Local treasure to be reburied

By Uriah A. Kiser

Published: August 27, 2008

FERRY FARM — One of the nation’s most significant archeological discoveries is going away to be preserved for the next generation. A team of archeologists discovered the foundation of George Washington’s boyhood on July 4, after seven years of searching.

The foundation sits along the Rappahannock River across from Fredericksburg. Legend has it that it is the site where the first president cut down the cherry tree and confessed it because he couldn’t tell a lie. It is the place where Washington spent his youth before eventually becoming a surveyor and a soldier in the British Army.

The site revealed a house that measured to be 53 feet long by 37 feet wide, said David Muraca, archeology director for the George Washington Foundation.

Similar homes of its time are known to have only a few rooms, leading historians to believe Washington’s parents were well-to-do farmers.

Muraca said two previous excavations of the site during the 1990s failed to locate the home. In an earlier interview, Muraca said this was the most important find of his career, spanning more than 25 years.

Muraca said Tuesday that since the site has been open for more than three years, the time has come to cover it back up to prevent erosion from possible storms and winter frosts.

The George Washington Foundation has invited the public to a farewell ceremony at the south Stafford site on September 13. Paula Raudenbush, a spokesperson with the George Washington Foundation, said residents are invited to view the site once more and then visit a companion exhibit located in the main building at Ferry Farm. There they will display artifacts found from the house site.

Muraca said the teams of archeologists working at the site would stop working this weekend. He said the foundation has plans to cover the site with a tarp until the ceremony and then it will be buried for good.

“I don’t expect to ever see the remains of the site again, but it feels right and it is the way things should be,” said Muraca. The archeologist said his teams went to great lengths to preserve the site. He added that with new technologies and practices, it is feasible for a new group of archeologist to return in 25 years
to learn more about the site.