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| YOUR TOWN: Caroline | Culpeper | King George | Fredericksburg | Orange | Spotsylvania | Stafford | Westmoreland | |
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Some of Stafford’s 277 square miles are still rural, but certain areas—especially North Stafford—have developed rapidly in recent years.
The county, about 40 miles south of Washington, continues to become the home of commuters who work in Northern Virginia and the nation’s capital.
Population:
Census 2006 estimate: 120,170
Census 2000: 92,446Stafford, formed in 1664, was named for Staffordshire, England. The county is home to several historic sites.
Ferry Farm, the boyhood home of George Washington, is on the Rappahannock River in southern Stafford. George’s father, Augustine Washington, brought his family to Ferry Farm in 1738, a few years after establishing his iron ore business know as Accokeek Furnace. His 6-year-old son, George, lived there until he was 20.
Not far way from Ferry Farm is Chatham Manor, an 18th-century mansion that once served as the headquarters and a hospital for the Union Army’s high command during the Battle of Fredericksburg.
Belmont is an 18th-century estate in Falmouth that was owned by American artist Gari Melchers in the early 1900s. The estate is now owned by the state. The main house is furnished with items the Melcherses collected. A restored stone studio is now a museum for some of Melchers’ works.
Falmouth itself was a major trading center along the Rappahannock that thrived until the 1850s. Today, an early 19th-century brick warehouse and a small Federal-period customhouse are some of the historic buildings still standing.
The county also is home to Aquia Church, built in 1751. During the Civil War, the Union’s Army of the Potomac camped throughout Stafford and left much of its land and many of its farms in ruins.
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