Fredericksburg, Virginia

File:Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park Fredericksburg-map-01(1).jpg

The independent city of Fredericksburg was named in 1728 for Frederick, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of King George II. The designation coincided with the Virginia General Assembly’s effort to establish a formal trading center at the fall line of the Rappahannock River a transitional zone where the river ceased to be navigable for larger vessels. Prior to English colonization, the area was inhabited by Algonquian-speaking tribes affiliated with the Powhatan Confederacy and later became a frontier for inland expansion from the Tidewater region.{{cite web|url=https://www.fredericksburgva.gov/|title=Fredericksburg, VA – Official Website |website=fredericksburgva.gov}}{{citation| last=Swanton| first=John R.| title=The Indian Tribes of North America| publisher=Smithsonian Institution| year=1952| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vtHI5pkJOGMC| isbn=0-8063-1730-2| pages=61–62| oclc= 52230544}} The selection of the site reflected practical logistics. Positioned at the head of navigation, Fredericksburg developed into a port town for exporting tobacco and receiving manufactured goods. Its function was tied to the movement of agricultural products rather than urban planning or centralized governance. The presence of large landholdings nearby, such as Ferry Farm purchased in 1738 by Augustine Washington aligned with the town’s role as a local hub.{{cite web |url=http://kenmore.org/genealogy/washington/augustine.html |title=Augustine Washington |publisher=The George Washington Foundation |website=kenmore.org |access-date=April 18, 2017 |quote=In 1738, a 150-acre property just across the Rappahannock River from the fledgling town of Fredericksburg ... was sold ... to Augustine who moved the family there |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410072157/http://www.kenmore.org/genealogy/washington/augustine.html |archive-date=April 10, 2017 |url-status=dead }} During the colonial period, the town played a vital role in Virginia’s economy and political life. It was home to many prominent families, including the Washingtons at George Washington's boyhood home, Ferry Farm Historic Site which lies just across the river from the city of Fredericksburg.George Washington: A Life by Willard Stearne Randall (1997). New York: Henry Holt and Company, Inc. page 440. {{ISBN|0-8050-5992-X}} Fredericksburg was incorporated as a town in 1781 and became an independent city in 1879, a legal status retained under Virginia’s city-county separation framework. The city witnessed significant destruction during the American Civil War, particularly during the Battle of Fredericksburg in 1862, which caused long-term disruption to its infrastructure and population.[https://lsupress.org/books/detail/john-washington-s-civil-war/ John Washington's Civil War, ed. Crandall Shifflett, Louisiana State University Press, 2008]

File:Fredericksburg Area Map.pngDespite being an independent city , the broader “Fredericksburg area" commonly includes nearby communities such Falmouth , Southern Gateway , Brookefield , Leavells, Chancellor, and Massaponax which lie outside of the city of Fredericksburg’s official boundaries in both unincorporated Spotsylvania and Stafford counties. These areas use Fredericksburg mailing addresses and share Fredericksburg ZIP codes like 22405 , 22406, 22407 , and 22408, despite being governed separately. This shared address also comes with development and transportation networks that are integrated with the city of Fredericksburg. The proximity to key transit routes like Interstate 95, US Route 1, US Route 17, and VA Route 3 highlights the regions importance in terms of its location since its origins {{Cite news |first=Karen |last=Owen |title=Are we Northern Virginia? |url=http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/052008/05112008/376458 |work=The Free Lance–Star |date=May 11, 2008 |access-date=October 24, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120527042144/http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/052008/05112008/376458 |archive-date=May 27, 2012 }}

At the time of European encounter, the indigenous inhabitants of the area that became Fredericksburg were a Siouan-speaking tribe called the Manahoac. English colonists recorded the name of the Manahoac village there as Mahaskahod.{{citation| last=Swanton| first=John R.| title=The Indian Tribes of North America| publisher=Smithsonian Institution| year=1952| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vtHI5pkJOGMC| isbn=0-8063-1730-2| pages=61–62| oclc= 52230544}} Siouan tribes occupied much of the area of the Piedmont. The Tidewater areas of the coastal plain had primarily Algonquian-speaking tribes making up the Powhatan Confederacy.

Located on the Rappahannock River near the head of navigation at the fall line, Fredericksburg developed as the frontier of colonial Virginia shifted west from the coastal plain into the Piedmont. The land on which the city was founded was part of a tract patented in 1671. The Virginia General Assembly established a fort on the Rappahannock in 1676, just downriver of the present-day city. In 1714, Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood sponsored a German settlement called Germanna on the Rapidan River, a tributary of the Rappahannock upstream from the future site of the city. In 1716, he led an exploratory expedition westward over the Blue Ridge Mountains.

As interest in the frontier grew, the colonial assembly formed Spotsylvania County in 1720, named after Royal Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood. In 1728, Fredericksburg was declared a port for the county, of which it was then a part. Named for Frederick, Prince of Wales,{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n120 131]}} son of King George II, the colonial town named its streets after the members of the royal family. The county court was moved to Fredericksburg in 1732. Hence, the community served as county seat until 1780. The court was then moved to Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia – closer to the geographical center of Spotsylvania County. In 1781, Fredericksburg was incorporated as a town with its own court, council, and mayor. It received its charter as an independent city in 1879 and under Virginia law, was separated from Spotsylvania County. The city adopted its present city manager/council form of government in 1911.

