Aquia Creek

Redoubt No. 2, also known as Fort No Name, is a historic archaeological site located near Stafford, Stafford County, Virginia. The site was the central of the three, perhaps four, Federal defensive fortifications ordered constructed in early (February) 1863 during the American Civil War to protect the approaches to the Union supply depot at Aquia Creek Landing, Stafford, Virginia. Redoubt No.2 is an earthen field fortification that is nearly 95 feet square.It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

Widewater State Park is a state park in Virginia, located in Stafford County. Land for the park was purchased in 2006 from Dominion Resources, but the Great Recession prevented development of the property. Ground was finally broken for the new park in 2018 after money was appropriated by the Virginia General Assembly with a bond issue in that year. Current facilities include a visitor center and staff building along Aquia Creek and a soft boat launch and picnic shelter along the Potomac River. A formal opening date in fall 2018 was set. The park officially opened in 2019.The park is divided up into five parcels, separated by private property. It is located on a 1,100-acre peninsula situated between Aquia Creek and the Potomac River, and was the site of early flight experiments by Samuel P. Langley.

Arkendale is an unincorporated community in Stafford County, in the U.S. state of Virginia.

Widewater Beach is an unincorporated community in Stafford County, in the U.S. state of Virginia. The community is adjacent to Widewater State Park.

Brooke is an unincorporated community in Stafford County, Virginia, United States. Brooke is the site of the Andrew Chapel United Methodist Church and Cemetery, and a Virginia Railway Express commuter rail station. Near the VRE station is the Stafford Civil War Park, that was established in April 2013. Along the shores of the Potomac Rivers' Aquia Creek is the Crow's Nest Natural Area Preserve and the Aquia Landing Park. The ZIP Code for Brooke is 22430.The nearby Potomac Creek, 44ST2 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Brooke is a Virginia Railway Express station located at 1721 Brooke Road in Brooke near Stafford, Virginia. Free parking is available and located on a hill leading from the road. The station serves the Fredericksburg Line and shares the right-of-way with Amtrak's Northeast Regional, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Auto Train, Palmetto, and Carolinian trains; however, no Amtrak trains stop here.

Brooke Point High School is a public high school located about 40 miles (64 km) south of Washington D.C. in Stafford, Virginia, United States. It is one of five high schools serving Stafford County Public Schools, and enrolls students in grades nine through twelve in the eastern portion of Stafford County. The school was opened in 1993.

The Public Quarry at Government Island in Stafford County, Virginia is the principal source of Aquia Creek sandstone, a building stone used in many of the early government buildings in Washington, D.C., including the U.S. Capitol and the White House. A quarry was established just off the Potomac River at Wigginton's Island on Aquia Creek by George Brent after 1694, providing stone for tombstones and to houses and churches in northern Virginia, including Gunston Hall, Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia, Mount Airy in Richmond County, Virginia, and Aquia Church, as well as steps and walkways at George Washington's Mount Vernon. Washington selected Aquia sandstone as the primary material for use in Washington's government buildings. Acting on the government's behalf, the Wigginton's Island quarry was purchased by Pierre Charles L'Enfant in 1791, becoming known afterward as Government Island.Use of the stone declined as its susceptibility to weathering was observed, and the quarry became worked out and derelict after the U.S. Civil War. The property was sold by the U.S. Government in 1963.The property was acquired by Stafford County as a county park and opened to the public on November 6, 2010 with trails and markers highlighting the historical significance of the island. The park has 1.5 miles of trails including an elevated wooden boardwalk through marsh and wetlands, part of the park is handicap accessible. It is a designated site on the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

Aquia Harbour is a census-designated place (CDP) in Stafford County, Virginia, United States, 13 miles (21 km) north of Fredericksburg. The population was 6,727 at the 2010 census. Aquia Church, erected in 1757 and now a National Historic Landmark, is located west of the community.

Stafford, also known as Stafford Courthouse, is a census-designated place in and the county seat of Stafford County, Virginia, United States. The population was 163,380 as of the 2020 census. It lies 10 miles (16 km) north of Fredericksburg, approximately 40 miles (64 km) south of Washington, D.C., and about 60 miles (97 km) north of Richmond, the state capital. Marine Corps Base Quantico is located north of the community. Stafford Courthouse is located at the intersections of U.S. Route 1 and Courthouse Road.

The Battle of Aquia Creek was an exchange of cannon fire between Union Navy gunboats and Confederate shore batteries on the Potomac River at its confluence with Aquia Creek in Stafford County, Virginia. The battle took place from May 29, 1861 to June 1, 1861 during the early days of the American Civil War. The Confederates set up several shore batteries to block Union military and commercial vessels from moving in the Chesapeake Bay and along the lower Potomac River as well as for defensive purposes. The battery at Aquia also was intended to protect the railroad terminal at that location. The Union forces sought to destroy or remove these batteries as part of the effort to blockade Confederate States coastal and Chesapeake Bay ports. The battle was tactically inconclusive. Each side inflicted little damage and no serious casualties on the other. The Union vessels were unable to dislodge the Confederates from their positions or to inflict serious casualties on their garrisons or serious damage to their batteries. The Confederates manning the batteries were unable to inflict serious casualties on the Union sailors or cause serious damage to the Union vessels. Soon after the battle, on Sunday, July 7, 1861, the Confederates first used naval mines, unsuccessfully, off the Aquia Landing batteries. The Confederates ultimately abandoned the batteries on March 9, 1862 as they moved forces to meet the threat created by the Union Army's Peninsula Campaign. The U. S. National Park Service includes this engagement in its list of 384 principal battles of the American Civil War.

Widewater is an unincorporated community in Stafford County, in the U.S. state of Virginia. Located on the banks of the Potomac River, it was the site of the flight experiments by Samuel Langley during the late 19th and early 20th century. It was a stop on the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad which was replaced by CSX Transportation.