Falmouth, VA

Never heard of Gari Melchers? Don't worry. You're not alone. Gari was a little known, but believe it or not famous artist, who found a home in Falmouth, Virginia.

This 27 acre estate was left to the commonwealth of Virginia by Gari's widow, as a tribute to his work

The house at Gari Melchers Home and Studio has a rich history that precedes Gari Melchers..

It has been told that the original deed of ownership is lost, the year in which the Georgian-style frame house was built and the identity of its first owner is not precisely known.

The home dates back to the 1790s. Since surviving documents state that the Horner and Voss families owned the property between 1785 and 1804, one of those two families must have been responsible for the earliest section of the current structure.

Gari Melchers Home and Studio
Belmont, 224 Washington Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22405
(540) 654-1015 fax (540) 654-1785
GariMelchers@umw.edu

$10 for Adults
$9 for Seniors 62+ and AAA members
$5 for Children ages 6-18

Anyone living in the southeast portion of Stafford County understands the frustration everyone feels when passing Primmer House Road. The road, developed by Maryland Development Company as a part of Leeland Station subdivision, will provide easy access for VRE commuters and residents from that portion of Stafford County to access Rt 1 and the 95 interchange.

At the moment, drivers are taking the original (and longer) route along Morton Rd to Layhill Rd. This alternate route is about 1 mile longer and much more difficult to navigate as the road is extremely windy.

On numerous occasions when passing Primmer House Rd, I would notice the ROAD CLOSED barricades moved as frustrated drivers got fed up with the delays and decided to take matters into their own hands. The road had passed inspections on two occasions from both VDOT and CSX engineers.

The reason for the delay was simple - money. The developer would have had the opportunity to open the road without the road having to be entered into the state road system had they been willing to assume liability for maintenance of the road. However, a spokesman for the developer has said that it cannot afford maintenance costs, and wants to keep the road closed until it's in the state system.

The Stafford Board of Supervisors will petition VDOT to approve the road into the state's road system at its meeting on February 5^th. By all accounts, proposed resolution R08-100 is awaiting approval as part of the consent agenda for the afternoon session. Now, when the road will actually open is anyone's guess!