iRichmond, Virginia - Rambling across historic Virginia over the course of an autumn week is a lovely aim in itself, but I did it with a mission. I'm what you might call a big fan of George Washington, and I wanted to trace the progress of his childhood — from the rural Northern Neck where he was born to the Shenandoah Valley where he launched his career as a land surveyor at age 16.
Having once worked at Washington's Mount Vernon estate — the site most people associate with the first president — I had always wondered what visiting the places from the earlier parts of his life would reveal about the famously stoic statesman.
That's how I found myself against a backdrop of sandbars and marshes at Popes Creek plantation, where Washington was born, on Feb. 22, 1732.
I like to imagine that the clouds parted and an auspicious ray of sunlight shined down that day, but in this remote landscape it hits home that Washington was, at first, just another colonist on the distant edge of the British empire.
The George Washington Birthplace National Monument stands at the confluence of a short, stubby stream and the sweeping Potomac, where the river runs nearly five miles wide, a short two-hour drive from Washington, in Westmoreland County.
Within the park there are several miles of scenic hiking trails, a beach, an inauthentic but tourable reproduction home, which was built in the 1930s during a spurt of misguided historic enthusiasm. The home is much larger than the original would have been but is filled with furnishings typical of the era.
For me, the real gem here is the original house's foundation, outlined in oyster-shell fragments a few yards away. Under the wide-open sky, the empty spot where Washington was born is a good symbolic starting point for contemplating his poorly documented childhood.
Born into a family on the lower rungs of the upper class, Washington was motivated from an early age to strive for greater things. Visitors can glimpse his family roots less than a mile down the road at the ancient Washington family cemetery — also refurbished in the 1930s. At the burial ground, the resting place for several generations of Washington forebears, I think about how the people who lie there helped shape the man he would become.
Some historical sites from Washington's life are less evocative, such as Ferry Farm, where his primary childhood home once stood. At the grounds on the banks of the Rappahannock River in Fredericksburg, across the road from a 7-Eleven and a McDonald's, guests can borrow an iPad from the visitor centre and take a self-guided tour of the plot, which was almost razed to make way for a Wal-Mart in the 1990s.
None of the original buildings remain, so picturing the site as it was in the 1740s requires a bit of imagination, but that will soon change. Ground was recently broken on a multimillion-dollar project to construct a replica of the Washington house and outbuildings, part of a multiyear undertaking funded by the George Washington Foundation, which runs the landmark.
In the meantime, there's a slight disconnect as I reflexively picture young George — who moved here at age six — eating a Happy Meal.
The site is perhaps most remarkable though, as the place where George would have chopped down that famous cherry tree and told his father, “I cannot tell a lie,” if the whole story weren't an apocryphal tale, created after Washington's death by biographer Parson Weems.
My next stop was the city of Winchester in the Shenandoah Valley, where the future president arrived at age 16. The town still has a rustic edge and enough 18th-century buildings for visitors to really get a sense of the former wilderness outpost.
Although Washington first came here as a youth, it was in early adulthood that he made perhaps his biggest mark on the area, supervising construction of Fort Loudoun, a frontier bastion built during the French and Indian War on what was then the north end of town.
Downtown, on a small, green square, is George Washington's Office, a rustic stone-and-log building where he is said to have worked while supervising the fort's construction. Visitors can tour the structure, whose small central room was occupied by Washington — its two other chambers were added later.
Fort Loudoun itself was built about a half a mile away on a site that is now occupied by a residential neighbourhood. All that remains of the fort — at least all that can be seen — is an old well, now a cement block topped by a rusted pump, located at the side of someone's yard.
As I tried to picture a gaggle of Colonial soldiers darting about inside the long-gone walls, the house's occupant pulled up, and I wondered whether to apologise for traipsing through her yard, whose front sidewalk is marked with a large historical marker and informational plaque. When she told me she'd recently found an elderly couple peering through her windows under the impression that her house was a museum, I decided she was used to it.
About 12 miles south, past a kitschy roadside attraction called Dinosaur Land, is the little community of White Post, which is famous for a sign pole.
“This post was originally placed here by George Washington under the direction of Lord Fairfax” reads a plaque on the large marker in the centre of the intersection. Young George supposedly installed a sign at the spot in the mid-18th century to point travelers in the direction of the nobleman's estate.
Dusk was falling, the clouds were rising off the rolling Shenandoah hills and the mention of Lord Fairfax started me thinking about the next day's journey.
Thomas, Sixth Lord Fairfax of Cameron, was an eccentric bachelor who lived on a backwoods estate just outside Winchester. Fairfax owned a large portion of the colony of Virginia, holdings that Washington would survey over the next few years.
