Widewater State Park

Last updated
Widewater State Park
WW Serenity at Widewater State Park (46205807851).jpg
Widewater State Park, November 2018
USA Virginia location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Widewater State Park in Virginia
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Widewater State Park (the United States)
Location Stafford County, Virginia
Nearest city Fredericksburg
Coordinates 38°25′37″N77°20′6″W / 38.42694°N 77.33500°W / 38.42694; -77.33500
Area1,089 acres (440.7 ha) [1]
Created2019
Administered by Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation

Widewater State Park is a state park in Virginia, located in Stafford County. Land for the park was purchased in 2006 from Dominion Resources, but the Great Recession prevented development of the property. Ground was finally broken for the new park in 2018 [2] after money was appropriated by the Virginia General Assembly with a bond issue in that year. [3] Current facilities include a visitor center and staff building along Aquia Creek and a soft boat launch and picnic shelter along the Potomac River. [4] A formal opening date in fall 2018 was set. [3] The park officially opened in 2019. [5]

The park is divided up into five parcels, separated by private property. It is located on a 1,100-acre peninsula situated between Aquia Creek and the Potomac River, and was the site of early flight experiments by Samuel P. Langley. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

Stafford County, Virginia U.S. county in Virginia

Stafford County is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is a suburb outside of Washington D.C. It is approximately 40 miles (64 km) south of D.C. It is part of the Northern Virginia region, and the D.C area. It is one of the fastest growing, and highest-income counties in America. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 156,927. Its county seat is Stafford.

Fredericksburg, Virginia Independent city in Commonwealth of Virginia, United States

Fredericksburg is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,982. The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce combines the city of Fredericksburg with neighboring Spotsylvania County for statistical purposes.

Falmouth, Virginia Census-designated place in Virginia, United States

Falmouth is a census-designated place (CDP) in Stafford County, Virginia, United States. Situated on the north bank of the Rappahannock River at the falls, the community is north of and opposite the city of Fredericksburg. Recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place (CDP), Falmouth's population was 4,274 as of the 2010 census.

Marine Corps Base Quantico CDP in Virginia, United States

Marine Corps Base Quantico is a United States Marine Corps installation located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly 55,148 acres (86.169 sq mi) of southern Prince William County, Virginia, northern Stafford County, and southeastern Fauquier County. Used primarily for training purposes, MCB Quantico is known as the "Crossroads of the Marine Corps".

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park Historic site in Maryland and Washington, D.C.

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park is located in the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland. The park was established in 1961 as a National Monument by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to preserve the neglected remains of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and many of its original structures. The canal and towpath trail extends along the Potomac River from Georgetown, Washington, D.C., to Cumberland, Maryland, a distance of 184.5 miles (296.9 km). In 2013, the path was designated as the first section of U.S. Bicycle Route 50.

Germanna Community College Community college with several campuses in Virginia, U.S.

Germanna Community College (GCC) is a community college in Virginia with campuses in Locust Grove, Fredericksburg, Stafford and Culpeper. Founded in 1970, it takes its name from Germanna, a settlement founded by Governor Alexander Spotswood for a group of German miners by the Rapidan River at what is now Germanna Ford.

Nanjemoy, Maryland Unincorporated community in Maryland, United States

Nanjemoy is a settlement along Maryland Route 6 in southwestern Charles County, Maryland, United States, and the surrounding large rural area more or less bounded by Nanjemoy Creek to the east and north, and the Potomac River to the south and west.

Battle of Aquia Creek

The Battle of Aquia Creek was an exchange of cannon fire between Union Navy gunboats and Confederate shore batteries on the Potomac River at its confluence with Aquia Creek in Stafford County, Virginia. The battle took place from May 29, 1861 to June 1, 1861 during the early days of the American Civil War. The Confederates set up several shore batteries to block Union military and commercial vessels from moving in the Chesapeake Bay and along the lower Potomac River as well as for defensive purposes. The battery at Aquia also was intended to protect the railroad terminal at that location. The Union forces sought to destroy or remove these batteries as part of the effort to blockade Confederate States coastal and Chesapeake Bay ports. The battle was tactically inconclusive. Each side inflicted little damage and no serious casualties on the other. The Union vessels were unable to dislodge the Confederates from their positions or to inflict serious casualties on their garrisons or serious damage to their batteries. The Confederates manning the batteries were unable to inflict serious casualties on the Union sailors or cause serious damage to the Union vessels. Soon after the battle, on Sunday, July 7, 1861, the Confederates first used naval mines, unsuccessfully, off the Aquia Landing batteries. The Confederates ultimately abandoned the batteries on March 9, 1862 as they moved forces to meet the threat created by the Union Army's Peninsula Campaign. The U. S. National Park Service includes this engagement in its list of 384 principal battles of the American Civil War.

