Perhaps it’s not the original house, but it is the land where young George Washington played as a boy on the shores of the Rappahannock River.
The future general and first president was 6 years old when his family moved here in 1738.
After his father, Augustine Washington, died in 1743 at 48, his 11-year-old son George inherited the property and its enslaved community. Because he had not reached legal age, his widowed mother, Mary Ball Washington, managed this property for him until he came of age. She lived on the property until 1772, when she was 64 when George moved her to a house in Fredericksburg.
Guests can take a tour of the Washington House replica and learn about the lives of George, Mary, other Washington family members, and the enslaved community.
As interesting as the house and information were, I was most interested in the land where George and his siblings lived and played.
During the summer, guests can observe archaeological studies either in the lab (at the visitor’s center) or in the field during digs. The land has yielded over 800,000 artifacts since the 1990s. Indigenous finds, including spear points, tools, and early pottery, date from the Paleo, Archaic, and Early Woodland periods.
The visitor’s center also features The Science of History at Ferry Farm, with colonial and Civil War artifacts excavated at Ferry Farm.
After touring the home, I walked the long stairway toward the river for a photo of the house.
Ferry Farm should be on anyone’s list of places to visit in Fredericksburg if they are interested in the colonial era or the Revolutionary War.
Click here for further information. For information about the many historic attractions in Fredericksburg, click here.
