The Curtis Collection: a Personal View of Prince William County
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The Curtis Collection A Personal View of Prince William County History Donald E. Curtis The Curtis Collection A Personal View of Prince William County History Donald E. Curtis Prince William County Historical Commission Prince William, Virginia 2006 Copyright © 2006 by the Prince William County Historical Commission Originally Printed, 1988 Prince William County Historical Commission Reprinted 2006 for the Prince William County Historical Commission Prince William County B&G Print Shop 5001 Prince William Parkway Prince William, VA 22192 Please direct all correspondence and book orders to: Prince William County Historical Commission 1 County Complex Court Prince William, VA 22192 ISBN: 978-0-9792155-2-0 BOARD OF COUNTY SUPERVISORS Corey A. Stewart, Chairman Maureen S. Caddigan, Vice Chairman Hilda M. Barg Martin E. Nohe Wally Covington John T. Stirrup, Jr John D. Jenkins . HISTORICAL COMMISSION Members Ruth M. Anderson Ellis B. Hawkins Sara B. Anderson Alexander Jones, Jr. Frederick R. Brown Jane B. MacDonald James M. Burgess, Jr., Vice Chairman Ronald L. Smith Stephen K. W. Chock Harry P. Stickley, III Rebecca Cumins David Swavely Janice M. Cunard Ron Turner Betty Duley, Chairman Elaine S. Yankey Staff Robert C. Bainbridge, Planning Office Liaison Justin Patton, County Archaeologist Heather Hembrey, Public Works Liaison Toni Brzyski, Secretary Don Wilson, Library Liaison CONTENTS Title Page Introduction....................................................................................................................1 A Personal Experience With Local History...................................................................3 Courthouses – An Historical Perspective ......................................................................7 Local Civil War Events................................................................................................10 The Origin of Woodbridge...........................................................................................13 Early Industry and Commerce .....................................................................................15 Local Church History...................................................................................................18 Early Landowning........................................................................................................21 “Come home To Virginia”...........................................................................................23 Prince William County’s Most Famous Son ...............................................................25 Prince William County, West Virginia........................................................................27 County Revolutionary Contributions...........................................................................29 The Lee Connections ...................................................................................................31 Wall-To-Wall Plantations ............................................................................................34 The Historical Forest Park ...........................................................................................36 Governor Smith and the Quantico Guards...................................................................39 Prince William County’s Other Famous Son...............................................................41 Martin Scarlet, Gentleman...........................................................................................43 Prince William’s 17th Century History ........................................................................45 Old Minnieville............................................................................................................47 Civil War Batteries and Forts ......................................................................................50 Ante-Bellum Plantations..............................................................................................53 Magnum Opus on Old Prince William ........................................................................54 Country Roads and Their History................................................................................56 The Mighty RF&P .......................................................................................................58 County History by the Square Foot .............................................................................60 The Mighty Orange and Alexandria Railroad .............................................................62 The Old Manassas Gap Railroad .................................................................................65 Skyland History ...........................................................................................................67 Historic Virginia Beach ...............................................................................................69 Ties Between Stafford and Prince William .................................................................71 A Hype for History, Preservation, and Tourism..........................................................74 Old Neabsco Mills .......................................................................................................77 Freestone and Stafford County ....................................................................................79 Historical Commission Stewardship Report................................................................81 Buried Treasure............................................................................................................84 Need For County Tourist Council................................................................................86 Happy 250th Birthday, Prince William ........................................................................89 Revolutionary Contributions........................................................................................91 Title Page Leesylvania Is Ours......................................................................................................93 Yankees Come To Prince William ..............................................................................95 The USS Henderson (AP-1).........................................................................................97 Early Catholic Settlers .................................................................................................99 Happy Birthday, General Washington.......................................................................101 VIP Tours and Tourism .............................................................................................103 The National Cathedral..............................................................................................106 The Monument to Washington ..................................................................................108 The Washington-Rochambeau Bicentennial March ..................................................111 Recognition of Local History.....................................................................................113 The Rape of the Occoquan.........................................................................................115 “Light Horse Harry” Lee’s Tomb..............................................................................118 Yorktown Victory Celebration ..................................................................................121 Happy 250th Anniversary, Prince William County....................................................123 The Historic Treasury ................................................................................................125 A Need For More Public Historic Buildings .............................................................127 Some Confederate Thoughts......................................................................................129 Libraries: A County Asset ........................................................................................131 Virginia’s Presidential Route.....................................................................................133 The Occoquan RF&P Station.....................................................................................135 INTRODUCTION The Curtis Collection contains the series of 57 articles written for the Potomac News by Donald E. Curtis during the period June 1977 to May 1982. Readers of Don’s column were disappointed when this series ended; sadly, most of us did not have the foresight to collect and save these valuable history lessons which focus on Prince William County. The work is presented as it appeared, but it does not have to be read in sequence. Each column stands alone in the newspaper style in which it was written and necessary background information is presented with each vignette. It is particularly interesting to compare Don’s vision of the actions which should be taken with those which have come to fruition — a tourism director, commemoration of additional points of interest, expanded library facilities, and increased public concern for preserving areas of archeological, historical, or public interest. Still more remains to be done if we are to realize the potential of Don’s vision for Prince William County. As chairman of the Prince William County Historical Commission from 1977 to 1980, Mr. Curtis directed his energies toward raising the public consciousness about our colorful past. His writing served to generate interest in history and historic preservation, as he challenged his readers to become better acquainted with the area.