Dumfries, officially the Town of Dumfries, is a town in Prince William County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. The population was 4,961 at the 2010 United States census.

Geography

Dumfries is located at (38.567853, −77.324591). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²), all of it land. The town is situated 70 miles north of the state capital, Richmond. It is 30 miles south of central

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

History

The history of Dumfries began as early as 1690 when Richard Gibson erected a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

Quantico Creek Quantico Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 partially tidal tributary of the Potomac River in eastern Prince William County, Virginia. Quantico ...

. A customhouse and warehouse followed in 1731, and many others cropped up along the estuary by 1732. The Town of Dumfries was formally established on of land at the head of the harbor of Quantico Creek, provided by John Graham. He named the town after his birthplace,

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. After much political maneuvering, the General Assembly established Dumfries as the first of seven townships in the county. Dumfries received its charter on May 11, 1749, making it the oldest continuously chartered town in

. The Ceremonial Seal of the Town of Dumfries embodies elements of its heritage, from the period of 1651, when the first patents were issued to colonists, who following the Potomac recognized the value of a snug harbor in Quantico Creek. Thus the foundations for the establishment of a town, which in 1749 received its charter from the Colonial government in

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It had a population of 15,425 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern par ...

. The elements of the seal are contained within the pattern formed by the outer frame of a hawser rope or cable, and the inner frame of an anchor chain, of a type employed in ships of the Colonial era. Within these frames are found items which are consistent with a town of maritime background. They are overlaid on a chart of the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

and the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

, with Dumfries indicated at the head of Quantico Creek. The navigational aids of the sextant and compass rose complete the maritime motif. The two water fowl relate to the wetlands of Quantico Creek. The dock with fishnet, pilings, ships block and line further the theme of a mercantile port of call. The

thistle Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterized by leaves with sharp spikes on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves. T ...

indicates the Scottish founders of the town, with the name of Dumfries, taken by John Graham, the founder, in honor of his home in Scotland. The supporters of the shield are, on the left, a Piscataway brave, of the Powhatan Confederacy, the predominant tribe along the Potomac, in this area. On the right, a Colonial militiaman of 1775, when Colonel Henry Lee was company Commander. The shield in its upper quadrant, displays a sailing vessel of the period, and below the tobacco leaf, the first commodity, overlaid with shafts of wheat, the later commodity that supported the town. When Dumfries became the second leading port in Colonial America receiving tobacco from the upland, it rivaled New York, Philadelphia and Boston. Dumfries peaked in size and importance in 1763. For about 15 years Dumfries was a thriving port when several factors brought about its demise: the Revolutionary War, erosion and siltation, and the shift in the main shipping commodity (from tobacco to wheat and sugar). The Dumfries Cemetery contains burials of some of the Dumfries pioneers. Alexander Henderson built a house known as the Henderson House which still stands on a hill in Dumfries, as well as owning various land in Prince William Forest Park. Alexander was a merchant when the ports were booming in Dumfries. Alexander is famous for his son,

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

commandant Archibald Henderson. The Leesylvania Archeological Site (44PW7), Old Hotel, and Weems-Botts Museum are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. Dumfries was combined with the community of Triangle, Virginia, to form Dumfries-Triangle in the

1950 United States census The 1950 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 151,325,798, an increase of 14.5 percent over the 131,669,275 persons enumerated during the 1940 census. This was t ...

. However, the two communities were separated again by the time of the 1960 census.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 4,937 people, 1,573 households, and 1,198 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,699 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 48.91%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 35.26%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, 0.63% Native American, 1.07% Asian, 3.73% from other races, and 8.40% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 15.06% of the population. There were 1,573 households, out of which 46.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.8% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 19.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.8% were non-families. Of all households, 16.5% were made up of individuals, and 3.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.13 and the average family size was 3.51. In the town, the population was spread out, with 35.0% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 33.6% from 25 to 44, 17.1% from 45 to 64, and 4.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $43,672, and the median income for a family was $46,927. Males had a median income of $35,247 versus $24,451 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $17,652. About 10.4% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 16.0% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Primary road transportation to Dumfries is provided by U.S. Route 1.

Virginia State Route 234 Virginia State Route 234 (SR 234) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. It runs from U.S. Route 1 in Virginia, U.S. Route 1 near Dumfries, Virginia, Dumfries via Independent Hill, Virginia, Independent Hill as Dumfries Road, ...

and

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

are also directly adjacent to Dumfries.

Notable people

* George Graham (soldier), acting U.S. Secretary of War (18161817) was born in Dumfries * Alexander Henderson, merchant * Kendall Marshall, professional basketball player * Ali Krieger, professional soccer player * Mason Locke Weems, George Washington biographer * Asa Blanchard, noted Kentucky silversmith

References

External links

* {{authority control 1749 establishments in the Colony of Virginia Former county seats in Virginia Populated places established in 1749 Towns in Prince William County, Virginia Towns in Virginia Washington metropolitan area