Exploring Fredericksburg
20 shops offer a variety of antiques
The padded rocking chair sitting outside Caroline Square antiques store is an inviting sight for those weary after a day of walking around historic downtown...
Fredericksburg hospital now a trauma center
Critically injured patients needing high-level emergency care can now receive such services at Mary Washington Hospital, which was recently designated...
Naturalist painter’s 1700s home a draw for tourists
Fredericksburg is so bucolic and pastoral, it is no wonder it serves as home to artists and art collections. The University of Mary Washington has three...
Sightseeing—and maybe a sip
The sweet bouquet of aging bourbon greets you like an old friend when you walk into the warehouse at A. Smith Bowman Distillery.
Fredericksburg region possesses historic riches
A trip to Fredericksburg is like opening a history book and transporting yourself into its pages.
The other Washington Monument
The other Washington Monument National indignation followed publication of a notice in the March 2, 1889, Washington Post. “The Grave of Mary, the...
Seasonal and holiday events
Fredericksburg Jaycees 33rd Annual Haunted House, Fredericksburg Fairgrounds, Oct. 24, 25, 31 and Nov. 1, 7-11 p.m. each night. The cattle barn at the...
GRTC bus service offers an option for getting there
If you’d asked me at the first of the month how to take the Richmond city bus to Fredericksburg, I’d have told you it wasn’t worth the...
An old-fashioned medical office
Inhaling a fragrance reminiscent of root beer, a group of fourth-graders agreed that sassafras tea wouldn’t be so bad compared to the shiny black...
U.S. slavery museum has had a bumpy start
The message “Opening Soon” flashes on the Web site. “Telling the Complete Story. Commemorating. Understanding. Overcoming.“ ...
Exploring Fredericksburg is part of an occasional series of special limited-distribution sections that explore communities around the Old Dominion in detail. Watch slides featuring popular sites in the Fredericksburg area.
SLIDESHOW: Exploring FredericksburgList of Advertisers for Exploring Fredericksburg
• www.fredericksburg.com
• www.fredericksburgva.gov
• University of Mary Washington
1676 - The General Assembly establishes a fort on the Rappahannock River, just below present-day Fredericksburg.
1720 - The General Assembly forms Spotsylvania County from parts of Essex, King William and King and Queen counties. Spotsylvania County is named for Gov. Alexander Spotswood.
1727 - The town of Fredericksburg is established in Spotsylvania County and named for Frederick, Prince of Wales. The town consists of 64 lots and a public square.
1732 - The Spotsylvania County Court is moved to Fredericksburg. Fredericksburg will serve as county seat until 1780.
1742 - Augustine Washington, father of George Washington, is appointed trustee of the town.
1781 - The General Assembly incorporates Fredericksburg as a town, with its own court, council and mayor.
1787 - James Monroe serves as a Fredericksburg councilman. Monroe, who would become the fifth president of the United States, practiced law in Fredericksburg from 1786 until 1791.
1879 - Fredericksburg is chartered as an independent city.
1899 - The original Mary Washington Hospital opens at the corner of Sophia and Fauquier streets.
1912 - Fredericksburg adopts a city-manager form of government.
1942 - The Rappahannock River rises 41 feet above normal during October in the worst flood in the city's history. About 6,000 of Fredericksburg's 10,000 residents report to the courthouse for typhoid immunizations.
1948 - Gladys W. Cocke is elected to the Fredericksburg City Council, the first woman elected to a city council in Virginia.
1964 - The final Richmond-to-Washington leg of Interstate 95 opens through Fredericksburg. The 20-mile stretch of road reaches from U.S. 1 in Spotsylvania County to the northern end of Stafford County.
1966 - The Rev. Lawrence A. Davies is the first black elected a councilman in Fredericksburg. Davies was elected mayor in 1976 and served in that post for 20 years before retiring in 1996.
1971 - A 40-block section of Fredericksburg, including the entire downtown area, is named to the National Register of Historic Places.
SOURCES: Times-Dispatch archives, www.fredericksburg.com, www.nps.gov, "Historic Fredericksburg: The Story of an Old Town" by John T. Goolrick
