Dignitaries, including Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (fourth from right) and former Gov. George Allen (second from left), look over the exposed, stone-lined cellars of the Washington family's house in the archaeological site at Ferry Farm in Stafford County yesterday afternoon. ROBERT A. MARTIN/THE FREE LANCE-STAR View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

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FERRY FARM YIELDS SECRETS

Years of searching yields the site of the boyhood home of George Washington

BY CLINT SCHEMMER AND RUSTY DENNEN

Date published: 7/3/2008

BY CLINT SCHEMMER AND RUSTY DENNEN

Archaeologists have just blown centuries of dust off the least-understood part of George Washington's life.

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine broke the news yesterday afternoon at Ferry Farm that researchers have found the remains of the southern Stafford County home where the first president grew up.

Before a battery of TV cameras, Kaine and a host of state and local dignitaries praised the years of dogged effort that led archaeologists to the house site.

Kaine said the nation will learn much from the ongoing work at the National Historic Landmark, which is owned by the George Washington Foundation.

Pointing past the dig site, he said, "Directly across the Rappahannock, George Washington could see the bustling trade center of Fredericksburg, which enticed his sense of adventure. It was here that his ambition to be excellent began to be nurtured and grow."

With the find, Ferry Farm will become a must-see for visitors from all across America, said John Hennessy, chief historian at Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park.

"It is a legitimately big deal," he said. "The two big stories here are the Civil War and George Washington. Now, George Washington goes from being an idea to being a place where people can touch, understand and see" his early roots.

Archaeologist Julia King, an associate professor at St. Mary's College in Maryland and one of several outside consultants tapped to review the findings at Ferry Farm, said there's no doubt about the discovery's significance.

"Here's a man born in the coastal plain, and he's part of the [nation's] westward movement," said King, a former president of the Society for Historic Archaeology. "If youthful experiences form the man, Washington's boyhood and teen years at Ferry Farm need to be understood.

"It's so important for that reason. Ferry Farm will allow people to focus on, 'Who was this man who was so important to our history and how was he shaped?'"

A LONG-SOUGHT PRIZE

Locating and excavating the Revolutionary War hero's boyhood home, the holy grail of Fredericksburg-area historic sites, had been the goal of many groups over many years.

What: Independence Day celebration at Washington's Ferry Farm. View the archaeological excavation of the Washington family's house site. Talk with George Washington on the farm where he grew up. Interact with other first-person, 18th-century interpreters as they engage in blacksmithing, sword fighting, cooking, slack-rope walking and acrobatics. Play games that span five centuries. Make crafts to take home. Decode secrets in the spy tent. Enjoy The Corn Family Old-Time String Band's bluegrass. Cool off in a misting tent. Sign the Declaration of Independence. Enjoy vendors' good old-fashioned Fourth of July food. There will also be cannon firings, speeches and a 13-gun salute to honor the original states. Where: 268 Kings Highway (State Route 3 east), Stafford When: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Parking on site is limited, but trolleys will run to and from Fredericksburg from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (last trolley departs Ferry Farm at 3 p.m.) Fee: $1 per person, ages 3 and up More: 540/370-0732; ferry farm.org

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Date published: 7/3/2008