One Thing Leads to Another - Down the Rabbit Hole

Last month's article introduced you to the Montagues, a couple interviewed by Ruth Coder Fitzgerald in 1978. Mrs. Fitzgerald was collecting information for her book, "A Different Story," published in 1979. It was the first definitive history of African Americans in the central Rappahannock area.

The interview was taped and recently converted to digital media. Although some of the interview was clear, quite a bit was hard to understand and raised more questions. One was, where did the Montagues live? And this brings into play why the Heritage Center's collections are invaluable.

Several years ago, Scott Mayusky, Commissioner of the Revenue, Stafford County, was updating his office. He had inherited from his predecessor, the late George Gordon, several file cabinets of 4 x 6 cards. On these cards, Mr. Gordon, who had been in his job for over 40 years, made notes about each piece of property in Stafford. They are handwritten, mostly in pencil. Notes that say things like, "subdivided in 1965; lots given to daughter and son-in-law." With these notes, a researcher at the Center was able to determine where the Montagues had lived. Until 1985, Stafford mailing addresses were rural route numbers; having nothing to do with Stafford road numbers. In the early 1980s, Stafford set about naming and numbering the roads. Residents were able to name their own roads, or when the road had a traditional name, like Brooke, Eskimo Hill, Ramoth Church, or Widewater Road, it was formally adopted. The County assigned the numbers and thus Stafford has the system of road names we have today. The Montagues lived at Route 2, Box 547. This part of Route 2 turned into Montague Loop, off Eskimo Hill Road. Other parts of Route 2 became Brooke Road and other nearby roads. From the information on Mr. Gordon's invaluable cards, we could determine the neighborhood where the Montague family lived. There were several Montague houses on the Loop and to this day, there are descendants who live in the area.

Live or own property in Stafford and want to know more about it? A search of Mr. Gordon's carefully maintained records may provide that information.