Spotsylvania County, Virginia

USA / Virginia / Spotsylvania Courthouse /
 county, draw only border
In 1721, a vast new county was formed in the young colony of Virginia. Extending far beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains, this frontier outpost was named for Alexander Spotswood, Colonial Governor of Virginia. Much of Spotsylvania County's early development is attributed to Spotswood's ironworks that he founded in the early 1700's. Spotswood's "Iron Mines Company," mining and smelting operation, was founded in 1725 at Germanna. This was the first fully equipped iron furnace in the colonies and Spotsylvania County's first industry. Iron was hauled to the Rappahannock River for shipping. A wharf was built at the mouth of Massaponax Creek where ships docked to load wares for colonial ports. Wares from the Iron Mines Company included firebacks, pots, pans, and kettles. A blast furnace, also founded by Spotswood, was operated in this area from 1730-1785. Remnants of the ironworks are still found in the County. Under Spotswood's resourceful leadership, a road network for transporting the iron was laid out and skilled laborers were imported from Germany. At his death in 1740, Spotswood left behind, in the wilderness of Spotsylvania County, a nearly self-sufficient iron empire that set in motion the rise of America's iron and steel industry. Spotswood's Furnace was acquired in 1842 by the United States government who set up a forge and foundries. Here, the government made hundreds of cannons to supply the Mexican War. At that time, it was one of the most important cannon works in the country. Four major Civil War battles were fought on Spotsylvania soils, including one of the bloodiest of the war, the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House in May 1864. Here the armies of Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee saw one of the most intense clashes in American history, the Union attack on the Confederate-held "Bloody Angle." This battle marked the beginning of the fall of the Confederacy. Also, it was in Spotsylvania County, at Chancellorsville, that Stonewall Jackson fell to the mistaken fire of his own men. The National Park Service maintains more than 4,400 acres of the Civil War battlefields in various locations throughout Spotsylvania County.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotsylvania_County,_Virginia
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   38°11'15"N   77°39'17"W

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  • In 1721, a vast new county was formed in the young colony of Virginia. Extending far beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains, this frontier outpost was named for Alexander Spotswood, Colonial Governor of Virginia. Much of Spotsylvania County's early development is attributed to Spotswood's ironworks that he founded in the early 1700's. Spotswood's "Iron Mines Company," mining and smelting operation, was founded in 1725 at Germanna. This was the first fully equipped iron furnace in the colonies and Spotsylvania County's first industry. Iron was hauled to the Rappahannock River for shipping. A wharf was built at the mouth of Massaponax Creek where ships docked to load wares for colonial ports. Wares from the Iron Mines Company included firebacks, pots, pans, and kettles. A blast furnace, also founded by Spotswood, was operated in this area from 1730-1785. Remnants of the ironworks are still found in the County. Under Spotswood's resourceful leadership, a road network for transporting the iron was laid out and skilled laborers were imported from Germany. At his death in 1740, Spotswood left behind, in the wilderness of Spotsylvania County, a nearly self-sufficient iron empire that set in motion the rise of America's iron and steel industry. Spotswood's Furnace was acquired in 1842 by the United States government who set up a forge and foundries. Here, the government made hundreds of cannons to supply the Mexican War. At that time, it was one of the most important cannon works in the country. Four major Civil War battles were fought on Spotsylvania soils, including one of the bloodiest of the war, the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House in May 1864. Here the armies of Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee saw one of the most intense clashes in American history, the Union attack on the Confederate-held "Bloody Angle." This battle marked the beginning of the fall of the Confederacy. Also, it was in Spotsylvania County, at Chancellorsville, that Stonewall Jackson fell to the mistaken fire of his own men. The National Park Service maintains more than 4,400 acres of the Civil War battlefields in various locations throughout Spotsylvania County.
  • The first documented gold found in Virginia was a four-pound, gold-bearing rock reported by Thomas Jefferson in 1782, along the north side of the Rappahannock River (Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy (DMME) “Gold”). However, the first reported discovery of a lode deposit was not until 1806, at the Whitehill Mine in western Spotsylvania County (Sweet and Trimble 185). Virginia became one of the country’s first gold-producing states, and there are known to have been over 300 mines, prospects, or occurrences within it (DMME “Gold”). Most were a part of the Gold-Pyrite Belt, which ran 140 miles from Fairfax County to southwestern Buckingham County (Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy (DMME) Gold in Virginia). Many mining companies were created to operate the mines, and a variety of production methods were used, including panning, hand shoveling, sluicing, and dredging (DMME “Gold”). Over the years 1804 through 1947, Virginia produced 98,609 troy ounces of gold, from both placer and lode deposits. The peak of gold production was in the 1840s, with a climax in 1849, just before the California Gold Rush, after which there was a dramatic decrease. Beginning in 1864, toward the end of the Civil War, Union troops destroyed Virginia gold mines in order to damage the South’s economy, yet some reopened after the war, although with less production than before (Sweet and Trimble 2). During World War II, mines producing only gold were ordered to shut down so that their labor could be directed toward the war effort. Virginia’s gold production thus declined, and the last reported production was at a lead and zinc mine in Spotsylvania County in 1947 (DMME Gold in Virginia). The former gold mines in Stafford County were all in its southwest region, as part of the gold-pyrite belt, and all drained into the Rappahannock. The eleven mines and prospects are: Eagle (Rappahannock, Smith, Morgan and Rappahannock); Elliot Farm; Horse Pen (Horse Pin, Hospen, Rattlesnake), which is two mines; Lee Prospect; MacDonald Prospect; Monroe; New Hope; Pris-King, which had two shafts; Prospect A; Rattlesnake; and Wise Farm (Sweet and Trimble 184). Most of these gold mines were located near the confluence of the Rapidan and Rapahannock Rivers. The Rattlesnake was a "gulch deposit" with nuggets averaging 1 pennyweight (1.55 grams or .05 Oz). The largest nugget removed from the Rattlesnake was 6.05 Oz. Additional mines were along Pigeon Run and the North Anna River - now flooded by Lake Anna. The east side of the Lake Anna State Park skirts the edge of Pigeon Run.
  • Lerm for Comptroller ~~To be not continued
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