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Elk Run, Virginia

Fauquier County, Virginia geography stubsUnincorporated communities in Fauquier County, VirginiaUnincorporated communities in VirginiaUse mdy dates from July 2023

Elk Run is an unincorporated hamlet in Fauquier County, Virginia. It is centered on State Route 806 and State Route 610. Prior to European settlement, the area was home to the Manahoac people.It is famous among the locals for the historical Elk Run Church site built in the late 18th century. All that remains is a foundation and the gravesites. The church site is now the site of a commemorative park. Its first minister was James Keith, grandfather of Chief Justice John Marshall. He is buried at the church site. The community is small, but active. There is one commercial building serving the community. The Elk Run Church site has been preserved and marked with historical information markers.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Elk Run, Virginia (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Elk Run, Virginia
Elk Run Road,

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Latitude Longitude
N 38.554166666667 ° E -77.671944444444 °
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Elk Run Road 12187
22728
Virginia, United States
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Somerville, Virginia
Somerville, Virginia

Somerville is an unincorporated hamlet in Fauquier County, in the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. Somerville, two miles (3 km) west of the remote southwest corner of Marine Corps Base Quantico, can be said to lie at the center of a 225-square-mile (580 km2) diamond-shaped area of mostly countryside bordered by routes US 15, 17, I-95, and SR 234. (These meet at Manassas to the north, Dumfries to the east, Fredericksburg to the south, and Warrenton to the west.) The tongue-in-cheek label "Downtown Somerville" appears on the front of the only retail establishment anywhere near the rural intersection of Midland Road and Bristersburg Road—Groves Store and Somerville Post Office. No other mailboxes lie within ZIP code 22739. No other occupied dwellings are in sight, and it is over six miles (10 km) to the nearest main road, US 17 at Morrisville. In its undated leaflet "Fauquier County Towns, Villages, and Communities", the Fauquier Historical Society says "[o]riginally Somerville was at Ensor's Shop but presently is nearby at what was once called White Ridge". That name survives today as White Ridge Farm. (A decaying homemade sign "Ensor's Shop" appears on the roadside 2.5 miles (4.0 km) west of Somerville near where Ensors Shop Road intersects Midland Road.) How and when this place was first called Somerville may be unknown, but family names are a common source of place names. Wikipedia says elsewhere that "Sir Gualtier de Somerville was one of William the Conqueror's knights... in 1066. The name most likely comes from 'Saint-Omer,' a town about 20 miles south of Dunkirk at the North of France." Almost eight centuries of this noble family's history were documented in a book edited by Sir Walter Scott in 1815.

Warrenton Junction Raid
Warrenton Junction Raid

The Warrenton Junction Raid (May 3, 1863) was a surprise attack by Confederate guerrilla warriors on a Union cavalry detachment during the American Civil War. The raid took place near a railroad junction in Virginia's Fauquier County, less than 10 miles (16 km) from the town of Warrenton. Confederate Major (eventually Colonel) John S. Mosby led the attack against about 100 men from the Union's 1st (West) Virginia Cavalry. At first, the raid was very successful, as many of the Union soldiers surrendered to the rebels. The remaining portion of the surprised force was surrounded in a house, and two of their leaders were wounded. The house was set on fire, and the Union soldiers surrendered. As Mosby's men rounded up prisoners and horses, a detachment of the 5th New York Cavalry surprised the rebels and rescued most of the captured Union soldiers. After a short fight, more men from the 5th New York, and the 1st Vermont Cavalry, joined in the pursuit of Mosby's fleeing rebels. Casualties for the detachment of the 1st (West) Virginia Cavalry, the unit surprised by Mosby, totaled 16 men. Although Mosby was forced to release most of his prisoners while escaping from the 5th New York Cavalry, he still managed to keep at least two West Virginians in captivity. Mosby lost 1 killed and at least 30 taken prisoner—many of whom were wounded. The 5th New York Cavalry had three men wounded. The two sides involved in this minor fight became very skilled in warfare—but were still learning those skills at that time. The Union's 1st Virginia Cavalry, renamed 1st West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment two months later, became one of West Virginia's most effective regiments and had 14 Medal of Honor recipients. It fought at the Battle of Gettysburg, had an important role in eliminating the Confederate Army of the Valley, and was present at General Robert E. Lee's surrender of his Army of Northern Virginia. The Confederacy's Mosby's Rangers suffered their first defeat, but became masters of guerrilla warfare and were a constant concern for Union armies in eastern Virginia.