Located just 50 miles south of the nation's capital and just east of I-95, Fredericksburg, VA, is intimately linked to the core of U.S. history. Ferry Farm, lying across the Rappahannock River from Fredericksburg, is where George Washington grew to young manhood, and where the cherry tree story first surfaced. The silver dollar that legend asserts he threw across a river as a demonstration of athletic strength was actually a stone he heaved across the Rappahannock.



As a young surveyor, Washington knew nearly every inch of this land, including the 1700 acres that his sister, Betty, and her husband, Fielding Lewis, developed as their home, Kenmore. Now undergoing restoration, Kenmore, which when built lay outside the city's limits, today is located in the heart of historic Fredericksburg, and is open for tours. So, too, is the nearby house Washington built for his mother, Mary Ball Washington. The simple frame home in her lifetime may have been linked via a boxwood-lined path to her daughter's grander manse.



            The river has been important in Fredericksburg's history from its earliest days, when Native Americans fished at the river's falls. The fall line for early colonists was the frontier in 1728, when the city was founded. Named for Frederick, Prince of Wales, and father of King George III, Fredericksburg developed as an inland river port, important for the shipping of tobacco.



            The town was the scene of many significant moments in American colonial history, including the drafting of the Virginia Statue of Religious Freedom in 1777. Thomas Jefferson was among the founders who inked this vital document. Five Revolutionary generals came from Fredericksburg, which also served as a munitions depot. The town's German, English, Scottish and Irish settlers prospered after the Revolution, building both grand manors and simple homes.



            Flash forward to the American Civil War, and Fredericksburg, located half way between the opposing capitals, was nearly demolished. In December 1862, it was the site of some of the worst fighting of the U.S. Civil War, then again in May 1863 and 1864, all memorialized at the nearby national military park. Fredericksburg's 40-block downtown historic district preserves some 350 18th- and 19th-century buildings. 



For all its amazing history, Fredericksburg today is a very young city. The median age of its 20,000 residents as of the 2000 census is 30, meaning half are younger. A so-called "independent city," Fredericksburg is part of the Washington Baltimore Metropolitan Area.



            In Fredericksburg, the University of Mary Washington, named for the first president's mother, was founded in 1908 as a normal school for women. It remained a women's college, and was renamed Mary Washington College in 1936. Mary Washington College became associated with the University of Virginia as its women's campus in 1944.



Co-educational since 1970 and elevated to university status in 2004, it serves 4,000 undergraduate students and 1,000 graduate students seeking master's degrees and other professional certifications. The college also is home to the area's principal symphony orchestra, which has performed in Carnegie Hall and has drawn such luminaries as Marvin Hamlisch and the Canadian Brass to its "Celebrity Series" concerts.



The arts thrive in Fredericksburg, enhancing quality of life for all residents. While many art galleries and studios dot the historic town, the Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts for more than four decades has fostered all the arts, including poetry. Contributing its share to the preservations of Fredericksburg's history, FCCA occupies the 1785 Silversmith House, which serves as the organization's art gallery. A modest tradesman's home, the house had been threatened with demolition until being restored for this purpose.



While history and the arts shape Fredericksburg's appeal as a place to live, other activities also attract their share of participants. Seven golf courses keep busy with locals and visitors. Hiking and water skiing are among the favored outdoor activities. And while there's a wealth of things to see and do right in Fredericksburg, I-95 expands the city's horizons to both the nation's capital and the state's seat of government at Richmond, just 55 miles south.