The city has close associations with George Washington, whose family in 1738 moved to Ferry Farm in Stafford County near the Rappahannock River opposite Fredericksburg. Washington's mother, Mary, later moved to the city, and his sister Betty lived at Kenmore, a plantation house then outside the city. Several citizens played active roles during the American Revolution (1763–1781). For example, a number of locals signed the Leedstown Resolves, which formed an association to protest the Stamp Act in the 1760s.{{cite web |title=The Leedstown Resolves (also known as the Westmoreland Resolves) |date=February 27, 1766 |work=Road to Revolution: Northern Neck Roads and Waterways |department=Part of a lesson plan |url=https://edspace.american.edu/menokin/wp-content/uploads/sites/125/2015/04/Leedstown-Resolves.pdf |publisher=The Menokin Foundation |access-date=January 24, 2019 |via=American University EdSpace |archive-date=January 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125183146/https://edspace.american.edu/menokin/wp-content/uploads/sites/125/2015/04/Leedstown-Resolves.pdf |url-status=dead }} In the 1770s, Fielding Lewis, owner of Kenmore Plantation and brother-in-law to George Washington, also operated an arms factory for the Continental Army. Other significant early residents include the Revolutionary War generals Hugh Mercer and George Weedon, naval war hero John Paul Jones, and future U.S. president James Monroe. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in Fredericksburg.{{cite web |url=https://cas.umw.edu/cprd/jefferson-lecture-on-religious-freedom/ |title=Jefferson Lecture on Religious Freedom |author= |date=2017 |website=University of Mary Washington |access-date=August 21, 2024 |quote=In January of 1777, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, Thomas Jefferson met with a small group to draft what would become the Bill to Establish Religious Freedom in Virginia.}}

File:Fredericksburg1862.jpg. To the right is the steeple of Fredericksburg Baptist Church, and toward the center is the tower of St. George's Church. To the left are two mill buildings in the manufacturing district.]]

File:Fredericksburg Rail Bridge 2017.jpg rail bridge over the Rappahannock River in 2017]]

During the 19th century, mills continued to be developed along the Rappahannock River, which provided water power. There were mills for grinding flour, processing and weaving cotton, and other manufacturing. Fredericksburg sought to maintain its sphere of trade, but with limited success. It promoted the development of a canal on the Rappahannock and construction of a turnpike and plank road to bind the interior country to the market town. By 1837, a north–south railroad, which became the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad, linked the town to Richmond, the state capital. A much-needed railroad joining the town to the West's arming region was not finished until after the Civil War.

During the Civil War, Fredericksburg was strategically important because of its port location midway between Washington and Richmond, the opposing capitals of the Union and the Confederacy. During the Battle of Fredericksburg from December 11–15, 1862, the town sustained significant damage from bombardment and looting by the Union forces.

During that engagement, nearly 10,000 enslaved people left area plantations and city households to gain freedom by crossing the Rappahannock River to Stafford County and join the Union lines, part of a movement by enslaved people throughout the South in wartime.[http://rrhthistory.umwblogs.org/trail-of-freedom/#comment-11452 "Trail of Freedom"], Rappahannock River Heritage Trail, University of Mary Washington blog John Washington, a literate enslaved person who shortly crossed to freedom, wrote later about people watching the approach of Union troops across the river from Fredericksburg: "No one could be seen on the street but the colored people. and every one of them seemed to be in the best of humors."[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/05/books/05grimes.html "Freedom Just Ahead: The War Within the Civil War"], New York Times, December 5, 2007; accessed November 2, 2017

The Second Battle of Fredericksburg was fought in and around the town on May 3, 1863, in connection with the Chancellorsville campaign (April 27, 1863 – May 6, 1863). The battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House were fought nearby in May 1864. The Washington Woolen Mill, a large three-story building, was converted to use as a hospital during the war.

After the war, Fredericksburg recovered its former position as a center of local trade and slowly grew beyond its prewar boundaries. Neither the city of Fredericksburg nor the surrounding counties reached the 1860 level of population again until well into the 20th century. After the war, many freedmen moved to Richmond and Petersburg, where there had been established free black communities before the war, and there was more work.

In the early 20th century, as the Jim Crow era continued in the South, there was widespread population movement. Many African-Americans left rural areas of the South for work and other opportunities in industrial cities of the North and Midwest in the Great Migration. Some settled in Washington, D.C., where there were more opportunities, or further north.

War-related buildup at defense facilities for World War II added to the area's population in the 1940s. The 1960s brought renewed growth and development, fueled by the construction of Interstate 95, which eased commuting and trade. By the 1970s, the city and the area had become a bedroom community for jobs in Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. Headquarters agencies, lobbyists, consultants, defense and government contractors, and a range of other businesses were part of the regional economy influenced by the U.S. government. The city also benefited from its relative proximity to four military installations: the United States Marine Corps' Quantico Base, the U.S. Army's Fort Belvoir, the U.S. Navy's Dahlgren Surface Weapons Base, and the Virginia National Guard's Fort A.P. Hill.

The University of Mary Washington was founded in Fredericksburg in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women, to train white women for teaching K-12 and industrial skills. Adopting the name of Mary Washington College in 1938, the college was for many years associated with the University of Virginia (then limited to white men) as a women's liberal arts college. The college officially desegregated in 1964. The college became independent of the University of Virginia and began to accept men in 1970. In 2004, the college changed its name from Mary Washington College to the University of Mary Washington. Two additional campuses for graduate and professional studies and education and research are located in Stafford County and in King George County, respectively.

Musician Link Wray invented the power chord of modern rock guitar in Fredericksburg in 1958 during an improvisation of the instrumental piece "Rumble", a single subsequently released by Wray & His Ray Men.{{Cite news| first=Richard |last=Harrington |title=Prophet of the Rock Guitar |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112101625.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 22, 2005 |access-date=October 24, 2008}} This innovation became widely used by rock guitarists. In the early 21st century, the local music scene includes a wide variety of genres.

A commuter rail line – the Virginia Railway Express – was established in the 1980s, providing passage to Washington, D.C. and other cities north of Fredericksburg.

