Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-08-01

which dates back to the time when
Colchester was a town. 1t was the
principal ordinary or tavern of the
place and one of the famous taverns
to the south which was called the
Kings highway. The name of this
tavern was the Fairfax Arms. 1t is
now the property Of Alfred Hude.
whose splendid modern villa stands
a few rods north of the old tavern.
Living Somewhere in that neighbor-
hood is Mrs. Hannah Clarke, whose
age is seventy-six and who was born
in Colchester. Her maiden name was
Hannah Potter and her father had
lived long in Colchester. The Potter
house at Colchester was destroyed
the front yard of the Weston home
is a long depression about the width
of an ordinary country road. A heavy
sod of grass and clover covers it and
you might not distinguish it from
the rest of the green lawn. Yet be-
fore the grass covered it that de-
preston was a part of the historic
Kings highway. In prolongation of
the depression you will follow the
trace of the old road down hill to
the shore of Occoquan creek, perhaps
200 yards to the south.
Across the creek you can pick up
| the line of the long abandoned road.
From the south shore it climbs a
steep hill and two centuries of traf-
fic wore the road deep down between
its banks. Then. since its abandon
ment, rains have washed it until
along part of it's course it is roughly
quilted. Between the shore ends of
the road ran a public ferry under the
supervision of Ann Mason in 1876,
and no doubt the Mason family, which
| then owned the land on both sides of
the creek, operated a private ferry
long before the Virginia Legislature
undertook to prescribe the rates of
toll by making it a public ferry. AT
that point in 1898 Thomas Mason built
a wooden tollbridge and that bridge
was feature of the Occoquan region
: for generations. The road which this
ferry and toll bridge linked up was
the great north and south thorough
fare Of the colonies and it was an i'm
portant route of travel during the
youth Of the republic. A list of the
| men and women who crossed that
ferry and the toll bridge which sue
ceeded it would read like a directory
of Virginia and the colonies to the
north and south of her.
The Rambler has said that the town
of Colchester was laid out on the
land of Peter WAGNER. In the old
records of Truro parish and Pohick
Church he is referred to as DR.. Peter
WAGNER, an Englishman. When he
came to Virginia the Rambler does
not know, but he was a clerk of stat
ford county before the creation OF
Fairfax county, and that was in 1742:
In 1850 he was married to a sister of
Speaker Robinson of the house OF
Eburgesses. Elizabeth WAGNER, daugh-
ter of Peter WAGNER, the immigrant,
became the wife of the Rev. Spence
Grayson of Dettingen parish. DR..
Peter Wagner was vestryman of
Truro parish in 1771. He had son,
Peter, and he was chosen vestryman
| in 1774 in succession to his father,
who died in that year. Peter. the son,
was clerk of Fairfax county and mar
ried daughter of Daniel McCarty.
For these facts about DR.. WAGNER
the Rambler is indebted to the Rev.
Edward L. Goodwin. The Rambler
has.quite list of the Inhabitants of
Old Colchester and will INTRODUCES
them as this series proceeds.