The Accokeek Iron Furnace in Stafford County was constructed ca. 1726 on land owned by Augustine Washington, father of George Washington. Augustine Washington had a lease agreement with the Principio Company, which constructed the furnace. The industry operated until 1756. The Accokeek Furnace Archaeological Site represents the second oldest 18th-century iron-blast furnace site identified in Virginia. Archaeological remains at Accokeek should include evidence of its store, warehouses, mill, and forge as well as worker living quarters. The identified archaeological deposits include the furnace location, the mill wheel pit and races, a retaining wall made of slag, an extensive slag debris dump, and mine pits. Verified 18th-century industrial sites are rare in Virginia, and a thorough investigation of Accokeek could increase knowledge of early iron technology. In 1996 the Accokeek Furnace Archaeological Site was acquired from Stafford County by Kenmore Plantation and Gardens.
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Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia