John Ratcliffe married Ravensworth leaseholder Ann Moxley about 1750. He leased land in Parcel 1.1 in 1767 and in Parcel 1.2 in 1773, the only person identified so far with leases in both the north and south parts of Ravensworth. … Continue reading →
Richard Ratcliffe bought this 1000-acre part of Parcel 1.1.7 in 1798 from doctors Henry Rose and Augustine Smith. Ratcliffe merged the land with about 2000 adjacent non-Ravensworth acres, which he had acquired over three decades. He called his plantation Mount … Continue reading →
Role in Ravensworth: owner Parcel 1.1.7.3; founder/promoter of Town of Providence and Fairfax County Courthouse relocation Richard Ratcliffe was born c.1751 to John and Ann Ratcliffe. He married Louisiana “Locian” Boling (1760-1836), a close relative. They had nine children: Samuel … Continue reading →
Home to the Fairfax County courthouse, Providence was known as Fairfax Court House throughout much of the 19th century and particularly during the Civil War. Providence evolved to become today’s City of Fairfax and is its Old Town center. Historic … Continue reading →
With the establishment of the new United States Capital in 1790, Alexandria became part of the District of Columbia. As a result, the Fairfax County courthouse was no longer in the county, and the search started to find a new … Continue reading →
Two mentors and supporters of this site died in February 2016 – Jack Hiller on February 3 and Charles CK Gailey on the 22nd. Jack was one of several local historians who provided encouragement, advice and critical review when the … Continue reading →
Existing pages recently updated with new information: William Marbury Fitzhugh – details of his return from Kentucky and a federal job Orange and Alexandria Railroad – added Ravensworth Station, a private depot serving the Ravensworth plantation (from research prompted by … Continue reading →
Meade Battaile’s sales of his inherited Oak Hill land (Parcel 1.1.4.3.6) created a diverse community that continued at least into the 1920s. African American buyers included three former Oak Hill slaves. John H. Newman Oscar Newman Richard P. Newman Caucasian … Continue reading →
President Thomas Jefferson’s visit to Ravensworth on April 1-2, 1804 was arranged in three letters between President Jefferson and Nicholas Fitzhugh. Fitzhugh’s letter enclosed a map outlining a route leading into and part way through Ravensworth. An interpretation of that … Continue reading →
The road of approximately 34 miles was built between 1803 and 1810-12 from Alexandria to the Little River ford in Aldie, Virginia. That terminus further connected to established roads through western counties and through the Blue Ridge Mountains to the … Continue reading →