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HISTORY OF KING GEORGE COUNTY |
Named
for King George I
of England, King George County was formed by an act of assembly passed November 24, 1720, by
dividing Richmond County into two distinct counties to be known as Richmond County and King
George County, as of April 23, 1721. |
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King
George County is located at the gateway to the Northern Neck, between the Potomac and Rappahannock
rivers. |
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In
1608, Captain John Smith explored the Northern Neck area
including the area known today as King George County. He found a land occupied by Native Americans of the
Powhatan
nation and rich in game, fowl and fish. By the mid 1600s, the
area was occupied by English settlers. |
In
March 1751/52, James Madison, fourth
President of the United States, was born at Port Conway in King George County.
Nelly Conway Madison
, the mother of the President, grew up at Port Conway and
returned home from Montpelier in Orange County for the birth of her first child. |
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George
Washington grew up in Ferry Farm and had many connections to King George County. He often visited
his brother
Samuel Washington
of Chotank. He attended church at St. Pauls Parish on
several occasions. The will of
Augustine Washington,
father of the first president, is recorded in King George County Courthouse. |
William
"Extra Billy" Smith, twice governor of Virginia, was born in King George County in 1797 at Marengo.
Smith was governor of Virginia when Richmond fell in 1865. |
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In
April 1865, after assassinating President Abraham Lincoln, John
Wilkes Booth and his accomplices made their escape route to King George County. He entered at Gambo
Creek, at the present-day Naval Surface Warfare Center, stopping at Mrs. Elizabeth R. Quesenberry's home.
He also spent the night in a cabin at Cleydael, the summer home of Dr. Richard Stuart. Booth proceeded
to Port Conway, where he crossed into Caroline County and the Garrett farm. |
The
daughters of
General Robert E. Lee
spent most of the civil war with their mother's
cousin
Julia Stuart
, wife of
Dr. Richard Stuart
, in King George County. |
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In
1918, the Navy established the Naval Proving Grounds located at Dahlgren in King George County. This base
was designed to test naval guns and offered an ideal shooting range on the Potomac River. Dahlgren was
named for Admiral John Adolphus Dahlgren,
a famous Naval ordnance designer. Today the Naval Surface Warfare Center is an essential part of the United
States Navy defense program. |
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