Leesylvania was a vast tract along the Potomac River between Nebasco and Powells creeks and extending inland to include lands west of U.S. Route 1. Patented in 1658 by Gervais Dodson, it passed to Henry Lee II upon his father’s death in 1747, and he established a plantation there that he named Leesylvania, meaning Lee’s Woods. Before his death and burial at Leesylvania, Henry Lee II served as County Lieutenant for Prince William, presided as a justice, and served prominently in the House of Burgesses and State Senate. Born at Leesylvania, Henry Lee III gained fame during the American Revolution as the cavalry commander Light Horse Harry Lee, later served as Governor of Virginia, and fathered Confederate General Robert E. Lee. The Lee mansion burned in 1792, Henry Fairfax acquired the estate in 1825, and Leesylvania State Park now occupies part of the original acreage.