{"nrhp_refnum":"72001417","name":"Ferry Farm Site","other_names":["Site of George Washington's Boyhood Home"],"category":"site","location":{"address":"E of Fredericksburg at 712 Kings Hwy.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fredericksburg","county":"Stafford County","state":"VA","lat":38.29342360700005,"lon":-77.44839566761951,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-05-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Social History"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Ferry Farm is an archaeological and historic site on the Rappahannock River opposite Fredericksburg in Stafford County, Virginia, where George Washington spent his boyhood. The nominated area is about 94 acres, with a late nineteenth century farmhouse and outbuildings.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that the site is significant as George Washington's boyhood home, where his family lived from 1738 and where he grew up under his widowed mother's care. The colonial buildings are gone, but the site has archaeological potential. It is described as one of Virginia's most important shrines.","narrative":"Ferry Farm is a 94-acre site on the bank of the Rappahannock River, overlooking Fredericksburg in Stafford County, Virginia. George Washington's father, Augustine, bought the farm in 1738, and George moved there shortly before his seventh birthday. He grew up on the property under the care of his widowed mother after his father died in 1743. The colonial farm has largely vanished. The main house was lost to fire, and only the old road to the ferry survives from that era. A tiny frame building traditionally called Washington's surveying office stands near the bluff, though most of its fabric is modern. Later buildings include a late nineteenth century farmhouse, a smokehouse and barns. Washington surveyed the land in 1771 and offered it for sale in 1772. The nomination values the site for its link to his formative years, for local legends such as the cherry tree story, and for its archaeological potential.","period_of_significance":"18th Century","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Original acreage reduced to 94; colonial farm buildings gone except the old ferry road; a reputed surveying office, a late nineteenth century farmhouse and outbuildings remain. Condition marked fair and altered.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.64585-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/67/6837/41683767/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/72001417.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001417/07d2a75d1a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001417/07d2a75d1a-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":null,"credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ferry_Farm.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ferry_Farm.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683767","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferry_Farm","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1408127"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/stafford-county/ferry-farm-site-72001417/"}