Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1921-01-09

THE I
idan Point. the same: Piscataway creek;
organs Point. thirteen and quarter miles
Mount Vernon. fourteen and quarter miles
Marshall and Ferry points, fifteen miles oppG'ee
site Dog DogueD creek. fifteen and half
miles; White House. sixteen and nail
Whitestone Point. seventeen and quarter
opposite Gunston cove, eighteen; Hailowihg
twenty: Craney island. twenty and a quarter;
Glymont. twenty-one and three quarters: oppo'
site Sycamore Point twenty three; Indian
Head. twenty-three and half; High Point.
opposite Occoquan creek, twenty-five: opposite
Freestone. Deep Point and NeapscO tNeabsco)
creek: twenty-seven: opposite Powells creek
half; opposite Cockpit Point and Stump Neck.
twenty-nine: opposite Chicomuxen creek, thirty
and quarter: Budds Ferry. thirty-one Ship
ping Point wharf. thirty two: opposite Chapa-
wamsic creek. thirty-two and three quarters;
opposite sandy Point. thirty four: Clifton
Point, thirty-six; Liverpool Point and Mallows
creek, fhirty-six: Douglas Point, thirty-seven
and quarter: Smiths Point thirty nine and a
quarter; Aqua creek railroad wharf. forty
one and quarter; Lower Thomas Point. forty
TWO; Marlboro Point. forty-three and half:
fotomac creek. forty-three and a half: Mary
land Point. forty five; Matompkin Point. forty
nine: Benny Grays Point. Blossom Point and
fifty two and half: light vessel off Cedar Point
fifty three; Matthias Point. ffty-ive: Windmill
Point and Port Tobacco river. ffty-eight; Port
two; Popes creek landing. 6fty-eight: Ludlows
Ferry. sixty: Persimmon Point, ifty-nine;
light vessel of Lower Cedar Point. sixty
sixty three; Swami Point, sixty-six and three.
quarters; King George Point, Bluff Point and
Roziers creek. sixty-sx: White Point (now
Colonial Beach,. sixty-seven; Church Point and
Mattox creek. seventy one; Popes creek. sew
nety-three; Great Wicomico bay seventy-fiv
blackstone Island. seventy: Heron Island and
eighty-six: higgins Point, eighty three
Machodoc river. eighty-ive; Ragged Point.
eighty -seven; Tower Hill. eighty eight; Piney
Marys river. ninety nine; West st. Marys. los
head Of st. Marys river. 10S: Point Lookout
light, 1os; mouth Of Yeocomico river. ninety
peake bay. and Little wicomico river. ZIG;
Smith Point lighthouse. III.
- H0~~many wharves have been at
the e;Hallowing Point end of Mason
Neck .-or on the north side jutting out
into Pohick bay, Accotink bay and
Gunston Cove, or on the south side
tuttfng out into Occoquan bay the
Rambler does not know No man
been a dozen or a score since steam
beats began running on our river.
at least l0S years ago. No record is
kept Of wharves and they come
and go.
1t was fifteen years ago that the
Rambler walked along the shore of
Hallowing Point and at that time
two rotting wharves were there.
They were about a mile apart and
the upper one had not heen long
abandoned. Whether the picturesque
old, piles still hold their heads above
Along the Potomac. between Wash
ington and the bay, and in those
broad estuaries called creeks. but
which might properly be called rivers,
ruined WharVes are so numerous that
1t would be difficult to gather up
ruined wharves whose gray and rot
ting timbers-generally only the tops
Of the piles-show above water at
low tide. there are very many other
abandoned landing places where
steamboats, do not stop. At scores
places. where wha~ves stood not
even an old pile remains.
The first of the great Virginia fam
lily of Mason was George Mason. the
great-grandfather of George Mason,
the builder of Gunston Hall, and who
has often been called the Sage of
Gunston." George Mason the first
q
at the battle of Worcester. where he
fought for the house of Stuart. Aft
er the royalist defeat he escaped to
Virginia and settled at Accokeek. One
Of his fellow royalist-refugees was
Gerard Fowke. son of Roger Fowke
fordshire. 1t is related by Kate Row.
land Mason. in her Life of George
Mason" that the original Gunston
Hall in Staffordshire was standing
and in an excellent state of upkeep
when it was visited by James NJ. Ma
son in 1866. and it is quite possible
that it stands today. At the time
named it was owned by the Clifford
FAMILY. which in the period of the
wars of the commonwealth owned
Boscobel, house near Gunston. and
IN which Charles ii found shelter
ana concealment after the battle of
Worcester ~
Miss Rowland wrote that the first
mention of George Mason, founder of
the Virginia family. that occurs in the
virginia records is in a patent to land
obtained by him in March. 1855. The
moreland county. and was in consid-
Grafton of Mason having transported
or paid for the transportation of
eighteen settlers to the COLONY.
George Mason served in the Indian
of 1875, in which also served
John Washington. the immigrant and
of George Wash
ington. 1t is certainty that these
early settlers. both royalist refugeea,
were acquainted in Virginia. This
George Mason died about 1886, and
before the civil war his will was
among the records of Stafford county,
but 1t is believed that it was de-
stroyed. with many other records,
when the courthouse was burned in
1852. George Mason had a son. also
named George. He became a Potomac
ranger, and in 1892 was sheriff of
Stafford county. In 1863: ne sold the
old home at Accokeed to Robert
Wright. 1t came into possession of
manned in the Hedgeman family for
and a half.
That land below Mount Vernon and
above Gunston Hall which good
many Westinghouse know as Bel
voir and which is now occupied as
Camp Humphreys, was a grant to
William Sherwood. George Mason. I'd.
bought 2,1O0 acres of that land from
Sherwood in 1896. and it is believed
that he lived on the tract About l732
it became the home of William Fair
TAX cousin and Virginia agent of
Thomas Lord Fairfax. The Fairfax
House stood on the bluff above the
white house. which was one of the
Fairfax plantation buildings. until
about the time of the outbreak of
the American revolution, when 1t was
burned. The ruins of that .house and
of various brick outbuildings were
in the woods of Belvoir up to
the,time Of the establishment Of Camp
Th Rambler explored those lands