BGuthrie Photos: VA -- Stafford -- Government Island

VA -- Stafford -- Government Island:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. GOVTI_171015_007.JPG: Government Island Orientation Welcome to Government Island. This 17-acre historic site is an early American quarry originally named Brent's Island or Wiggington's Island. As early as 1694, stone was quarried from this site for use as architectural trim in Colonial America. The quarry's fine-grained sandstone was called Aquia (ah qui' ah) stone, due to its location along the Aquia Creek, or freestone, for its ability to be freely carved without splitting. The stone was a desirable building material for its composition as well as its beautiful white color. In 1791, the federal government purchased Brent's Island for the purpose of construction the President's House (later referred to as the White House) and the United States Capitol. Extensive quantities of freestone were extracted from this site from 1791 through the 1820s. As you tour Government Island, you will learn about the quarry workers, their quarrying methods, and the area's Native American presence. The picks and mauls are silent now at Government Island. Gone are the muscled laborers who quarried the rock. Gone, too, are the masted ships that carried it north. Government Island is quiet now Overgrown with oaks and maples and sticker bushes. Only the silent stones say that This was once the nation's most famous quarry. -- Jim Hall, Journalist, July 6, 1992; The Free Lance-Star
2. GOVTI_171015_016.JPG: Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail Connecting People and Places. The trail on Government Island, along with the Aquia Landing Park and Belmont-Ferry Farm Trail, is a segment of the Potomac heritage National Scenic Trail. An enterprise of many partners, the evolving Trail network celebrates the heritage of the Potomac and upper Ohio River basins. Between the Alleghenies of Western Pennsylvania and valleys to the piedmont and coastal plain, and offers many opportunities to explore historic sites, natural areas, and communities. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/pohe.
3. GOVTI_171015_037.JPG: Government Island Utilized by Native Americans for millennia, and purchased by the federal government in 1791, Government Island's unique stone was used in the original construction of both the U.S. Capital and the White House. Aquia sandstone from this quarry was favored for its bright color, fine-grained quality and for ease in intricate carving. George mason and George Washington were two of the quarry's most prominent clients. Government Island sandstone was also used for door and window trim, foundations, grave markers, churches, plantation homes, and other prominent buildings. Government Island, now a Stafford County park, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register. This scenic heritage park and trail was made possible through the cooperation and efforts of many individuals and organizations.
4. GOVTI_171015_110.JPG: Aquatic Location
5. GOVTI_171015_124.JPG: Site Selection In 1791, President George Washington (who was raised in Stafford County 10 miles south of this site at Ferry Farm) appointed three Commissioners to oversee construction of the new federal capital city (later named Washington, D.C.). The Commissioners sent Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant to survey the lands along the Potomac River for adequate deposits of freestone. L'Enfant selected Brent's Island for its bountiful supply of good-quality freestone, proximity to the capital city, and accessibility for water-transit. On December 2, 1791, L'Enfant purchased the quarry for the federal government. Thereafter, the site was known as The Public Quarry. Today, the site is commonly known as Government Island. The Commissioners also contracted with other nearby, private quarry owners to supply additional building material. The use of these quarries, in addition to Government Island, helped to further establish quarrying as an important industry in Stafford County. In 1791, L'Enfant wrote to his assistant, stating, "...repair immediately to Aquia Creek to see the qurries [sic] there belonging to the public - to have barracks erected upon theron for twenty men on each of these quarries, on the island purchased from Mr. George Brent...."
6. GOVTI_171015_130.JPG: View of Government Island, looking south down Aquia Creek, toward the Potomac River
7. GOVTI_171015_153.JPG: Architectural Features Aquia stone was easy to carve, which made it a natural choice for intricate decorative details and trim elements around windows and doors. from the late 1600s through the 1700s, Aquia sandstone was commonly used for gravestones, boundary markers, fireplace mantels, millstones and bridges. This stone was used throughout Virginia and the mid-Atlantic colonies. During the Federal Period, intricate carving of Aquia Stone created striking features at the White House and U.S. Capitol. Approximately two miles northwest of this site stands Aquia Episcopal Church (1751-1757), which has freestone architectural components, including keystones, quoins, and pediments. Aquia sandstone was used in other prominent Virginia buildings, such as Kenmore in Fredericksburg (ca. 1772), Gunston Hallat Mason Neck (1755-1760), and Christ Church in Alexandria (1767-1773).
8. GOVTI_171015_161.JPG: Fanlight. North Portico of White House.
9. GOVTI_171015_167.JPG: Tobacco capital in the Small Senate Rotunda, U.S. Capitol
10. GOVTI_171015_172.JPG: Freestone grave marker at Aquia Episcopal Church cemetery
