Chopawamsic

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Chopawamsic Island is the only island within the territorial boundaries of the Commonwealth of Virginia on the Potomac River.

1 Introduction
2 Rare Plants & Wildlife
3 Previous Ownership
4 External links

[edit] Introduction

Chopawamsic Island

The 13-Acre Island features a main house, guest house, caretaker’s house, and other structures (all were constructed prior to World War I and need extensive renovation). Electricity is provided via underwater cable. Water provided by a 280' deep well on the island.

Some Civil War documents indicate that the Confederate States of America, who controlled the area until the winter of 1861 and had numerous camps still visible on Quantico, used the island for rest and recreation.

There are photographs of the Quantico area on display at Hospital Point on the Marine Corps base which may include historic photographs of Chopawamsic Island.

The island is currently for sale, $25,000,000 U.S. Dollars

[edit] Rare Plants & Wildlife

The island is home to a mix of different wildlife habitats. Wetland species include flocks of swans, geese, and ducks utilize the sheltered area for feeding and resting. Migratory songbirds abound during the temperate months, with intense activity in the spring. Ospreys and bald eagles occur here, as do waders such as green heron, great egret, and great blue heron.

[edit] Previous Ownership

The first English resident of the island was Giles Brent, who settled here in 1649 with his wife, Mary Kittamaquund, daughter of the Piscataway chief Tayak. The Piscataway tribe was a member of the Powhatan Confederation, which at the time had friendly relations with the English government in Jamestown.

One of the first known owners of the island was the Rev. Alexander Scott of the Church of Overwharten (now known as Aquia Church), who purchased the property from Brent family in early 18th Century.

The burning of the Stafford County Courthouse during the Civil War destroyed all of the original deed and documentary records surrounding the island. Copies may be found in the Library of Virginia.

June 5, 1878 - E.A. Hore sold the island to Levi Woodbury of Washington.
June 24, 1887 - sold to the Mount Vernon Ducking Society, of which Theodore Roosevelt was a member.
October 11, 1903 - Samuel Langley conducted a manned flight experiment that could have made Stafford County's Widewater as well known today as Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. One of those 1896 (source? conflicts with previous date) test planes, launched near Chopawamsic Island, covered a distance of about three-quarters of a mile and achieved a speed of more than 25 mph. Langley's model planes for those experiments had a wingspan of about 14 feet and were powered by a small steam engine. The 1896 tests were witnessed by Langley's friend and colleague, Alexander Graham Bell.
At one point in time, the National Geographic Society owned the Island.
November 3, 1915 - Charles H. Pardoe sold the island to Charles J. Butler.
July 29, 1958 - Wilson & Lucy Fisher sold the property to Wesley & Dee Fry.
June 14, 1983 - Columbia Tours International bought the island.