The city has become the regional healthcare center for the area. Retail, real estate, and other commercial growth exploded in the early 21st century, eventually slowing during the Great Recession beginning in 2007. Hispanic growth skyrocketed from 2011 to 2020, with Chancellor Green in nearby Spotsylvania County becoming a local enclave.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

{{Location map+ | Southern Northern Virginia

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of {{convert|27.2|sqkm|order=flip}}, {{convert|27.0|sqkm|order=flip}} of which is land and {{convert|0.2|sqkm|order=flip|1}}, or 0.67%, of which is water.{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}} The city is part of the boundary between the Piedmont and Tidewater regions, and as such is located on the fall line, as evident on the Rappahannock River. US 1, US 17, and I-95 all pass through the city, which is located {{convert|53|mi}} south of downtown Washington, D.C.

The city is bounded on the north and east by the Rappahannock River; across the river is Stafford County. The city is bounded on the south and west by Spotsylvania County.

Fredericksburg has a four-season humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with cool winters and hot, humid summers. Daytime temperatures for much of the year average slightly higher than in Washington, D.C. due to the southerly aspect, although the inland location and distance from the urban heat island present in the nation's capital make for significantly cooler low temperatures.

{{Weather box

|location = Fredericksburg, Virginia (downtown, 1991−2020 normals, extremes 1995–present)

|single line = Y

|Jan record high F = 82

|Feb record high F = 80

|Mar record high F = 90

|Apr record high F = 95

|May record high F = 96

|Jun record high F = 102

|Jul record high F = 102

|Aug record high F = 103

|Sep record high F = 98

|Oct record high F = 96

|Nov record high F = 83

|Dec record high F = 80

|year record high F = 103

|Jan high F = 45.9

|Feb high F = 49.3

|Mar high F = 57.0

|Apr high F = 68.5

|May high F = 76.1

|Jun high F = 84.3

|Jul high F = 88.5

|Aug high F = 86.6

|Sep high F = 80.3

|Oct high F = 70.0

|Nov high F = 58.9

|Dec high F = 50.0

|year high F = 67.9

|Jan mean F = 35.5

|Feb mean F = 38.1

|Mar mean F = 45.3

|Apr mean F = 56.1

|May mean F = 64.6

|Jun mean F = 73.6

|Jul mean F = 78.1

|Aug mean F = 76.3

|Sep mean F = 69.6

|Oct mean F = 58.1

|Nov mean F = 47.1

|Dec mean F = 39.2

|year mean F = 56.8

|Jan low F = 25.1

|Feb low F = 26.9

|Mar low F = 33.5

|Apr low F = 43.6

|May low F = 53.2

|Jun low F = 62.9

|Jul low F = 67.6

|Aug low F = 65.9

|Sep low F = 58.9

|Oct low F = 46.2

|Nov low F = 35.2

|Dec low F = 28.3

|year low F = 45.6

|Jan record low F = −4

|Feb record low F = −8

|Mar record low F = 5

|Apr record low F = 20

|May record low F = 32

|Jun record low F = 45

|Jul record low F = 53

|Aug record low F = 51

|Sep record low F = 42

|Oct record low F = 28

|Nov record low F = 17

|Dec record low F = 7

|year record low F = -8

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 2.72

|Feb precipitation inch = 2.50

|Mar precipitation inch = 3.96

|Apr precipitation inch = 3.37

|May precipitation inch = 4.19

|Jun precipitation inch = 3.88

|Jul precipitation inch = 4.82

|Aug precipitation inch = 2.99

|Sep precipitation inch = 4.54

|Oct precipitation inch = 3.72

|Nov precipitation inch = 3.52

|Dec precipitation inch = 3.19

|year precipitation inch = 43.40

|Jan snow inch = 3.7

|Feb snow inch = 5.2

|Mar snow inch = 0.1

|Apr snow inch = 0.0

|May snow inch = 0.0

|Jun snow inch = 0.0

|Jul snow inch = 0.0

|Aug snow inch = 0.0

|Sep snow inch = 0.0

|Oct snow inch = 0.0

|Nov snow inch = 0.0

|Dec snow inch = 2.3

|year snow inch = 11.3

|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in

|Jan precipitation days = 9.2

|Feb precipitation days = 7.2

|Mar precipitation days = 9.4

|Apr precipitation days = 9.7

|May precipitation days = 12.8

|Jun precipitation days = 10.5

|Jul precipitation days = 9.8

|Aug precipitation days = 9.7

|Sep precipitation days = 8.3

|Oct precipitation days = 8.9

|Nov precipitation days = 8.5

|Dec precipitation days = 9.0

|year precipitation days = 113.0

|unit snow days = 0.1 in

|Jan snow days = 1.4

|Feb snow days = 1.1

|Mar snow days = 0.3

|Apr snow days = 0.0

|May snow days = 0.0

|Jun snow days = 0.0

|Jul snow days = 0.0

|Aug snow days = 0.0

|Sep snow days = 0.0

|Oct snow days = 0.0

|Nov snow days = 0.0

|Dec snow days = 0.5

|year snow days = 3.3

| source 1 = NOAA

{{cite web

| url = https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=lwx

| title = NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| access-date = July 3, 2021}}

{{cite web

| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USC00443204&format=pdf

| title = Station: Fredericksburg Sweage, VA

| work = U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991–2020)

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| access-date = July 3, 2021}}

|date=November 2013}}

{{US Census population

|1830= 3308

|1840= 3974

|1850= 4061

|1860= 5022

|1870= 4046

|1880= 5010

|1890= 4528

|1900= 5068

|1910= 5874

|1920= 5882

|1930= 6819

|1940= 10066

|1950= 12158

|1960= 13639

|1970= 14450

|1980= 15322

|1990= 19027

|2000= 19279

|2010= 24286

|2020= 27982

|align-fn=center

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html|title=Census of Population and Housing from 1790 to 2000|publisher=US Census Bureau|access-date=January 24, 2022}}
1790–1960{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=January 6, 2014}} 1900–1990{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/va190090.txt|title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=January 6, 2014}}
1990–2000{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=January 6, 2014}} 2010–2020{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/2020-population-and-housing-state-data.html|title=2020 Population and Housing State Data|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 25, 2021}}

}}

Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

As of the census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=May 14, 2011 |title=U.S. Census website }} of 2020, there were about 29,000 people, 8,102 households, and 3,925 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|1833|PD/sqmi}}. There were 8,888 housing units at an average density of {{convert|845|/sqmi}}. The racial makeup of the city was 54% White, 21% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 4.74 Asian, 0.067 Pacific Islander, 2.56% from other races, and 1.95% from two or more races.12% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 8,102 households, out of which 21.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.8% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.6% were non-families. 39.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 17.8% under the age of 18, 23.8% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 18.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.4 males.

