About the town » Stafford, Stafford County, Virginia, United States

Stafford is a census-designated place (listed as Stafford Courthouse) in and the county seat of Stafford County in the northern part of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. The population as of the 2011 United States Census was 132,133. It lies 10 miles north of Fredericksburg, approximately 40 miles south of metropolitan Washington, D.C. , and about 60 miles north of Richmond, the Commonwealth capital (Connor, 2003). The Marine Corps Base Quantico is located north of the community. Stafford Courthouse is located at the intersections of U.S. Highway 1, and Courthouse Road. English sea captain, Samuel Argall abducted the Pamunkey princess, Pocahontas near this area on April 13, 1613 while she was residing with her Patawomeck husband, Kocoum in an attempt to secure some English prisoners for release and ammunitions held by her father. It occurred in the eastern part of this county, from where the colonists took her to a secondary English settlement, known as Henricus (or Henrico Town). The vicar, Alexander Whitaker converted Pocahontas to Christianity during her captivity. He renamed the princess "Rebecca" at her baptism. Rebecca married English colonist John Rolfe on April 5, 1614 in Jamestown.