Aquia Creek

Aquia Creek is a 27.6-mile-long (44.4 km) tributary of the tidal segment of the Potomac River and is located in northern Virginia. The creek's headwaters lie in southeastern Fauquier County, and it empties into the Potomac at Brent Point in Stafford County, 45 miles (72 km) south of Washington, D.C.

Chopawamsic Creek

Chopawamsic Creek is a 6.8-mile-long (10.9 km) tributary of the Potomac River in Prince William and Stafford counties, Virginia. Chopawamsic Creek is formed by the confluence of the North and South Branches of Chopawamsic Creek and empties into the Potomac River south of Quantico at the Marine Corps Base Quantico's Air Station. Breckenridge Reservoir lies at the stream's confluence with the North and South Branches. Along with its North Branch, Chopawamsic Creek forms part of the boundary between Prince William and Stafford counties. The North Branch flows through part of the Chopawamsic Backcountry Area in Prince William Forest Park.

Patawomeck is a Native American tribe based in Stafford County, Virginia, along the Potomac River. It is one of Virginia's eleven state recognized Native American tribes. It is however not federally recognized. It achieved state recognition in February 2010. In the 17th century, at the time of early English colonization, the Patawomeck tribe was a "fringe" component of the Powhatan Confederacy. At times it was allied with others in the confederacy, and at others, the Patawomeck allied with the English colonists.

Crows Nest Natural Area Preserve

Crow's Nest Natural Area Preserve is a large wilderness area located on the southern border of Stafford County, Virginia, United States, between Potomac Creek and Accokeek Creek. The greater portion of the Crow's Nest Peninsula is approximately 3,800 acres (15 km2) and lies within the coastal plain of Virginia. About 2,872 acres (11.62 km2) of the peninsula is protected as part of the Virginia Natural Area Preserve System.

Brooke is an unincorporated community in Stafford County, Virginia, United States.

Aquia Creek sandstone Type of sandstone used in Washington D.C. construction

Aquia Creek sandstone is a type of brown to light-gray freestone used extensively in building construction in Washington, D.C. in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Quarried at Aquia Creek in Stafford County, Virginia, the stone was valuable for its ease of shaping and the quarry's proximity to the tidewater portion of the Potomac River, 45 miles south of Washington.

Public Quarry at Government Island United States historic place

The Public Quarry at Government Island in Stafford County, Virginia is the principal source of Aquia Creek sandstone, a building stone used in many of the early government buildings in Washington, D.C., including the U.S. Capitol and the White House. A quarry was established just off the Potomac River at Wigginton's Island on Aquia Creek by George Brent after 1694, providing stone for tombstones and to houses and churches in northern Virginia, including Gunston Hall, Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia, Mount Airy in Richmond County, Virginia, and Aquia Church, as well as steps and walkways at George Washington's Mount Vernon. Washington selected Aquia sandstone as the primary material for use in Washington's government buildings. Acting on the government's behalf, the Wigginton's Island quarry was purchased by Pierre Charles L'Enfant in 1791, becoming known afterward as Government Island.

Potomac Creek Bridge

The Potomac Creek Bridge was first built in 1842 by the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad across the Potomac Creek in Stafford County, Virginia, United States.

Aquia is a district of Stafford County, in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is named for Aquia Creek, which leads to the Potomac River. Nearby historic locations include Aquia Church and the remains of Aquia quarry. Cliffs of the local Aquia Creek sandstone had been visible from the Potomac River near its confluence with Aquia Creek during colonial times. It was quarried to construct many buildings nearby, as well as in Washington, D.C., including the White House, National Capitol Columns and Washington Monument. It was a stop on the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad which was replaced by, CSXT.

Tacketts Mill is an unincorporated community in Stafford County, in the U.S. state of Virginia.

Widewater is an unincorporated community in Stafford County, in the U.S. state of Virginia. Located on the banks of the Potomac River, it was the site of the flight experiments by Samuel Langley during the late 19th and early 20th century. It was a stop on the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad which was replaced by CSX Transportation.

Belle Plains, Virginia

Belle Plains, Virginia was a steamboat landing and unincorporated settlement on the south bank of Potomac Creek off the Potomac River, in Stafford County, Virginia.

References

  1. "Widewater State Park".
  2. 1 2 THE FREE LANCE–STAR, AMANDA VICINANZO. "Stafford celebrates Widewater State Park groundbreaking" . Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  3. 1 2 THE FREE LANCE-STAR, JEFF BRANSCOME. "Widewater State Park receives enough funding to open" . Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  4. THE FREE LANCE-STAR, ROB HEDELT. "A visit to Widewater State Park shows the amenities and stories visitors will soon enjoy" . Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  5. "History of Virginia State Parks". Virginia.gov. Richmond, VA: Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. July 1, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2020.

Coordinates: 38°25′37″N77°20′06″W / 38.427°N 77.335°W / 38.427; -77.335