Port Conway is an unincorporated community

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...

 on the north side of the Rappahannock River

Rappahannock River

The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length. It traverses the entire northern part of the state, from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the west, across the Piedmont, to the Chesapeake Bay, south of the Potomac River.An important river in American...

 in King George County

King George County, Virginia

As of the census of 2010, there were 23,584 people, 9,411 households, and 4,525 families residing in the county. The population density was 93 people per square mile . There were 6,820 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile...

, in the Northern Neck

Northern Neck

The Northern Neck is the northernmost of three peninsulas on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This peninsula is bounded by the Potomac River on the north and the Rappahannock River on the south. It encompasses the following Virginia counties: Lancaster,...

 of 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...

, in the United States

United States

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

. It is opposite Port Royal

Port Royal, Virginia

Port Royal is an incorporated town in Caroline County, Virginia, United States. The population was 170 at the 2000 census.Port Royal was established in the mid-17th century in the Colony of Virginia primary as a port on a navigable portion of the Rappahannock River for export of tobacco, Virginia's...

, which is on the south side of the river in Caroline County

Caroline County, Virginia

Caroline County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 28,545. Its county seat is Bowling Green. Caroline County is also home to The Meadow stables, the birthplace of the renowned racehorse Secretariat, winner of the 1973 Kentucky Derby, Preakness and...

.

James Madison

James Madison

James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...

, the fourth President of the United States

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

, was born in Port Conway on March 16, 1751, at Belle Grove

Belle Grove (Port Conway, Virginia)

Belle Grove is a historic plantation located on U.S. 301 in Port Conway, Virginia. The present plantation house was built in 1790.James Madison, the fourth President of the United States, was born on March 16, 1751, on Belle Grove plantation in an earlier house which is no longer in existence...

 plantation, the childhood home of his mother, Eleanor Rose "Nellie" Conway, the daughter of its owner, Francis Conway, for whom Port Conway was named.

On April 21, 1865, after assassinating President Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

, John Wilkes Booth

John Wilkes Booth

John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. Booth was a member of the prominent 19th century Booth theatrical family from Maryland and, by the 1860s, was a well-known actor...

 and his traveling companion David Herold

David Herold

David Edgar Herold was an accomplice of John Wilkes Booth in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. After guiding fellow conspirator Lewis Powell to the home of Secretary of State William H. Seward, whom Powell intended to kill, Herold fled and rendezvoused outside of Washington, D.C., with Booth...

, with Union cavalry in pursuit, crossed the Rappahannock here. The cavalry caught up with them at Garrett's Farm, south of Port Royal, where Herold surrendered and Booth was killed.

See also

• Emmanuel Episcopal Church (Port Conway, Virginia)
  Emmanuel Episcopal Church (Port Conway, Virginia)
  Emmanuel Episcopal Church is an historic church located on the west side of U.S. Route 301, just north of the Rappahannock River in Port Conway, Virginia, in the United States. Emmanuel Church and its historic graveyard are located in front of Belle Grove. In 1751, future President James Madison...
  
  
• Northern Neck George Washington Birthplace American Viticultural Area
  Northern Neck George Washington Birthplace AVA
  The Northern Neck George Washington Birthplace AVA is an American Viticultural Area in eastern portion of the state of Virginia. Wines made from grapes grown in Westmoreland, King George, Northumberland, Lancaster, and Richmond counties may use this appellation...
  
  .