Punishing the Nanzattico Indians

Displaced from their reservation land on both sides of the Rappahannock River at Nanzattico and Portobago Bay, Nanzattico Indians attacked the farm of John Rowley, known for his disputes with the tribe, on 29 Aug. 1704. When captured in Richmond County, seven...

Civil War Action at Mathias Point

In May 1861, Confederate forces commanded by Brig. Gen. Daniel Ruggles and Maj. Robert Mayo began constructing gun emplacements at Mathias Point, which is located 2.5 miles northwest on the Potomac River close to the Virginia shore. This battery, as well as others,...

Hanover Baptist Church

Hanover Baptist Church, the oldest Baptist church in King George County, was organized in 1789 with a 93-member congregation. The first meetinghouse was located at Shiloh, and Elder John Shackleford served as the first pastor. The first Sunday school was established...

James Madison’s Birthplace

James Madison, “Father of the Constitution” and fourth president of the United States, was born here at Port Conway on 16 March 1751, in a house that no longer stands. His mother, Eleanor Conway Madison, was visiting her family at their plantation, Belle...

Cleydael

Dr. Richard H. Stuart built a T-shaped house just southeast of here in 1859 as a summer residence for his family. John Wilkes Booth and his accomplice David Herold, guided by a local farmer, arrived here on 23 April 1865 while attempting to escape after Booth had...