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29-768: The North Branch Potomac River flows from Fairfax Stone in West Virginia to its confluence with the South Branch Potomac River near Green Spring, West Virginia , where it turns into the Potomac River proper. From the Fairfax Stone, the North Branch Potomac River flows 27 miles (43 km) to the man-made Jennings Randolph Lake , an impoundment designed for flood control and emergency water supply. Below

58-462: A pie. The name of the river comes from an Algonquian word, lappihanne (also recorded as toppehannock ), meaning "river of quick, rising water" or "where the tide ebbs and flows," the name used by the local Rappahannock tribe . In 2018 it became one of the federally recognized tribes in Virginia. Although a few small hamlets developed along the lower Rappahannock during early colonial times,

87-623: A productive oyster and crab fishery. Above Fredericksburg, the Rappahannock provides fine opportunities for recreational canoeing and kayaking . Most of the rapids are Class I and Class II in difficulty, but, near Remington, there are some rapids that are considered to be Class III. The river's watershed is protected in various places as parcels of the Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge . The oysters that thrive in

116-645: A river from the sea. Spotswood encouraged settlement in a river valley other than that of the James. In 1714, he began recruiting Protestant immigrants from the Rhineland-Palatinate and Switzerland to homestead on lands he controlled near the confluence of the Rappahannock and the Rapidan. Known as the Germanna settlement(s), these villages were founded in order to exploit the iron ore deposits of

145-462: Is joined from the right by the Rapidan River , its largest tributary . The Rappahannock passes through the city of Fredericksburg . Southeast of Fredericksburg, the river begins to slow and widens into a brackish tidal estuary approximately 50 miles (80 km) long. It passes two small, important historic, river towns, Port Royal and Port Conway , which developed opposite each other,

174-580: Is only a county corner of West Virginia counties rather than part of the state's border with Maryland , an issue that was only resolved when the Supreme Court ruled against Maryland in 1910 in Maryland v. West Virginia , determining that Maryland would only go westward up the Potomac far enough to meet a point where a line north from the Fairfax Stone would cross that branch of the Potomac. Until

203-620: The Chesapeake Bay . Historically, the North Branch had highly acidic water due to waste from coal mining and paper production in the region. In 1969, one measuring station recorded a pH of 2.3, comparable to lemon juice . This regularly killed wildlife across a 60–80 km (40–50 mi) span. It was somewhat mitigated by the construction of the Bloomington Dam, which allowed for flow control based on density. The dam

232-528: The Northern Neck of Virginia . It determined the proprietorship and boundaries of a large tract of mostly unsurveyed land in the British colonies of Maryland and Virginia . Fairfax Stone Historical Monument, part of a four-acre West Virginia state park, is six miles north of Thomas, West Virginia. The site is sparsely developed, lacking any buildings or restroom facilities. The exact boundaries of

261-623: The " Northern Neck Land Grant " (later called the "Fairfax Grant") had been undetermined since it was first contrived in 1649 by the then-exiled Charles II of England . John Savage and his survey party had located the site of the source of the North Branch of the Potomac River (the northern boundary of the tract) in 1736, but had made no attempt to establish the western boundaries. A 1746 survey by Colonel Peter Jefferson ( Thomas Jefferson 's father) and Thomas Lewis resulted in both

290-565: The "North" (the Union ) and the "South" (the Confederate States of America ). It was at the center of a major theater of battle where tens of thousands of troops fought against each other. In this period some 10,000 enslaved African Americans escaped to freedom across the river to Union lines, after the first Battle of Fredericksburg . The river drains an area of 2,848 square miles (7,380 km ), approximately 6% of Virginia. Much of

319-463: The Chesapeake Bay approximately 20 miles (32 km) south of the mouth of the Potomac River and approximately 60 miles (97 km) east of the state capital, Richmond . At the point where the river enters the bay, between Windmill Point, on the north, and Stingray Point , on the south, it is more than 3.5 miles (5.6 km) wide. This estuary , south of the Northern Neck peninsula, is

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348-605: The Rappahannock was long an area of occupation by indigenous peoples, including the Rappahannock Tribe . Similarly, during the colonial era, early settlements in the Virginia Colony were formed along the river. During the American Civil War , due to the river's acting as a barrier to north–south troop movements, it effectively functioned as the boundary of the eastern theater of the war, between

377-695: The dam, the North Branch cuts a serpentine path through the eastern Allegheny Mountains. First, it flows northeast by the communities of Bloomington , Luke , and Westernport in Maryland and then on by Keyser , West Virginia to Cumberland , Maryland. At Cumberland, the river turns southeast. 103 miles (166 km) downstream from its source, the North Branch is joined by the South Branch between Green Spring and South Branch Depot , West Virginia from whence it flows past Hancock , Maryland and turns southeast once more on its way toward Washington, D.C. , and

406-399: The era, was most likely simply a natural, unmarked rock selected from among the outcroppings in the area. Legal boundary disputes between Maryland and Virginia caused the latter to relocate the stone in 1833 after the site had been lost to memory. The stone was still intact in 1859 when one Lieutenant Melcher found it again and reran the "Fairfax Line" on behalf of the two states. The Stone

