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Caroline County
Caroline County, (Welcome
to Caroline County, Virginia!) with a U.S. Census 2003
population estimate of approximately 22,800, operates under
a County Administrator/Board of Supervisors form of government,
with each of the five Board Members elected every four years
from their respective districts. These districts include
Bowling Green, Madison, Mattaponi, Port Royal, and Reedy
Church. The Board has authority over local taxation, adoption
of local ordinances, and general county policy. The administrator
oversees the day-to-day operation of local government and
its 232 employees, not including the clerk of the courts
and social services.
The Board of Supervisors appoints
a five-member Planning Commission and a seven-member Industrial
Development Authority (each with four-year terms). There are
numerous opportunities for citizen participation and appointment
to other boards and commissions.
The county is served by a sheriff’s
department with 32 full time sworn-in personnel. There are
17 state police officers assigned to the county.
A full time professional heads the
county’s fire & rescue coordination, and works with
more than 300 volunteers at 6 fire departments and 3 rescue
squads throughout the county.
There are more than 35,000 volumes
in the library system, which is headquartered in Bowling Green
and serves branches in Dawn, Ladysmith and Port Royal.
The county has an extensive parks
and recreation program. Local service organizations sponsor
recreational activities for the public, including softball
leagues and special events. There are 10 ball fields, 4 tennis
courts, numerous private swimming pools, and a golf course.
The Rappahannock and Mattaponi Rivers are used extensively
for boating and fishing.
There are numerous community activities
throughout the year, including the Harvest Festival on the
third Saturday in October, the Christmas Parade and Bazaar
on the first Saturday in December. Other routine events include
fish fries, dances, barbecues, and more. Downtown Bowling
Green is the site of most of these events. Visitors
often remark that the historic downtown has considerable charm
and is tailor-made for such events as street festivals.
The county has four elementary/primary
schools, one middle school and one high school. Student to
teacher ratio is approximately 14.6 to 1. See the school system's
web site at http://www.caroline.k12.va.us.
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Towns of Bowling Green and
Port Royal
The Town of Bowling Green, is governed
under a Mayor-Council form of government, with a town manager
hired by the seven-member Town Council to carry out the council’s
policies on a daily basis. The Town Council appoints a seven-member
Planning Commission (four-year terms) and a five-member Board
of Zoning Appeals (five-year terms).
Bowling Green supports its own police
department and maintains an excellent working relationship
with the county sheriff’s office and state police.
A volunteer fire department and
a rescue squad are housed in Bowling Green.
The Town of Bowling
Green is
governed under a Mayor-Council form of government, with a town
manager hired by the seven-member Town Council to carry out
the council’s policies on a daily basis. The Town Council
appoints a seven-member Planning Commission (four-year terms)
and a five-member Board of Zoning Appeals (five-year terms).
Bowling Green supports its own police
department and maintains an excellent working relationship
with the county sheriff’s office and state police.
A volunteer fire department and
a rescue squad are housed in Bowling Green.
Port Royal,(http://www.visitcaroline.com/portroyal.html)
settled in 1652 when John Catlett and his half brother, Ralph Rowzee
patented 400 acres, was once the only chartered town in Caroline
County. An important colonial shipper of tobacco to Britain, it
later served as a warehouse center and mover of grain, freight,
and passengers on 3-masted schooners. Traces of this colorful past
can still be found today in the historic section of this old town.
Waterfront
The town grew up around a ferry and a tobacco warehouse. It's fortunes were
reversed, first by the coming of the railroad, then by construction of a bridge
over the river.
The Rt. 301 bridge upstream is built
over part of the wharf which ran out to deep water in midstream
where ships could tie up. Tobacco barrels were rolled out to
the ships. Later pushcarts running on rails were used for moving
cargo between ship and shore. During the Civil War, Union Army
engineers built a floating wharf to mid-river for its gunboats.
John Wilkes Booth sought refuge
here after his shooting of Lincoln. He was killed two miles
outside the town, west of the intersection of present day Rts.
301 and 17
Regular schooner service to Baltimore
and Norfolk began operations in 1828 and served as a
pipeline to the outside world.
The last passenger ship - the schooner Edna Bright Howe to
Baltimore - left here in 1932.
Business revived in 1950 when Rt.
301 was improved. Port Royal lay a convenient distance from
New York City for southbound travelers, and motels, restaurants,
and service stations flourished. This was taken away in the
1960's by the building of Rt. I-95.
History
Port Royal's 17th century pirate
is immortalized in the name Peumansend Creek. A French pirate,
a Monsieur Peuman, was the scourge of the settlers. Eventually
they chased him up the creek and killed him. Thus the name "Peuman's
End", a name which appeared on deeds as early as 1670.
The earliest dwellings in the area
were probably of log construction, none of which exist today.
What the visitor can enjoy, however, is a collection of 18th
and 19th century homes in a setting largely unchanged in the
town's 250 year old history.
Port Royal was incorporated as a
town in 1744. The "town green", upon which stands
today the Town Hall and the firehouse, was forever reserved "for
public and civic use".