According to data from the US Census, the median household income in the city is $83,445 and the median income for a family is $121,781.{{cite web |title=United States Census Bureau |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2022.S1901?g=050XX00US51630 |publisher=American Community Survey |access-date=April 14, 2024}} The per capita income for the city is $43,063. 18% of the population is below the poverty line.{{cite web |title=United States Census Bureau |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/fredericksburgcityvirginia,VA/PST045222 |publisher=US Census |access-date=April 14, 2024}}

The Fredericksburg Police Department{{Cite web|url=https://www.fredericksburgva.gov/index.aspx?nid=428|title=Fredericksburg, VA – Official Website – Police|website=fredericksburgva.gov|language=en|access-date=March 2, 2018}} tracks crime information under the state-level system of the [https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/ucr Uniform Crime Reporting] program.The Uniform Crime Reporting program was developed and is administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It provides a nationwide view of crime based on the submission of statistical data from law enforcement agencies across the country. The crime information is collected under the [http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/faqs.htm National Incident Based Reporting System] format Per state code, the central repository for crime statistics rests with the Department of State Police, which compiles data from all of the participating agencies into an [http://www.vsp.state.va.us/Crime_in_Virginia.shtm annual publication] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111125211637/http://www.vsp.state.va.us/Crime_in_Virginia.shtm |date=November 25, 2011 }}.{{cite web|url=http://www.vsp.virginia.gov/Crime_in_Virginia.shtm|title=Virginia State Police – Crime in Virginia Publication|website=vsp.virginia.gov}}

{{see also|List of mayors of Fredericksburg, Virginia}}

By long-standing tradition (dating back to the Federal Hatch Act of 1939, which prohibited government employees from participating in partisan politics), local elections in Fredericksburg are officially non-partisan. Neither the mayoral and council elections nor local constitutional positions (e.g. sheriff, Commissioner of Revenue, Commonwealth Attorney) list candidates with a party label.

{{PresHead|place=Fredericksburg, Virginia|source={{cite web|author=David Leip |url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS |title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections |publisher=Uselectionatlas.org |access-date=December 8, 2020}}}}

{{PresRow|2024|Democratic|4,480|8,760|338|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|2020|Democratic|4,037|8,517|308|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|2016|Democratic|3,744|6,707|806|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|2012|Democratic|4,060|7,131|246|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|2008|Democratic|3,413|6,155|109|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|2004|Democratic|3,390|4,085|67|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|2000|Democratic|2,935|3,360|386|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|2,579|3,215|370|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|2,819|3,266|794|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1988|Republican|3,401|2,683|70|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1984|Republican|3,500|2,439|34|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1980|Republican|2,502|2,174|292|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|2,527|2,550|73|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1972|Republican|3,211|1,702|63|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1968|Republican|2,142|2,036|890|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|1,511|2,410|7|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1960|Republican|1,566|1,326|23|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1956|Republican|1,672|934|169|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1952|Republican|1,536|970|4|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|810|816|305|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|698|1,092|3|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|522|1,037|6|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|411|944|2|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|366|812|13|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1928|Republican|697|594|0|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|223|558|28|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1920|Democratic|299|581|13|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|173|380|1|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|51|414|101|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1908|Democratic|252|285|2|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1904|Democratic|124|352|4|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1900|Democratic|353|587|4|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1896|Democratic|388|533|16|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1892|Democratic|311|655|9|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1888|Democratic|409|595|0|Virginia}}

{{PresRow|1884|Democratic|402|562|3|Virginia}}

{{PresFoot|1880|Democratic|272|523|0|Virginia}}

File:Fredericksburg City Hall 2017.jpg

Like the rest of Northern Virginia, Fredericksburg has trended strongly Democratic in the early 21st century. In the 2008 presidential election, voters in Fredericksburg gave Barack Obama a total of 63.6% of the vote.{{cite web|url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|website=uselectionatlas.org}} Only Arlington County, Alexandria, and Falls Church in Northern Virginia had a higher percentage of votes for Obama.{{cite news|title=2008 Presidential Election Results By County |url=http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/map.html |work=The New York Times |date=December 9, 2008 |access-date=April 6, 2012}} No Republican presidential candidate has carried Fredericksburg since George H. W. Bush did so in 1988. In the 2016 presidential election, then-candidate Donald Trump garnered the lowest percentage of the city's vote for any Republican candidate since 1936; about two percent fewer votes were garnered in 2020.

Fredericksburg operates with a council-manager government, with Kerry Devine as the current mayor, first elected in 2024.

The following is the current makeup of City Council.{{Cite web|url=https://fredericksburgva.gov/263/Council-Members|title=Council Members | Fredericksburg, VA – Official Website}}

{{see also|National Register of Historic Places listings in Fredericksburg, Virginia}}

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = Fredericksburg Historic District

| nrhp_type = hd | nocat = yes

| designated_other1 = Virginia Landmarks Register

| designated_other1_date = March 2, 1971{{cite web|title=Virginia Landmarks Register|url=http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/register_counties_cities.htm|publisher=Virginia Department of Historic Resources|access-date=March 19, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921053819/http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/register_counties_cities.htm|archive-date=September 21, 2013|url-status=dead}}

| designated_other1_number = 111-0132

| designated_other1_num_position = bottom

| image = Presbyterian church fredericksburg VA.jpg

| caption =

| location= Roughly bounded by Rappahannock River, Hazel Run, Prince Edward and Canal Sts.,
Fredericksburg, Virginia

| added = September 22, 1971

| area = {{convert|200|acre}}

| governing_body =

| refnum = 71001053{{NRISref|version=2010a|refnum=71001053|dateform=mdy}}

}}

File:Fredericksburg, VA, Museum IMG 4007.JPG

Image:St. George's Episcopal Ch., Fredericksburg, VA IMG 4008.JPG in downtown Fredericksburg was established in 1720.]]