11. GOVTI_171015_195.JPG: Quarrying the Stone Quarrying stone during the late 18th and early 19th centuries was very labor intensive. Stone quarried here was cut and shipped with the use of simple machines and animal power. Various workers were needed to extract the stone. A master-mason, usually a European who was a master in all aspects of stone work, would oversee the entire quarrying operation. Skilled workers included stone cutters and stone carvers who extracted and rough-cut the stone into desired sizes. Blacksmiths were constantly needed to make and sharpen the cutting tools, wedges, chisels, trimming hammers, sledge hammers, picks, mattocks and axes. Tool marks are still visible in the quarry faces today. Many common laborers, or unskilled laborers, worked at the site. Slaves were hired out by their owners who collected the slaves' wages. Workers received housing and food, which included "...one pound good pork or one pound and a half of beef and one pound flour per day..." along with a half pint of whiskey (Commissioners Letter, April 10, 1792). How the Stone was Quarried: First, all vegetation was removed from the top of the stone. Once the stone was exposed, a vertical stone face was picked away, creating a working area. Two vertical channels or side trenches were made 20-feet apart. These trenches were twenty inches wide - barely large enough for a man to squeeze through. A rear trench was made, creating a rectangular section. Grooves were chiseled along the stone face where wedges were inserted to remove a block from the larger stone mass. Once a block of stone was cut, it was hoisted out with a simple derrick and pulley system, placed on a skid, and hauled by oxen to the wharf.
12. GOVTI_171015_233.JPG: Island Ownership In 1647, Giles Brent established the first English settlement in this area along Aquia Creek. Nearly 50 years later, George Brent, Giles Brent's nephew, became the island's first documented owner. George purchased "...a small tongue or neck or Island of Land with small point of marsh..." in 1694. The property remained in he Brent family for almost 100 years, during which time is was used as a private quarry. In 1791, the property was purchased by the federal government, which bought all but one acre. Tha one-acre panel had been sold previously in 1786 to Robert Steuart, a stone mason from Baltimore, Maryland. Steuart delineated his parcel with four stone boundary markers, the largest of which still remains and is clearly marked with his initials, "R.S." It is located nearby this sign. Down the trail there is a large pit, lined with cut stone, which measures approximately 50 feet by 150 feet. Its purpose is currently unknown. However, due to its proximity to the quarry, the pit was likely connected to the quarrying operations.
13. GOVTI_171015_235.JPG: "RS"
14. GOVTI_171015_281.JPG: Transporting the Stone A historic road is visible to the right. It was created by skids or "stone boats" that were loaded with stone and dragged by oxen to the wharf. The stone was very heavy. One cubic foot of stone weighed 120 pounds. In addition to moving the stone by skids, a canal was needed to transport the stone. The canal was "cut about 18 feet wide to let scows [flat-bottom boats] into the quarry..." (Commissioners Records, 1793). Although the exact location of the canal is unknown, Benjamin Henry Latrobe describes it in 1886: Between the great mass of rock on the island of Acquia and the deep water of the creek is a soft marsh. Through this marsh a canal has been formerly cut, now much choaked [sic] up which is barely sufficient to convey stone by means of a scow to the vessels which bring it up to the city. From the Quarry to the canal the stone must be carted. At the wharf, stone was loaded onto scows and was then transported downstream to deeper, more navigable waters around Coal Landing. There, stone was transferred onto larger sailing vessels called schooners or sloops, carried down Aquia Creek, and shipped up the Potomac River to Washington, D.C. Today, submerged remnants of a stone wharf are still visible along the shore. Up the hill to the west of the wharf is a stone foundation of a building. Artifacts from this site include brick and mortar fragments, nails, window glass, wrought iron hinges, pieces of serving utensils and iron kettles. These artifacts indicate that the building probably served as living quarters during the time of the quarrying operations.
15. GOVTI_171015_350.JPG: Native American Presence Native American artifacts were recovered in various locations on Government Island. The largest concentration of artifacts was found overlooking Aquia Creek. a rare Clovis projectile point was found, indicating the Paleoindians were present in this area prior to 8000 B.C. Paleoindians likely operated out of temporary camps located near high-quality stone supplies and areas plentiful with game where they carved their points and tools, as well as hunted and gathered food. Other recovered artifacts, including Madison and Levanna projectile points and Townsend ceramic shards, indicate that Native Americans were present in this area between 1200 B.C. and A.D. 1600. In 1608, European explorer Captain John Smith mapped the Potomac River and its tributaries and negotiated trade with the Patawomeck Indians who were prevalent in this area. Smith traveled up Aquia Creek, noting it as Quiyough (kwee' yuh), Algonquin for "Gulls." He referred to "Quiyough" twice in his papers, once when describing the creek and again when naming the Indian village on its south side.
Wikipedia Description: Public Quarry at Government Island
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Public Quarry at Government Island in Stafford County, Virginia is the principal source of Aquia Creek sandstone, a building stone used in many of the early government buildings in Washington, D.C., including the U.S. Capitol and the White House. A quarry was established just off the Potomac River at Wigginton's Island on Aquia Creek by George Brent after 1694, providing stone for tombstones and to houses and churches in northern Virginia, including Gunston Hall, Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia, Mount Airy in Richmond County, Virginia, and Aquia Church, as well as steps and walkways at George Washington's Mount Vernon. Washington selected Aquia sandstone as the primary material for use in Washington's government buildings. Acting on the government's behalf, the Wigginton's Island quarry was purchased by Pierre Charles L'Enfant in 1791, becoming known afterward as Government Island.

Use of the stone declined as its susceptibility to weathering was observed, and the quarry became worked out and derelict after the U.S. Civil War. The property was sold by the U.S. Government in 1963.

The property was acquired by Stafford County as a county park and opened to the public on November 6, 2010 with trails and markers highlighting the historical significance of the island. It is a designated site on the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
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