Stafford County historic sites and museums can be found in all parts between Marine Corps Base Quantico (Garrisonville) and the Rappahannock River (Falmouth). Stafford County is mostly known as the 1862 staging area for the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Major General Ambrose Burnside during the preparation of the Battle of Fredericksburg. The Stafford County Historical Society has put together an outline (map included) of the most important historic sites which has been published by the Central Rappahannock Regional Library. The 20 most historically important are listed below.

  1. Aquia Crucifix and Brent Cemetery
  2. Aquia Episcopal Church
  3. Stafford County Courthouse
    Stafford County Courthouse (c. 1922). This building and recent additions houses all of the judiciary and land recordings of Stafford County.

    Stafford County Courthouse at the intersection of Courthouse Road and Jefferson Davis Highway. This is the third courthouse built on this site. The structure in this photograph was completed in 1922. This courthouse replaced the original brick courthouse built in 1840 at the corner of U. S. Route One & Courthouse Road. It suffered destruction at the hands of a Union occupying force which ransacked and building and the clerk’s office stealing and destroying court records and Stafford County’s early recorded history. This building was demolished in 1910 to widen U. S. Route One. By the turn of the century the courthouse was described as unusable. The first courthouse on this site was built in 1783 after Marlborough Point no longer supported a focal point of transportation and business in Stafford County.
    The building pictured here was built for $19,263.55 by contractor Walter Snellings. Stafford County paid reduced insurance premiums to the Northern Neck Mutual Fire Insurance Company after the company declared the building sufficiently sound and sturdy.

  4. Widewater
  5. Aquia Landing
  6. Marlborough Point
  7. White Oak Primitive Baptist Church
  8. George Washington’s Boyhood Home: Ferry Farm
  9. Chatham Manor
    The skyline of this peaceful river town, population 5,000 in 1860, is still dominated by the three steeples of City Hall and the Episcopal (St. George's Episcopal Church) and Baptist (Fredericksburg Baptist Church) churches.

    Chatham Manor supported many of the 100 cannons placed on the bluffs of Stafford Heights to defend the construction of 2 pontoon bridges and subsequent crossing of troops across the Rappahannock River. There were 2 batteries of 4.5-inch siege rifles like the one shown here that fired into the homes and buildings of Fredericksburg, and Confederate troops positioned on Marye’s Heights during the Union assault on December 13, 1862.

  10. Hartwood Presbyterian Church
  11. Gari Melchers Belmont
  12. Golgotha Church
  13. Basil Gordon’s Cotton Warehouse
  14. Magistrate’s Office
  15. Cambridge Street General Store
  16. Lightner House
  17. Shelton Cottage
  18. Union Church and Falmouth Cemetery
  19. Falmouth Log Cabin (Hobby School)
  20. Falmouth Historic District

Both visitors and residents of Stafford County should also visit White Oak Museum for the greatest display of local Civil War artifacts.  Click here for articles sponsored by the National Park Service documenting Civil War troop movements including the  Mud March, encampment sites, hospitals (1862-63), supply points, and artillery batteries on the Potomac River.

Stafford County Information and Photographs

  • Chatham Manor (29 photographs) National Park Service interpretive markers, Union artillery at Chatham Heights, scenic views of Fredericksburg’s historic district.
  • Stafford Civil War Park (29 photographs) Union Infantry winter camp, Potomac Church Road, Sandstone Quarry, Union Batteries at Accokeek Creek, 11th Corps Road, The Daniel Bridge.
  • Stafford County (259 photographs) Stafford County historic buildings, Virginia Department of Historic Resources historical highway markers, Virginia Civil War Trails historical markers, Aquia Church, White Oak Primitive Baptist Church, Government Island, Civil War weapons and displays at White Oak Civil War Museum.

Museums in Surrounding Jurisdictions

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