Ferry Farm is the name of the farm and home at which George Washington spent much of his childhood. The site is located in Stafford County, Virginia along the northern bank of the Rappahannock River, across from the city of Fredericksburg.
Ferry Farm is claimed to be the location of the following myth about George Washington's honesty as a child: One day, wanting to try out a new axe, he chopped down his father's cherry tree; when questioned by his father, he gave the famous non-quotation: "I cannot tell a lie. It was I who chopped down the cherry tree."
Another version states that George was on his horse and that the horse "barked" (accidentally scraped the bark off with its hoof) the cherry tree and George accepted the blame as he should have.
It has also been claimed to be the site where George Washington "threw a silver dollar across the Rappahannock River." It is possible to "skip" a coin or flat rock across that area.
Ferry Farm was bought by Kenmore, the home of George's sister Betty Lewis Washington and her husband Fielding Lewis, when developers wanted to build on the historical property. Since then it has been turned into an attraction for field trips and tourists alike.
George Washington | Washington family | Farms | People museums in the United States | Presidential places | Presidential places related to George Washington
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"Ferry Farm".
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