Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1898-09-08
EARLY VIRGINIA HISTORY.
COLCHESTER ON THE OCCoQUAN.
Continued
No d

No. 2l.
Colonel George Mason Of Gunstou
had charge Of The Occoql ferry after
he tolls were abolished for some years,
and received for It's maintauance ana
iaily service two thousand pounds
# tobacco annually. DAvis, the travel
er, already quoted, speaks of 'grand
bridge which had supplanted the Jerry,
As having ''semi-eIiptical arches SCARE,
ly iuit rio + to those OF prircely Londor. P"
This was ere, tei by Thomas Mason IN
1895 It's building wss author d BY
The general assembly 10 a Letter
written by George Mason dated 1891,
ae makes mettion OF a ship going ou'
from the port la len with tobacco aud
another lying al the warehouse loading
with the sane commodity. Among
other Industries OF tbs place were e1
ens.ve iron works, furnance and q
forge. The iron was made from com,
bjua ion of surface or beg ore found
lear Colchester and magnetic or noun
aiu ore brought down in scows from
he Virginia shore near the Great
Fills # tie Potomac. Some of the
cannon and round shot used in the bat
les Of the revolution were cast there.
Barnahy in his description OF the place
says there were two -four mills and q
saw mill. This was III 1853 The Hen
dersous and Cockbrrps were prominent
merchants of the town and sent good
they had importedt by coasting vessel'
20 New York and Philadelphla and the
rising towns Of the south, which sp
pears by old ledgers still preserved.
Many of their commodities were sent
" wagons TO the frontier settlements as
ar as the Shenandoah Valley and be-
you'd through the different gaps. The
names of other merchants of Colchester
that we have met with 10 our
researches are Grayson, Ross, Chaplin
Mitchell, Linton. Barnes & r dgate.
Lindsay ,Gurden, Jenifer & Hooe, Harts-
norp & Co., Ferguson & Gibson, Bay
ey & Stone, Thompson & Washington,
Stuart & Muschett, Mick q Ward, E!
lie cott, Campbell & Wheeler, McCrea &
Co., Harrison, Walker, Hoskins, Skel-
ton, Mason, Carson, Willet, McPner-
son and Belt.
The star of Colchester which dawn
ed so promisipgly had reached its ze'
attn and was beginning to wane before
1900 Like many another towp, such as
jamestown snd Dumfres in Virginia,
and St. Marys and Joppa and Queen
Anne and Charlestown III a,yland for
all Of which their pr, jectors doubtless
torecasted "old walls and happy daye, y
it was compelled TO yield 10 the sbal-
ings of new conditions OF trade and
,ratfic, and travel born of the progress Of
invention and discovery until its glory
passed away forever. The yield OF to-
bacco from the surrounding lands had
greatly diminished and Alexandria, on
the main river, but few miles above,
with q situation far better for CON-
merce, though but q few years older, di-
yerted its business and completely over
shsdowed its growth and existence.
Iu 1909 great flood swept awsy the
"srand bridge with its semi-eliptictl
Al cheo" and filled up he deep channel
of the stream so that its navigation was
difficult and fJreigu vessels came no
more for careoes 10 its docks. IT g
iron works, tanneries, cooperies en- !
rope walks fell into disuse. Many OF
the inhabitants with occupations gone
mi.rated 10 new homes then opening
everywhere in the great west and
the AlIeghanies, and one by one IN :,
warehouses, stores and ordinaries ceast q
their traffic and Were closed. Numbers
of those who still remained fell victims
it is related of an epidemic OF "pleurisy.
AS the years passed new highways
were opened diverting the tide OF travel.
10 1919 a drunken woman accidenlly
set fire on windy day to some tene-
nents. The flames rapidly spreading lei
nearly every building tf the i'll fate d
town in ruins. Thus the work of de-
struction by food and pestilencs and
fire was complete. The stones, bricks
and other valuable materials of these
ruins served afterwards to build up
farm houses on neit h boring lands. The
plough-share long since turned up their
foundations and the very streets on
which they stood. Of all the tene-
ments but two or three are now remain
ing. These stand ghost-like and for
lorn in their Loneliness, mute but elo'
ouent witnesses of century and more
OF passing strange events. One of these
bindings is the old hostelry, known as
the ARMS of Fairfax" II shows all
over it the marks of sge but it is quite
we'll preserved considering the mai
destructive mutations which it has SUI
viv,d Under its roof was sheltered from
time to time many of the foremost &C
tols in the great struggle which led tc
our national independence. 10 III
rooms were held mary meetings OF th'
Virginia patriots in those stirring csy;
TO consider the grave iss ues horn OF lne
onnressive measures of the British par,
lament. In the palmy days OF lus
town when the tide Of travel surgeu oS
i S door over the old kings a'sn g
wavn from Williamsburg up over tnt N
Occoouan and on through the estate O.
Mount Vernon to Alexandria ano DE-
vond to the Blue Ridge mountains II
was a hostelry of greet repute an. a
and afar. 1t was the inn where sn' 20.
red aud yellow numbering stage coscL
ta,a6 with uS Ray1Sr