File:Kenmore Plantation 2006.jpg

Despite recent decades of suburban growth, reminders of the area's past abound. The 40-block Fredericksburg Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, embraces the city's downtown area and contains more than 350 buildings and locations dating to the 18th and 19th centuries, including the Fredericksburg Town Hall and Market Square, Lewis Store, and former site of the Slave Auction Block.

Within the historic district, four 18th-century historic sites have been managed by the "Washington Heritage Museums": the Mary Washington House, where George Washington's mother lived in her final years; the late 18th-century Rising Sun Tavern, and the Hugh Mercer Apothecary Shop (the fourth, the St. James House (built 1768), is open to the public only during Historic Garden Week). Important public buildings include the 1852 courthouse designed by James Renwick, whose works include the Smithsonian Institution's castle building in Washington and St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, and the 1816 town hall and market house, now operated as the Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center. Another site of interest is St. George's Church. The James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library is located on the site where Monroe practiced law from 1786 to 1788. The museum is housed in a building made up of three individual structures, constructed at different times, beginning in 1816.

Near the historic district is the Lewis Plantation, later named Kenmore, the plantation home of George Washington's sister Betty and her husband, Fielding Lewis.

Civil War battles are commemorated in Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. Formed by an act of Congress in 1927, the national military park preserves portions of the battlefields of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Court House. The Fredericksburg National Cemetery, also part of the park, was developed by the federal government after the war on Marye's Heights on the Fredericksburg battlefield. It contains more than 15,000 Union burials from the area's battlefields. Many unidentified soldiers were buried in mass graves.

Among the 10,000 slaves crossing the Rappahannock for freedom with the Union in 1862 was John Washington. A literate slave from Fredericksburg, he settled in New York and wrote an account of the wartime events several years later. His manuscript was discovered in the 1990s. It was published as the basis of two books, David W. Blight's A Slave No More (2007), and John Washington's Civil War: A Slave Narrative (2008), edited by Crandall Shifflett.[https://lsupress.org/books/detail/john-washington-s-civil-war/ John Washington's Civil War, ed. Crandall Shifflett, Louisiana State University Press, 2008] In 2010, the National Park Service, which manages the battlefield, Stafford County, and the City of Fredericksburg worked collaboratively to post new historical markers on either side of the Rappahannock River as part of a "Freedom Trail" to mark this exodus.

Notable 20th-century sites and structures include the campus of the University of Mary Washington (begun in 1908), and Carl's Ice Cream, an Art Moderne roadside ice cream stand, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Nearby points of interest include Ferry Farm historic site across the Rapahannock in Stafford County where Washington spent his boyhood, and the George Washington Birthplace National Monument, located {{convert|38| miles}} to the east in Westmoreland County on the Northern Neck. The historic community of Falmouth lies across the Rappahannock to the north and includes the historic house Belmont, home of American Impressionist artist Gari Melchers.

Public parks run by the city include:{{cite web|title=map of parks in Fredericksburg VA|url=http://www.fredericksburgva.gov/uploadedFiles/Parks_Recreation_and_Public_Facilities/GeneralContent/PRSites_Sept08%20MAP.pdf|publisher=Fredericksburg City Parks and Recreation|access-date=July 28, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622000552/http://fredericksburgva.gov/uploadedFiles/Parks_Recreation_and_Public_Facilities/GeneralContent/PRSites_Sept08%20MAP.pdf|archive-date=June 22, 2011}}

• Old Mill Park
• Alum Spring Park{{cite web |url=http://www.historypoint.org/columns2.asp?column_id=1094&column_type=hpfeature |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041113090710/http://historypoint.org/columns2.asp?column_id=1094&column_type=hpfeature |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 13, 2004 |date=October 28, 2004 |title=Alum Spring Park: A Walk Through History |publisher=The Central Rappahannock Regional Library |website=Historypoint.org |first=Barbara |last=Crookshanks }}
• Hurkamp Park
• Dixon Park

Central Rappahannock Regional Library

File:Monroe Hall UMW.jpg]]

The Fredericksburg City Public Schools are run independently of the surrounding counties. The public primary and secondary schools include:{{cite web|title=homepage|url=http://www.cityschools.com/|publisher=Fredericksburg City Public Schools|access-date=July 28, 2011|archive-date=July 23, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723061556/http://www.cityschools.com/|url-status=dead}}

• James Monroe High School
• Walker-Grant Middle School
• Hugh Mercer Elementary School
• Lafayette Elementary School
• Gladys West Elementary School (opening in 2025){{cite web|title=Trailblazing 'figure' officially on the map at city elementary school|date=August 6, 2024 |url=https://www.fredericksburgfreepress.com/2024/08/05/trailblazing-figure-officially-on-the-map-at-city-elementary-school/|publisher=Fredericksburg Free Press|access-date=August 6, 2024}}

Private schools include:

• Fredericksburg Academy
• Fredericksburg Christian School
• Saint Michael the Archangel High School
• Lighthouse Academy

The University of Mary Washington, established in 1908 and opened in 1911, is a four-year public university within the city.

Germanna Community College, established in 1970, is a public two-year program with a campus in Fredericksburg.

