Ferry Farm
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ferry Farm is the name of the farm and home at which George Washington spent much of his childhood. The site is located in Stafford County, Virginia along the northern bank of the Rappahannock River, across from the city of Fredericksburg. The farm was named after the Washington family had left the property. Its namesake was a free ferry that crossed the Rappahannock River on Washington land -- the family did not own or operate it.
Ferry Farm is claimed to be the location of the following myth about George Washington's honesty as a child: One day, wanting to try out a new axe, he chopped down his father's cherry tree; when questioned by his father, he gave the famous non-quotation: "I cannot tell a lie. It was I who chopped down the cherry tree."
Another version states that George was on his horse and that the horse "barked" (accidentally scraped the bark off with its hoof) the cherry tree and George accepted the blame as he should have.
It has also been claimed to be the site where George Washington "threw a silver dollar across the Rappahannock River." It is possible to "skip" a coin or flat rock across that area. Regardless, the river was considerably wider during this period than it is today, making the feat that much more difficult.
Ferry Farm was bought by Kenmore, the home of George's sister Betty Washington Lewis and her husband Fielding Lewis, when developers wanted to build on the historical property. Since then it has been turned into an attraction for field trips and tourists alike. Current focus on the property is archaeological in nature. In-house archaeologists and interns have been undergoing digs for several years, in attempts to find the foundation of the Washington home house.
