Germantown is a historic unincorporated

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 rural community in Fauquier County

Fauquier County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 55,139 people, 19,842 households, and 15,139 families residing in the county. The population density was 85 people per square mile . There were 21,046 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile...

, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is the resting place of John Jacob Richter (also spelled Rector). He was buried there in 1729. It is located in and around current-day C. M. Crockett Park, which contains the popular local fishing destination of Germantown Lake. Chief Justice

Chief Justice

The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...

 John Marshall

John Marshall

John Marshall was the Chief Justice of the United States whose court opinions helped lay the basis for American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court of the United States a coequal branch of government along with the legislative and executive branches...

 was born in Germantown.

History

Many inhabitants from Germantown came from Germany, e.g. Siegen (east of Bonn). In 1718 twelve German emigrant families left the employ of Governor Alexander Spotswood

Alexander Spotswood

Alexander Spotswood was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Army and a noted Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. He is noted in Virginia and American history for a number of his projects as Governor, including his exploring beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains, his establishing what was perhaps the first...

 and the mining settlement of Germanna

Germanna

Germanna was a German settlement in the Colony of Virginia, settled in two waves, first in 1714 and then in 1717. Virginia Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood encouraged the immigration by advertising in Germany for miners to move to Virginia and establish a mining industry in the...

 for a 1805 acres (7 km²) parcel of land in modern southern Fauquier County. The parcel was divided equally between the settlers: Melchior Brumback, Joseph Coons, Harman Fishback, John Fishback, Peter Hitt, Jacob Holtzclaw, John Henery Hoffman, John Kemper, John Joseph Martin, Jacob Rector, John Spilman, Barry Brumbackily, and Tillman Weaver. All the homes were built on the southern side of Licking Run which flowed through each farm.

Each landowner also donated 10 areas to form a glebe

Glebe

Glebe Glebe Glebe (also known as Church furlong or parson's closes is an area of land within a manor and parish used to support a parish priest.-Medieval origins:...

 where the first church, parsonage, and school in Fauquier County were constructed. German Rolling Road was constructed by the settlers to enable them to reach the market of Falmouth

Falmouth, Virginia

Falmouth is an unincorporated community in Stafford County, Virginia, United States. Situated on the north bank of the Rappahannock River at the falls, the community is north of and opposite the city of Fredericksburg. Recognized by the U.S...

. A saw mill and a grist mill also operated in this town as well. The mill pond lies under Germantown Lake, named in honor of the settlement.

By the time of the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

 the prosperous settlers had all acquired other land and the settlement was defunct. Therefore, Germantown is sometimes called a lost German colony.

[Following paragraph refers to Jermantown, VA, just northwest of Fairfax, VA, and not the above community in Fauquier County].
On July 17, 1861, Germantown was briefly occupied by Union Army forces on their way to The Battle of Bull Run. The forces were commanded by Brigadier General Daniel Tyler, and included Colonel William Tecumseh Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...

. Looting of homes occurred, as well as the slaughter of farm animals. A Connecticut soldier described it at that time as "two houses, one pigsty, three barns, and a pump". Two Confederate soldiers were laid up with measles. Asked why they had joined the rebel cause, one of them replied: "Don't know. Think it right to fight against invasion". [3]

Sources

Germantown. Daine Gulick. The Memorial Foundation of the Germanna Colonies in Virginia, Inc.. Fauquier County Parks and Receation. 1993.
Marker