Transcription
Potomac Scene, Friday, May 31, 1974, Page 2
Grand memories,
dramatic times
in Dumfries' life
By Anne Hazard
Abandoned, the Dumfries
Courthouse site lingers on
today as little more than a
vacant lot near the town's
main street. It is a small
reminder that Dumfries was
once America's largest port
and the county's first incorporated
town.
Pedestrians strolling by
would not guess that two
centuries ago the courthouse
site was a dramatic center of
patriotism on the eve of the
American Revolution; that
important political decisions
were made within the walls of
the colonial brick building
that once occupied the
property.
On June 6, 1774, outraged
Dumfries citizens assembled
there. Seething wth
discontent over British
colonial policies and the
dissolution of Virginia's
House of Burgesses, they
adopted the Prince William
Resolves. (George Mason
drafted the [resolves?] from
irretrievable - just dust in
the aftermath of a courthouse
fire that destroyed many
records.
One of the few historic
landmarks remaining in
Dumfries, the Weems-Botts
House, was recently purchased
by the town and will
be restored to a museum.
Two years ago Pete Costello
purchased the Stage Coach
Inn and plans to restore it.
Artist Lee Lansing,
Historic Dumfries' president
and author of a recently
published book, "Historic
Dumfries Va. 1749." believes
that Gunston Hall architect
William Buckland may have
designed some Dumfries'
buildings. Lansing has
researched Dumfries history
for more than 30 years.
Although two decades ago
it was billed as "a quiet
Prince William hamlet whose
bungalows dot Route 1,"
Dumfries now boats industry,
development and a growing
population.
about $1,000 each. As the
tobacco habit spread through
Europe (taking snuff became
an indication of elegance),
the thriving town ascended to
prosperity.
In addition to a bank, an
academy, a race course,
numerous shops and inns the
county's first colonial church,
and a poor house for the
underprivileged, Dumfries
had its own newspaper
(Dumfries Gazette): a racy
night life include a jockey
club, a theater and a
fashionable ball room in the
"Long Ordinary."
During the day, prominent
statesmen like George
Mason, George Washington
and Henry Lee were often
seen sauntering from shop to
restaurant to courthouse.
DUMFRIES HISTORY
actually began as early as
1690 when Richard Gibson
erected a grist mill on
Quantico Creek. A customs
[?]Transcriber
Adam Kitchen