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Fredericksburg and Surrounding Counties
Located North and West of Fort A.P.
Hill, the City of Fredericksburg (http://www.fredericksburgva.gov)
is bounded by Spotsylvania (http://www.spotsylvania.va.us/),
Stafford (http://www.co.stafford.va.us) and
King George Counties. The region’s prime position along
the I-95 Mid-Atlantic urban corridor has enabled it to be one
of the most vigorously growing areas in the state and the nation,
with a total population numbering more than 200,000. Fredericksburg
is located almost equidistant from Washington, D.C., and Richmond,
Va.
Part of the greater Fredericksburg
area’s attractiveness to new business and families is
its ability to maintain small town charm while offering urban
prosperity and opportunities.
The 2002 U.S. Census estimate listed
Fredericksburg’s population at 20,076, Spotsylvania’s
population at 102,570, Stafford’s population at 104,823,
and King George’s population at 17,657. Steady growth
was the norm for the 1990's, with Stafford and Spotsylvania
Counties showing the largest increases. For example, estimates
for the region in 1995 showed Spotsylvania’s population
at 71,400, Stafford’s at 79,400, and the City of Fredericksburg
at 21,000.
Originally, the region’s location
on the Rappahannock River shaped its destiny. It thrived through
the Colonial and Civil War eras as a port center with important
transportation links to other communities.
Education
Education is a top priority for
the region. Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania and Stafford have
25 elementary schools, 11 middle schools, seven high schools,
and several private elementary and secondary schools.
The region is fortunate to have
three higher education institutions in the area. Mary Washington
College is a four-year co-educational public college with a
consistently positive reputation nationwide for its strong
undergraduate liberal arts degree programs.
Germanna Community College is a
two-year college offering both day and evening classes. Associate
of Arts and of Science are available, as well as one-year Certificates.
Strayer College is a fully accredited
four-year business college. Graduate programs are available.
Culture & Recreation
The region boasts a wide range of
entertainment and recreational opportunities. Proximity to
Washington and Richmond provides easy access to nationally
acclaimed musical and theatrical talent. Locally, Mary Washington
College, volunteer organizations, and privately run galleries
sponsor art displays and community theater productions.
Lake Anna State Park in Spotsylvania
County, Aqua Po Beach Park in Stafford County, and the Rappahannock
and Potomac Rivers are easily accessible and provide scenic
beauty as well as canoeing, water-skiing, fishing and camping.
The Chesapeake Bay is a short drive to the East. Public and
private facilities for tennis, swimming and golf are numerous.
Sporting events such as football, baseball, basketball and
ice hockey can be seen locally; professional sporting events,
just short distance away in Washington and Baltimore.
The region’s rich historical
background provides a wealth of attractions. Revolutionary
and Civil War sites attract nearly a million visitors the region
annually. Carefully preserved as National Parks are four local
battlefields: Fredericksburg, Chancellorville, The Wilderness,
and Spotsylvania. There are 13 parks, which total more than
200 acres of land for families to enjoy.
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King George County
Brief History
King George County
(http://www.king-george.va.us)
lies between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers at the entrance
to the Northern Neck of Virginia. It is the county almost due
north from Fort A.P. Hill on the north side of the Rappahannock
River. Named after King George I of England, the county was settled
in the late 1600's, originally along the two rivers. It was, however,
not until the 1700's that the population began to spread with
an influx of settlers from Lord Baltimore’s colony in Maryland.
In 1776, the present boundaries of
the county were established. Prior to that date, King George County
included Ferry Farm, George Washington’s boyhood home, site
of the "Cherry Tree incident" and where legend has him
throwing the silver dollar across the Rappahannock River.
In 1752, James Madison was born near
Port Conway in King George. Madison, a Colonial statesman became
known as the "Father of the Constitution." He became
the fourth President of the United States and led the country
through the War of 1812, our second war with England.
King George County had its share
of skirmishes during the Civil War. Both Union and Confederate
gunboats used the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers during the war
and raiding parties who came ashore destroyed many of the county’s
early records.
After assassinating President Lincoln,
John Wilkes Booth reportedly made his escape through King George
County, taking a boat from Popes Creek, Maryland, to Gambo Creek,
at the present Dahlgren Naval Surface Weapons Center. He continued
on to Port Royal, where he died in the Garrett barn, the site
of which is along Route 301, in Caroline County, near the northernmost
portion of Fort A.P. Hill.
King George is rural county with
an urban culture which makes use of the Potomac and Rappahannock
Rivers for both business and pleasure. It is a county with a long,
rich history and an eye on the future.
Local Government
King George County is governed by a five-member elected Board
of Supervisors. The day-to-day activities of local government
are supervised by a full-time County Administrator. Other county
functions are managed by a number of elected and appointed officials.
Education
The King George County school system (www.kgcs.k12.va.us)
offers a comprehensive curriculum
with specialized programs in computer learning, advanced science
and mathematics, vocational and business education. There is also
a K-12 program for gifted and talented students. The county has
three elementary schools, one middle school and one high school.
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