Fredericksburg's daily newspaper is The Free Lance–Star. The Free Lance was first published in 1885, and competed with two twice-weekly papers in the city during the late 19th century, the Fredericksburg News and The Virginia Star. While the News folded in 1884, the Star moved to daily publication in 1893. In 1900, the two companies merged, with both newspapers continuing publication until 1926, when they merged as a single daily newspaper under the current title. Until June 19, 2014, the Free Lance–Star was owned and operated by members of the Rowe family of Fredericksburg. At that time, Sandton Capital Partners purchased the paper. On December 31, 2015, the newspaper and associated website were purchased by Berkshire Hathaway's BH Media Group.{{cite web | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-31/berkshire-hathaway-buys-newspaper-in-fredericksburg-virginia | title=Berkshire Hathaway Buys Newspaper in Fredericksburg, Virginia | work=Bloomberg News | date=December 31, 2015 | access-date=January 4, 2016}} Fredericksburg Today, an online hyperlocal news site began operation following the 2014 bankruptcy of The Free Lance–Star.{{cite web | url=http://potomaclocal.com/2014/01/30/patch-lays-hundreds-shuttered-editor-start-indie-news-site/ | title=Patch Lays off Hundreds, Shuttered Editor to Start Indie News Site | work=Potomac Local News | date=January 30, 2014 | access-date=January 4, 2016}} In 2024, Fredericksburg Today was replaced by The Fredericksburg Free Press, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to providing impartial and nonpartisan digital news to the Fredericksburg region.{{cite news |last=Kiser |first=Uriah |date=February 19, 2024 |title=Fredericksburg Free Press launches with ribbon-cutting ceremony, promises unbiased local news coverage |url=https://www.potomaclocal.com/2024/02/19/fredericksburg-free-press-launches-with-ribbon-cutting-ceremony-promises-unbiased-local-news-coverage/ |work=Potomac Local News |access-date=February 27, 2024}}{{cite news |last=Muldrow |first=Chris |date=February 18, 2024 |title=From the Publisher: Fredericksburg Free Press taking over Fredericksburg Today |url=https://www.fredericksburgfreepress.com/2024/02/18/from-the-publisher-fredericksburg-free-press-taking-over-fredricksburg-today/ |work=Fredericksburg Free Press |access-date=February 27, 2024}}

Fredericksburg and the nearby region have several radio stations, including (on the FM dial) WQIQ (88.3, "Radio IQ", public radio, licensed to nearby Spotsylvania), WLJV (89.5, contemporary Christian), WPER (90.5, Christian), WFLS (93.3, country), WGRQ (95.9, "SuperHits", classic hits, licensed to nearby Fairview Beach), WWUZ (96.9, classic rock, licensed to nearby Bowling Green), WVBX (99.3, contemporary hit radio, licensed to nearby Spotsylvania), WBQB ("B-101.5", adult contemporary) and WGRX ("Thunder 104.5", country, licensed to nearby Falmouth). Fredericksburg AM stations include WFVA (1230, news and talk) and WNTX (1350, talk, news, and sports). WGRQ and WGRX are owned locally by Telemedia Broadcasting. WFLS, WWUZ, WVBX, and WNTX are owned by Alpha Media.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}

In 2001, the Arbitron media service began listing the Fredericksburg area as a nationally rated radio market.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}} As of the fall of 2014, the area ranked 146th out of 272 markets surveyed, with a total market population of more than 325,000. Large broadcast companies like Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Broadcasting are not active in the local market; almost all of its stations remain locally or regionally owned.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}

In television, Fredericksburg is part of the Washington market. One local television station, NBC affiliate WHFV, was briefly on the air in the 1970s.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}

Studio Ironcat, A small publishing company based in Fredericksburg, Virginia, dedicated to publication of manga and later, Amerimanga.{{cite web | url=http://www.abcb.com/ency/s/stu_iron.htm | title=The Anime Encyclopædia - Studio Ironcat LLC }}{{cite web | url=https://fredericksburg.com/local/studio-ironcat-has-international-following/article_9a51a83c-ae82-520c-8215-7cc6ea9f0755.html | title=Studio Ironcat has international following | date=August 31, 2003 }}

The Fredericksburg Nationals minor league baseball team began play at Virginia Credit Union Stadium in 2021.{{cite news |title=FredNats Enjoy Warm Welcome, but Fall Short to Shorebirds |url=https://www.milb.com/fredericksburg/news/frednats-enjoy-warm-welcome-but-fall-short-to-shorebirds |access-date=May 13, 2021 |work=Fredericksburg Nationals |publisher=Minor League Baseball |date=May 12, 2021}}

Sports at the secondary education level are run through the Virginia High School League. On the collegiate level are the University of Mary Washington Eagles. Other amateur athletics include Fredericksburg FC of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL); and the Rappahannock Rugby Football Club, a senior men's and women's rugby club competing in Division II (men) and Division III (women) of the Capital Rugby Union.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}

File:2019-06-24 11 22 41 View south along Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 17 from the overpass for Fall Hill Avenue in Fredericksburg, Virginia.jpg and US 17 in Fredericksburg]]

Fredericksburg is traversed by a series of rural and suburban four-lane highways and a multitude of small, two-lane roads. The primary highway serving Fredericksburg is Interstate 95, which connects northward to Washington, D.C. and southward to Richmond, Virginia. Among the major arterial roads is U.S. Route 17, providing northwest–southeast transportation across the region. Through Fredericksburg, I-95 and US 17 are concurrent, though a local business route on the latter provides local access to downtown. Route 3 (Plank Road) is a major east–west route that connects downtown Fredericksburg (via the Blue and Gray Parkway bypass), southern Stafford and King George counties, and Route 301 to the east with the large shopping centers, Spotsylvania Town Center and Central Park. To the west, Route 3 reaches Culpeper, where it meets Route 29 and Route 15.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}

Image:Fredericksburg Amtrak station.jpg, formerly of the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad]]