The last stop on my journey, the Fort Belvoir military installation some 20 miles south of Washington, is where Fairfax's extended family lived on what was then Belvoir Plantation, far from Lord Fairfax's Winchester manse.
Family connections — Washington's older half-brother Lawrence was married to a Fairfax — brought Washington to Belvoir often. This was convenient for a young man trying to climb the social ladder, and it helped him get his surveying post. But something more prompted his visits to Belvoir: He was in love with one of its residents — the wife of his good friend George William Fairfax.
Washington would have first met the intelligent, attractive Sally Fairfax around the time Fairfax married her in 1748. Historians don't know exactly what, if anything, transpired between George and Sally — after all, Washington would have wanted to keep in the good graces of the powerful Fairfax clan — but his letters to Sally are unambiguous.
“The World has no business to know the object of my Love, declard in this manner to you — when I want to conceal it,” he wrote in 1758, some 10 years after they met, when he'd already begun courting his future wife, the wealthy widow Martha Dandridge Custis.
Today the site where the mansion once stood is inside Fort Belvoir on a bluff overlooking the Potomac, where a brick outline marks its foundation. Although the view of the river is blocked by trees, a trail that runs along the bluff offers visitors some spectacular panoramas. No buildings remain, but an abundance of plaques explains the plot's significance.
Though visiting crumbled historical sites such as Belvoir is primarily a feat of imagination, it's surprisingly gratifying to picture young Washington coming here, trying to make something of himself in a world where his future was still uncertain.
IF YOU GO:
WHERE TO EAT:
Bonnie Blue
334 W. Boscawen St., Winchester
540-686-7490
www.bonnieblue.us
Southern cooking, barbecue and baked goods abound. The shrimp and grits are a knockout. Entrees start at $7 (about .R80)
FoodE
1006 C/D Caroline St., Fredericksburg
540-479-1370
www.foodeonline.com
With its focus on locally sourced ingredients, this establishment is truly a foodie's delight. Dine al fresco in its cozy, walled-in entrance. Dinner entrees hover around $20.
Su Pollo
8741 Richmond Hwy., Alexandria
703-799-6577
www.supollorestaurant.com
Peruvian chicken joint a stone's throw from Fort Belvoir. Offers tasty, inexpensive Latin American fare. A quarter chicken plus a salad and side is $6.75.
WHAT TO DO:
Belvoir Mansion Historic Area
Corner of Forney Loop and Fairfax Drive, Fort Belvoir
Belvoir plantation was home to the wealthy Fairfax family, with whom Washington spent much time. The park includes the site where the manor stood, a cemetery and hiking trails along a scenic bluff overlooking the Potomac River. Visitors should enter Fort Belvoir at its Tulley Gate and bring a passport or state-issued ID.
Fort Loudoun
419 N. Loudoun St., Winchester
www.frenchandindianwarfoundation.org/history/fort-loudoun
Site of Washington's regimental headquarters during part of the French and Indian War. Visitors can see where the fort once stood in what is today a residential neighbourhood.
George Washington Birthplace National Monument
1732 Popes Creek Rd., Colonial Beach
804-224-1732
www.nps.gov/gewa
The Popes Creek plantation, where George was born, is today run by the National Park Service. Although the house burned in 1779, visitors can check out where it stood and enjoy several miles of hiking, a scenic Potomac River beach and the ancient family cemetery. Historic area open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Free.
George Washington's Boyhood Home at Ferry Farm
268 Kings Hwy., Fredericksburg
540-370-0732
www.kenmore.org/ff_home.html
Take a self-guided tour of the place where Washington spent most of his childhood. Guests use an iPad complete with digital map, videos and photos to tour the area where the family's home and outbuildings stood. Open Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday noon-5 p.m. Entry is $8, $4 for students. Children younger than 6 are free.
George Washington's Office
32 W. Cork St., Winchester
540-662-4412
www.winchesterhistory.org/george_washington.htm
The middle room of this building served as Washington's office during construction of nearby Fort Loudoun. The structure is now a small museum. Open Monday-Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sunday noon to 4 p.m. Admission is $5, $4.50 for seniors, $2.50 for students or $12 per family.
White Post
Intersection of White Post and Berrys Ferry roads, White Post
A post pointing the way to a nearby estate was put here by a young Washington. The tradition lives on today in the small community named for its iconic sign.
INFORMATION:
Mount Vernon's digital encyclopedia is a great resource for information on Washington's life. www.mountvernon.org/research-collections/digital-encyclopedia
Washington Post-Bloomberg