Stafford is a census-designated place (listed as Stafford Courthouse) in and the county seat of Stafford County in the northern part of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. The population of Stafford County as of the 2010 United States Census was 128,984. It lies north of Fredericksburg, approximately south of Washington, D.C., and about 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.
History
English sea captain Samuel Argall abducted Pocahontas near this area in April, 1613 in an attempt to secure release of some English prisoners held by her father. Rebecca married English colonist John Rolfe in 1614. They sailed in 1616 to England where Pocahontas died in 1617.
It was a stop on the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad in the nineteenth Century; CSX Transportation is the RF&P's successor today.
Accokeek Furnace Archeological Site, Aquia Church, Public Quarry at Government Island, Redoubt No. 2, and Stafford Training School are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Notable people
Erin Cahill, actress
Traci Hunter Abramson, novelist
Palmer Hayden, American Painter
Gary Jennings Jr., NFL Wide Receiver
Colton Smith, Ultimate fighter winner