Most of Fredericksburg's traffic flow is to or from the north (Washington, D.C. metropolitan area) during peak commuting hours, primarily via I-95 and U.S. Route 1. The Route 1 bridge over the Rappahannock River is often a traffic bottleneck, and Route 3 has become increasingly congested as residential development grows and as the location of major regional shopping centers.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}}

As an alternative to I-95, some commuters use the Virginia Railway Express rail service to Washington. Long-distance rail service to the north is available on Amtrak's Northeast Regional trains.{{cite magazine|last=Hamlin|first=George W|title=Hot spot: Fredericksburg, Va.|magazine=Trains|publisher=Kalmbach Media|date=September 2020|pages=56–57}} Long-distance rail service to the south is provided by Amtrak's Silver Meteor, Carolinian, Palmetto and Piedmont trains{{cite web|url=https://www.railpassengers.org/site/assets/files/20928/silver-service-carolinian-palmetto_3_13.pdf|title=Amtrak's Silver Service-Carolinian-Palmetto}}

Fredericksburg Regional Transit (FRED) is a bus service that started in 1996 in Fredericksburg and serves most area communities, retail shopping centers, two VRE stations, and downtown Fredericksburg.{{Cite web |url=http://www.drpt.virginia.gov/media/2337/fredericksburg-tdp.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.drpt.virginia.gov/media/2337/fredericksburg-tdp.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live |title=Fredericksburg Regional Transit – Transit Development Plant FY 2017 – FY 2022 |date=May 2017 |website=Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation |access-date=March 25, 2019 }}

Four major airports serve Fredericksburg and the surrounding area. Reagan National and Dulles International Airports are to the north within Virginia. Beyond them to the northeast is Baltimore/Washington International Airport in Maryland, and Richmond International Airport is south of Fredericksburg.

File:trenches petersburg.jpg soldiers of 6th Corps, Army of the Potomac, in trenches before storming Marye's Heights at the Second Battle of Fredericksburg during the Chancellorsville campaign, May 1863]]

File:Civil-war-035.jpg, May 19, 1864]]

Image:Downtown Fredericksburg, VA IMG 4012.JPG

Image:James Monroe Museum, Fredericksburg, VA IMG 4002.JPG

{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|

• Lewis Craig (brother of Elijah Craig), Baptist preacher imprisoned for religious freedom issues before the American Revolution, leader of The Travelling Church that migrated to Kentucky (see History of Baptists in Kentucky){{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19671118&id=uc1NAAAAIBAJ&pg=6038,4648029 |title=For Area Baptists: The First Hundred Years Were the Hardest |newspaper=The Free Lance-Star |date=November 8, 1967 |page=A-3 |access-date=July 1, 2016 |volume=83 |number=272 |department=Town & County }}
• Henry Crist, former Congressman from Kentucky{{CongBio|C000910|inline=yes}}
• Maria I. Johnston, author and editor{{cite book |last1=Willard |first1=Frances Elizabeth |author1-link=Frances Willard |last2=Livermore |first2=Mary Ashton Rice |author2-link=Mary Livermore |title=A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Woman_of_the_Century/Maria_I._Johnston |year=1893 |pages=423–24 |publisher=Charles Wells Moulton |chapter=JOHNSTON, Mrs. Maria I. }} {{Source-attribution}}
• John Paul Jones, American naval commander{{cite web |url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/john-paul-jones-wins-in-english-waters |title=John Paul Jones wins in English waters |access-date=April 18, 2017 |website=history.com |publisher=A&E Television Networks |quote=lived for a time in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where his brother had a business }}
• Fielding Lewis, brother-in-law of George Washington{{cite web |url=http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Lewis_Fielding_1725-1781_or_1782 |title=Fielding Lewis (1725–1781 or 1782) |website=encyclopediavirginia.org |publisher=Virginia Foundation for the Humanities |access-date=April 18, 2017 |quote=he moved to Fredericksburg in the 1740s }}
• Elizabeth "Betty" Washington, sister of George Washington{{cite web |url=http://kenmore.org/genealogy/lewis/betty_lewis.html |title=Betty Washington Lewis |publisher=The George Washington Foundation |access-date=April 18, 2017 |quote=Upon her marriage, Betty moved into a large brick house in Fredericksburg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416072431/http://kenmore.org/genealogy/lewis/betty_lewis.html |archive-date=April 16, 2017 |url-status=dead }}
• Hugh Mercer, soldier and physician{{cite web |url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hugh-mercer-dies-from-wounds-received-in-battle-of-princeton |title=Hugh Mercer dies from wounds received in Battle of Princeton |access-date=April 18, 2017 |website=history.com |publisher=A&E Television Networks |quote=Mercer worked as an apothecary and practiced medicine in Fredericksburg }}
• James Monroe, fifth President of the United States{{cite web|url=http://www.umw.edu/jamesmonroemuseum/default.php |title=James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library | James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library Home Page |publisher=Umw.edu |access-date=April 20, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527122302/http://www.umw.edu/jamesmonroemuseum/default.php |archive-date=May 27, 2010 }}
• Margaret Prior (1773–1842), American humanitarian, missionary, moral reform worker, writer
• Augustine Washington, father of George Washington{{cite web |url=http://kenmore.org/genealogy/washington/augustine.html |title=Augustine Washington |publisher=The George Washington Foundation |website=kenmore.org |access-date=April 18, 2017 |quote=In 1738, a 150-acre property just across the Rappahannock River from the fledgling town of Fredericksburg ... was sold ... to Augustine who moved the family there |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410072157/http://www.kenmore.org/genealogy/washington/augustine.html |archive-date=April 10, 2017 |url-status=dead }}
• George Washington, first President of the United States, leader of the American Revolutionary War{{cite book|last=Freeman |first=Douglas Southall |title=George Washington, a Biography|year=1948|publisher=Scribner |location=New York|oclc=732644234 |author-link=Douglas Southall Freeman |volume=v.7}}{{rp|1:15–72}}
• Mary Ball Washington, mother of George WashingtonGeorge Washington: A Life by Willard Stearne Randall (1997). New York: Henry Holt and Company, Inc. page 440. {{ISBN|0-8050-5992-X}}
• George Weedon, brigadier general in the Continental Army{{cite book|author=Frank E. Grizzard|title=George Washington: A Biographical Companion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RioTGCygpT8C&pg=PA346|year=2002|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-082-6|pages=346–}}

