From Stafford’s earliest years Potomac Run has formed the dividing line between the county’s upper and lower districts. For tax and administrative purposes, land south of the run became known as District 1 and land north of the run as District 2. For the sake of organization the author has, for the most part, arranged the research for this book in the same manner. This massive work covers a wide range of topics arranged in three sections: Potomac Creek Area which includes Alcock’s Mills, Cropp’s Stone House, land patents, Quakers, roads, Spotted Tavern and much more; Rappahannock River which includes Bellmeade, gold mining, Locust Grove, Poor House Tract, Tomboy’s Point and much more; and Falmouth which includes business, floods, horseracing, law and order, railroads, Scots, slavery, tobacco warehouses, the War between the States and much more. The pages herein record the places and people that made old Stafford County unique. Each article in this volume is a compilation of information from primary sources and generous people who lovingly helped bring Stafford’s wonderful history to light. By adding diaries, letters, personal recollections, and oral history, the surviving public records have been enhanced to make Stafford’s old residents not just names and dates on a page, but flesh and blood human beings who lived, loved, dreamed, suffered, and died here. At the end of each article is a bibliography of materials used in the research of that particular topic. Photographs, maps, and a full-name index add to the value of this work.