Everything about Ferry Farm totally explained
Ferry Farm, also known as
George Washington Boyhood Home Site or
Ferry Farm Site, is the name of the
farm and home at which
George Washington spent much of his childhood. The site is located in
Stafford County, Virginia along the northern bank of the
Rappahannock River, across from the city of
Fredericksburg. The farm was named after the Washington family had left the property. Its namesake was a free
ferry that crossed the
Rappahannock River on Washington land -- the family didn't own or operate it. It is unclear what the farm was called during the Washington occupancy. Sometime in the late
19th century the
farm became known as
Pine Grove, as well as
The Ferry Farm. The farm rose to national prominence during the Washington Birth Bicentennial of
1932--during the years surrounding this celebration some
authors cited both the names Ferry Farm and Pine Grove.
Ferry Farm is the setting for some of the best known stories about George Washington, most particularly those brought to the American public by Mason Locke Weems, best known as
Parson Weems, in the early
19th century. These include the
anecdote, appearing first in the
1806 edition of Weems's Life of Washington, in which a 6-year-old George barked one of his father Augustine's favorite English
cherry trees with a new
hatchet. Upon being confronted by his
father, the boy exclaimed "I can't tell a lie, Pa; you know I can't tell a lie, I did cut it with my hatchet."
Another version states that George was on his
horse and that the horse
"barked" (accidentally scraped the bark off with its hoof) the cherry tree and George accepted the blame.
It has also been claimed to be the site where George Washington "threw a
silver dollar across the
Rappahannock River." It
is possible to "skip" a coin or flat rock across that area. Regardless, the river was considerably wider during this period than it's today, making the feat that much more difficult.
Each year during the celebration of Washington's birthday, townspeople are invited to attempt to recreate this event. In the summer of 2006, Ferry Farm archaeology intern Jim Trueman completed the throw becoming the first intern to successfully cross the river bank to bank. To prove it wasn't a fluke, he made the same throw again in the summer of 2007.
It was the site of skirmishing during the
American Civil War in 1862.
Extensive archaeological investigations began in
2002 under the direction of David Muraca (formerly of
Colonial Williamsburg) and Philip Levy of the
University of South Florida. The goal of the
excavations is to locate and understand the original Washington farm complex. There also is a long term goal of reconstructing the farm on the site. Ferry Farm also runs children's programs and other public events.
It is located at 237 King's Highway (Virginia Route 3), in or near Fredericksburg.
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