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Unearthed Headstones at Merrimac Farm Offer Glimpse into Prince William's Buried Past
Potomac Local; January 12 2013

Merrimac Farm Once a Sought-After Haven for Religious Freedom
Potomac Local; January 21 2013

 


A Virginia Conservation Partnership Marine Corps Base Quantico Virginia Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries rine William Conservation Alliance

At Merrimac Farm Wildlife Management Area, one rich story could be easily overlooked, were it not for the survival and rebirth of a little graveyard in the woods. ... The cemetery was all but forgotten until 2003, when a county-funded project to record hundreds of historic cemeteries led to a visit by a local man named Ron Turner. Turner was guided by the property owner to a small spot in the woods where graves were known to exist though none were clearly visible. Keep reading...

  

Color GuardConservation Partnership permanently conserves Merrimac Farm and opens site to public for wildlife watching and hunting on January 16 2008.
The effort to save Merrimac Farm began in 2001 with the death of Lt. Col. Dean McDowell. Soon after, the McDowell family (land owner), Marine Corps Base Quantico, the Prince William Conservation Alliance and the Virginia Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries with support from the Virginia Dept. of Conservation and Recreation formed a partnership with the goal of permanently conserving Merrimac Farm and opening the property to the public. Keep reading...

  
Merrimac Farm WMAGame Deparment Purchase of Merrimac Farm Conserves Important Habitat
Merrimac Farm, a more than 300-acre property in Prince William County, is the newest addition to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries' (VDGIF) statewide network of wildlife management areas. The property was recently acquired by the VDGIF with support from the Prince William Conservation Alliance, Marine Corps Base Quantico, and the McDowell family (who owned the property). Keep reading...		  
French Family Cemetery at Merrimac Farm WMAMerrimac Farm was originally part of the Brent Town grant.
The Brent Town Tract was divided in 1737 giving Samuel Hayward 7,500 acres on the northwest side of Cedar Run.  Hayward sold 1,000 acres, including the portion that became Merrimac Farm, to Henry Fitzhugh in 1738.  Henry Fitzhugh, of "Bedford" in Stafford County, died in 1758.  His will says, "I give to my son Thomas one moiety [half] of my Brent Town land now in his possession according to a division lately made by his brother Henry to him ... to my son John Fitzhugh the other moiety ... now in his possession." Keep reading...