Falmouth Historic District - Falmouth, VA
Posted by: 
DougK
N 38° 19.387 W 077° 28.165
18S E 284130 N 4244552
Falmouth is situated on the north shore of the Rappahannock River, opposite the city of Fredericksburg. The Falmouth Historic District consists of 38 buildings in an area of 2250 acres.
Waymark Code: WMBDN4
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 05/09/2011
Views: 17
Falmouth is situated on the north shore of the Rappahannock River, opposite the city of Fredericksburg. The Falmouth Historic District consists of 38 buildings in an area of 2250 acres near the junction of US Highways 1 and 17.
Founded in 1727 as a trading center for the Northern Neck. Hunter's iron works here were an objective in the Virginia campaign of 1781. The Army of the Potomac camped here from November, 1862 to June, 1863 and moved hence to Chancellorsville and Gettysburg.
Coordinates are at the Virginia Historic Falmouth marker.
Wikipedia tells us:
Founded in 1728 by the same act of the Virginia 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. Originally located within King George County, Falmouth became part of Stafford County when county lines were redrawn in 1776.
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.
Today Falmouth is a residential community and a suburb of Fredericksburg. Among the community's significant historic structures is Belmont, the home of American artist Gari Melchers, now a historic house museum administered by University of Mary Washington. Chatham Manor, the 1771 home of William Fitzhugh and a Union headquarters during the Civil War, is located downstream from Falmouth, opposite the historic district of Fredericksburg. It is administered by the National Park Service as part of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Park and now serves as park headquarters.