Across from Fredericksburg on the Rappahannock River in Stafford County is Ferry Farm. It was George Washington’s childhood home from 1738-1754, and the place where our first president at age six couldn’t lie to his father after chopping down a prized cherry tree. George Washington left Ferry Farm to work as a surveyor west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In 1774 Mary Ball Washington (mother) moved to a home in Fredericksburg purchased for her by George Washington. Ferry Farm was sold to Dr. Hugh Mercer. But he never occupied it due to his service as a Brigadier General in the Revolutionary War. In 1777 he was killed at the Battle of Princeton and became a symbol of American bravery for the Continental Army. The Union Army of the Potomac used Ferry Farm as a winter camp and crossing point over the Rappahannock River during the… Continue reading