lives to this seasonal cadence, year after year. More than 50 enslaved workers—sometimes more . . . — — Map (db m35389) HM
For most of its existence, Chatham had an unchanging rhythm: sow, tend, and harvest, each according to the crop. Most of Chatham's enslaved residents lived out their lives to this seasonal cadence, year after year. More than 50 enslaved . . . — — Map (db m148079) HM
“A group of soldiers detached from the main group for a very dangerous mission.”
On December 11, 1862, from the north side of the Rappahannock River in Stafford County, the 7th Michigan Infantry led an amphibious assault . . . — — Map (db m23146) HM
Below are the falls of the Rappahannock River. Long before Europeans arrived, this was an important meeting point for Algonquian peoples from the East and Siouan speakers from the West — all of whom were masters at using area waterways. . . . — — Map (db m171443) HM
The building in front of you was built by the Melcherses to improve the water supply to the house. It contained a pump that pushed water to an underground cistern accessible from the basement of the house. The pump house and new cistern replaced . . . — — Map (db m171690) HM
The trails at Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont fulfill the wishes of Corinne Melchers, who hoped visitors could someday walk the estate’s beautiful woods and riverside setting.
One-and-a-half miles of paths cover a varied terrain to the . . . — — Map (db m97375) HM
