Native Americans from Eastern Prince William County

People lived along Neabsco Creek and the Potomac River for thousands of years, and numerous different peoples likely lived there before European contact. By the 1500s, the Doeg inhabited the area across the river in Maryland as well as what are now Prince William and Fairfax counties in Virginia, and one of their villages, Niopsco, was located nearby. Easy access to water made travel and communication easier, and fishing the Potomac River and its tributaries became a main source of food alongside crops such as corn and squash. In 1608, the first recorded English explorers arrived under John Smith, who wrote that the natives there had their capital, Tauxenent, on "Dogg's Island," modern-day Mason Neck. As more English settlers came to this part of Virginia, the Doeg and English clashed over rightful claims to the land, leading in 1666 to a full-fledged war by the Virginia colony against the Doeg. By 1670, most of the Doeg had been driven from northern Virginia across the Potomac River to Maryland.

Leesylvania, Virginia · United States