Tag: Falmouth VA

Wikipedia says: Falmouth is a census-designated place (CDP) in Stafford County, Virginia, United States. Situated on the north bank of the Rappahannock River at the falls, the community is north of and opposite the city of Fredericksburg.

Founded in 1728 by the same act of the Virginia General Assembly that established neighboring Fredericksburg, Falmouth was created as a port town on the Rappahannock to serve inhabitants living north of the river within the vast Northern Neck holdings of Lord Fairfax. His agent, Robert “King” Carter, promoted the establishment of the town, and the Carter family played a dominant role in the town’s development throughout much of the colonial period.

Hunter’s Ironworks, also known as Rappahannock Forge, was an iron furnace located near Falmouth. Thomas Jefferson made special provision to protect the ironworks during the American Revolution.

The Falmouth Road was a colonial road that served as the main route connecting Winchester in the Shenandoah Valley to the port of Falmouth. This road follows a northwesterly route that was originally called the Shenandoah Hunting Path and crossed through the Piedmont counties of Stafford and Fauquier before passing over the Blue Ridge Mountains at Ashby’s Gap. Modern day US Highway 17 follows much of this route. Originally located within King George County, Falmouth became part of Stafford when county lines were redrawn in 1776.

It was a stop on the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad in the 19th century. During the American Civil War, Falmouth was occupied by Union forces in 1862 and 1863, and Northern commanders located their headquarters southeast of the town during the Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville campaigns. In May 1864, Union wounded and Confederate prisoners from the Battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House were transported through the area to the wharves at Belle Plain on Potomac Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River, located east of Falmouth.