435-559: The estuary of the Rappahannock River are the least salty oysters of the East Coast. They are renowned for their sweet and smooth flavor, described as almost buttery. The low salinity allows a Blue Ridge minerality to come through. These oysters are known for being good to consume with wine. The nutritious oysters were eaten on a large scale in 19th-century Washington. They were served fresh, grilled, stewed, or as part of

464-437: The former on the south bank, the latter on the north. The last navigable points for ocean-going ships, they were early ports for the export of tobacco, the major commodity crop. As it flows past Tappahannock on its southern bank, the river is well over a mile wide. The last settlements of any size before it reaches the Chesapeake Bay are Irvington , Urbanna , Stingray Point , and White Stone Beach . The broad river enters

493-523: The headspring of the Potomac River, Marks one of the historic spots of America. Its name is derived from Thomas Lord Fairfax who owned all the land lying between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers. The first Fairfax Stone, marked "FX", was set in 1746 by Thomas Lewis, a surveyor employed by Lord Fairfax. This is the base point for the western dividing line between Maryland and West Virginia." Rappahannock River An important river in American history,

522-459: The northernmost boundary of Lord Fairfax's land and estate, on the present day borders of Maryland and West Virginia. They placed the Fairfax Stone where it is today for a consummation of their hard work. The North Branch of the Potomac River initially heads west from its source at the Fairfax Stone before curving north and then generally flowing east toward Chesapeake Bay . For this reason, the Stone

551-481: The placement of the Fairfax Stone as well as the establishment of a line of demarcation known as the " Fairfax Line ", extending from the Stone to the south-east and ending at the source of the Rappahannock River , a distance of 77 miles (124 km). In 1748, George Washington , along with frontiersman and noted surveyor David Morgan of Virginia, had surveyed the area again. Their job was to establish

580-522: The region. During the War of 1812 , the Battle of Rappahannock River was fought on the river. Seventeen British boats filled with hundreds of marines and sailors captured four American privateers . During the American Civil War , the river, with few convenient fords and fewer bridges, provided a barrier and defensive line behind which movements of troops could be accomplished with little fear of attack from

609-569: The river again. Fairfax Stone Fairfax Stone Historical Monument State Park is a West Virginia state park commemorating the Fairfax Stone , a surveyor's marker and boundary stone at the source of the North Branch of the Potomac River . The original stone was placed on October 23, 1746 to settle a boundary dispute between Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron and the Privy Council of Great Britain concerning

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638-485: The river was finally circumvented by General Ulysses S. Grant in the Wilderness (or Overland) Campaign of 1864, ending in the ultimate Union victory. During and after the first battle at Fredericksburg in late December 1862, about 10,000 enslaved African Americans from area plantations and the city reached for their futures, crossing the river to gain freedom behind Union lines. This exodus and its "Trail of Freedom"

667-454: The river-side flank. It was an especially difficult barrier for Union troops to overcome in their attempts to thrust into southern Virginia, as they were vulnerable to attack while trying to cross the river on temporary bridges. Control of the river changed hands many times during the course of the war. Significant battles fought along the river include the Battle of Fredericksburg and two Battles of Rappahannock Station . The defensive line at

696-495: The ruling, the boundary of Maryland was indeterminate. Three West Virginia counties— Grant , Preston and Tucker — share the boundary marked by the Fairfax Stone (West Virginia having seceded from Virginia during the American Civil War ). The site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 26, 1970. The original Fairfax Stone, in accordance with common surveying practices of

725-465: The settlement of the Rappahannock River valley began in earnest during the first years of the eighteenth century, at the urging of Governor Alexander Spotswood . The James River had been surveyed up to its fall line , the point where, geologically, continental bedrock of the Piedmont meets the sedimentary rocks and alluvial soils of the coastal plain. It is usually the last navigable portion of

754-623: The watershed is rural and forested. Development in the area has increased since the late 20th century with the southward expansion of the metropolitan Washington, D.C. suburbs. The Rappahannock River rises at Chester Gap , a wind gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains a few miles southeast of Front Royal, Virginia , near the single point where Warren , Fauquier , and Rappahannock counties come together. (Source Coordinates 38°49'40.1"N 78°06'08.8"W.) It flows southeastward, past Remington , Kelly's Ford , and Richardsville , before it

783-530: Was commemorated in 2010 by installation of historical markers on both sides of the river, in Fredericksburg and in Stafford County. The exodus to freedom is now celebrated in an annual re-enactment starting in Fredericksburg. In some 18th- and 19th-century documents, including some Civil War records, the Rappahannock River was referred to as "Hedgeman's River". A 1736–1737 survey labeled

812-412: Was constructed in 1981; by 1987, the pH had returned to the neutral range in some areas, but dissolved aluminum and manganese concentrations were still at toxic levels, which continued to impede full wildlife recovery. In 1990, Maryland installed lime dosers, devices which dispense alkaline lime into the river, to further mitigate acidity in problem spots. This was successful, and today fish can survive in

841-432: Was gone by 1909, however, having been carried away by vandals. There have been six Fairfax Stones, each one replacing the last owing to weathering or vandalism. The current stone is a six-ton rock with a flat face, on which is inlaid a historical plaque detailing the stone's significance. Next to it is the 1910 stone. The present six-ton Fairfax Stone was dedicated on October 5, 1957. "Fairfax Stone" "This monument, at

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