Robertson-Towson House - Stafford VA
N 38° 26.511 W 077° 25.487
18S E 288379 N 4257625
A grand old historic homestead has been preserved in Stafford, VA.
Waymark Code: WMAWFJ
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 03/03/2011
Views: 4
In the late 1700s and early 1800s, William Robertson lived on a wooded knoll in Stafford County, Virginia. His homesite included a 2-story log cabin with stables, a kitchen, and other outbuildings. He owned and operated a nearby stone quarry. At the turn of the 19th century, Benjamin Latrobe, architect of the U.S. Capitol, visited Robertson's home and quarry looking for alternative sources of sandstone, since the quarry on
Government Island
was running out. Robertson hauled sandstone from his quarry over to Coal's Landing on Aquia Creek, near Government Island, for shipment up the river to Washington, D.C.
When Robertson died in 1818, the property was sold to Thomas Towson who was an architect and stone carver from Baltimore, Maryland. He built a 3-story house entirely constructed of the Aquia sandstone which was unusual, since sandstone was primarily used for foundations and trim. He attached his great stone house to an existing log structure with chimney. Below the home, the Towson family built a stone wall that ran along what was known as White Road. The Towson family continued to operate the quarry.
Over 150 years later, after surviving Union occupation during the Civil War and the building of a subdivision, a decision was made to save what remained of the house. Stabilization and preservation began in 2002 on the remaining shell and detached chimney. The roof and interior floors and walls are long gone, but the outline of this remarkable sandstone house still remain. It is surrounded by a wrought iron fence, but evidence of stone steps outside the enclosure still remain as does the stone wall, although White Road has become a sewer easement in the surrounding subdivision of Austin Ridge. A historic marker was installed in 2009 as part of a local Eagle Scout project.
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