
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, September 5, 1995                   TAG: 9509050098
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: FREDERICKSBURG                                LENGTH: Short

ARCHITECTS TO WORK ON FERRY FARM

Stafford County officials have hired architects to develop the site of George Washington's boyhood home.

Last September, an arson fire consumed a two-story house that stood on the property, endangering the stone foundation of Washington's 1727 farm house that lay beneath. A wooden tract house has been built over the foundation to shield the stones.

Last week, the county awarded a $38,000 contract to a Washington, D.C., company to determine what should be built on the site. Planners have said they favor a museum to house artifacts found on the farm, a visitors center and a gift shop.

Washington lived on the 46-acre Ferry Farm property - then about 480 acres - from age 6 until he assumed management of Mount Vernon at age 20. Once a master plan for the site is complete, the George Washington Boyhood Home Foundation will solicit one or more donors, foundation Secretary C.M. Williams said.

by CNB