Historic Falmouth

The town of Falmouth was established here in 1727 at the falls of the Rappahannock River. One of Virginia's busiest ports during the 18th and early 19th centuries, the town offered a tobacco inspection station, tobacco and cotton warehouses, flour mills, a ferry, and stores. Hunter’s Iron Works nearby provided crucial supplies to the Continental army during the American Revolution. Union forces arrived in Falmouth in April 1862 and returned to camp here during the winter of 1862-1863, after the First Battle of Fredericksburg. Thousands of enslaved African Americans fled to Union lines and freedom. Prominent residents have included abolitionist Moncure Daniel Conway and artist Gari Melchers.