Transcription
[pg 4, Municipal South Magazine Mar Apr. 1976 -
V.23, #2]
Aware of Heritage
in
Plan for Future
By Barbara Kirby
Dumfries officially came into being May 11, 1749 with the
passage of an Act by the House of Burgesses, "60 acres
belonging to John Graham, situated ... upon the Head of
Quantico Creek ... in the county of Prince William." John
Graham came from Dumfries in Scotland, whence the town
got its name. It was a booming town before this time and
continued to grow until after the Revolutionary War when
the combination of nature at her worst and laxity of the
farmers led to the slow decay of the town. The thriving
tobacco port and social center for the county became smaller
and smaller.
The years 1783 until the Civil War was a quiescent time,
but with the outbreak of the war the town was again bustling
with troops and the port area was used to try a blockade of
Washington, D. C., which kept the merchants busy and the
citizens in a state of wonderment.
It was not until 1961 that several of the citizens of the town
requested that the Town Charter be recognized again by the
Commonwealth of Virginia. With new housing, a growing
population and a keen interest in the town and its history, it
began to awaken to the heritage it once had, and the
possiblities of the future.
Since that time there has been a steady growth and an
increase in the total area of the town so that, according to the
1970 census, there were about 2,000 people residing within
the township's boundaries, It is a pleasant community of
older homes, tow dating back to the middle 1970's, small
individual homes, apartments, several small subdivisions,
two newer townhouse subdivisions containing nearly 300
homes each, a large mobile home park and two large
shopping centers, with numerous other small business
establishments along U. S. 1, which flows through the heart
of the town.
Within the past few years, the town's Mayor and Council
have tried to keep pace with the demands of the growing
population and yet keep the somewhat small-town
atmosphere alive so that you are still able to know most of the
residents when you meet them on streets or in the stores.
The most notable of their accomplishments has been the
first stage of cleaning Quantico Creek (the siltation of which
gave the township its first blow in its early years); an annual
Christmas Parade and party for the children of the town; the
purchase of 1 1/2 acres of land once belonging to Mason Locke
(Parson) Weems and Benjamin Botts which is leased to
Historic Dumfries Va. Inc. for its museum; the opening of a
new playground area with two more in the offing; and the
sponsoring, this year for the first time, of an "Old Fashioned
Down Home Day" with canned goods and crafts to be
judged, food, sack races and a day of fun for all the citizens.
Plans for the future are many and varied, with Quantico
Creek dredging being at the top of the priority list, as well as
sidewalks throughout the township, new historic signs at the
town's limits, and others too numerous to mention.
Dumfries residents are not only very much aware of their
historical heritage and their proximity to the nation's capital
(25 miles away), but also the need for careful planning for the
future of their town while making the most of today's world.
MARCH/APRIL 1976/5Transcriber
Adam KitchenLanguage
English