Port Conway, Virginia

Port Conway, Virginia
Birthplace of Madison, historic marker on U.S. 301
Birthplace of Madison, historic marker on U.S. 301
Port Conway is located in Virginia
Port Conway
Port Conway
Location within Virginia and the United States
Port Conway is located in the United States
Port Conway
Port Conway
Port Conway (the United States)
Coordinates: 38°10′38″N 77°11′10″W / 38.17722°N 77.18611°W / 38.17722; -77.18611
CountryUnited States
StateVirginia
CountyKing George
Elevation
43 ft (13 m)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
GNIS feature ID1499897[1]

Port Conway is an unincorporated community on the north side of the Rappahannock River in King George County, in the Northern Neck of Virginia. It is opposite Port Royal, which is on the south side of the river in Caroline County.

James Madison, the fourth President of the United States, was born in Port Conway on March 16, 1751, at Belle Grove plantation. The plantation was the childhood home of his mother, Eleanor Rose "Nelly" Conway, the daughter of its owner, Francis Conway, for whom Port Conway was named.

On April 26, 1865, after assassinating President Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth and his traveling companion David Herold, with Union cavalry in pursuit, crossed the Rappahannock River at Port Conway. The cavalry caught up with them at Garrett's Farm, south of Port Royal, where Herold surrendered and Booth was killed.

In addition to Belle Grove, the Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Millbank, and Woodlawn Historic and Archeological District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[2]

  1. ^ "Port Conway". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.