}}

{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|

• Oliver Ackermann, guitarist and vocalist for A Place to Bury StrangersOliver Ackermann: {{Hanging indent | {{Cite web| last1 = Gluckin| first1 = Tzvi| date = March 5, 2015| title = A Place to Bury Strangers: Controlled Anarchy| access-date = April 18, 2017| url = http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/22177-a-place-to-bury-strangers-controlled-anarchy}}}} {{Hanging indent | {{Cite web| title = Finally: A Tribute To Skywave, The Shoegaze Band Virginia Ignored| date = June 10, 2015| access-date = April 18, 2017| url = http://bandwidth.wamu.org/finally-a-tribute-to-skywave-the-shoegaze-band-virginia-ignored/}}}} {{Hanging indent | {{Cite web| last = Colletti| first = Justin| title = Made in New York: Oliver Ackermann's Death By Audio| work = Trust Me I'm a Scientist| access-date = April 18, 2017| url = http://www.trustmeimascientist.com/2011/02/10/made-in-new-york-oliver-ackermanns-death-by-audio/| archive-date = April 19, 2017| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170419003747/http://www.trustmeimascientist.com/2011/02/10/made-in-new-york-oliver-ackermanns-death-by-audio/| url-status = dead}}}}
• Gaye Adegbalola, blues musician and activist{{cite news |url=https://fredericksburg.today/2016/02/18/gaye-adegbalola-to-present-black-history-month-concert-at-germanna/ |title=Gaye Adegbalola to Present Black History Month Concert at Germanna |date=February 18, 2016 |work=Fredericksburg Today |first=Susan |last=Larson |access-date=April 28, 2021}}
• Shakira Austin (born 2000), center for the Washington Mystics{{cite web |url=https://www.wnba.com/draft2022profile/shakira-austin/ |title=Shakira Austin |website=WNBA |access-date=June 12, 2022 }}
• Daniel Bachman, American primitive guitarist{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/event/music/408244048/history-runs-through-daniel-bachmans-guitar|title=History Runs Through Daniel Bachman's Guitar|website=NPR.org|access-date=October 26, 2017 |date=May 21, 2015 |last=Gotrich |first=Lars }}
• Urbane F. Bass, doctor and Army officer during WWIBass: {{Hanging indent | {{Cite web|url=http://ww1mproject.org/items/show/92|title=Urbane Bass Stained Glass Window|website=World War I Memorial Inventory Project|language=en-US|access-date=April 17, 2017}}}} {{Hanging indent | {{Cite web|url=http://genealogytrails.com/vir/ww1casualties.html|title=Virginia World War 1 Casualties|website=genealogytrails.com|access-date=April 17, 2017}}}}
• Julien Binford, artist{{Cite book| publisher = UNC Press Books| isbn = 978-0-8078-6994-9| last1 = Bonner| first1 = Judith H.| last2 = Pennington| first2 = Estill Curtis| title = The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture: Volume 21: Art and Architecture| date = January 14, 2013}}{{rp|242}}
• Al Bumbry, baseball player{{cite web|url= http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=bumbral01|title= Al Bumbry Stats

|publisher= Baseball Almanac |access-date= November 6, 2012}}

• Jermon Bushrod, NFL player drafted by the New Orleans Saints (125th pick) in 2007 draft{{cite web|url= http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=BushrJer01 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100214084402/http://databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=BushrJer01 |url-status= usurped |archive-date= February 14, 2010 |title= Jermon Bushrod |publisher= SI.com|access-date= November 6, 2012}}
• Caressa Cameron, Miss America 2010{{Cite web| last = McCaslin| first = John| title = United in song, and more, at MLK celebration| work = Rappahannock News| access-date = April 18, 2017| date = January 22, 2017| url = http://rappnews.com/2017/01/22/united-in-song-and-more-at-mlk-celebration/}}
• Eli Carr, soccer player who represented the Puerto Rico national team{{cite web |title=Eli Carr |url=https://odusports.com/sports/mens-soccer/roster/player/eli-carr |website=Longwood Lancers |access-date=March 15, 2025}}
• George Coghill, retired defensive back for the Denver Broncos{{cite web|url= http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=COGHIGEO01|title= George Webster Coghill|publisher= databaseFootball.com|access-date= November 6, 2012|url-status=usurped|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121104183957/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=COGHIGEO01|archive-date= November 4, 2012|df= mdy-all}}
• James Farmer, civil rights leader{{cite news |title=Civil Rights Leader James Farmer Dies |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-611215.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104022041/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-611215.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 4, 2012 |quote=James L. Farmer, 79, the founder of the Congress of Racial Equality and the moving force behind some of the most dramatic episodes of the civil rights era of the 1960s, died yesterday at a hospital in Fredericksburg, Va. |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=May 19, 2008 }}
• Bessie Alexander Ficklen (1861–1945), writer, poet, artist
• Yetur Gross-Matos, NFL player for the Carolina Panthers
• Derek Hartley, radio show host{{cite web|url=http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=2069|title=Reality Bytes: Gay 'Shock Jock' Hartley|date=September 3, 2003}}
• Huntley, musician and winner of season 24 of The Voice{{cite web |last1=Dyson |first1=Cathy |title=Locals pulling for Fredericksburg singer Huntley in 'The Voice' singing contest |url=https://fredericksburg.com/news/local/fredericksburg-singer-huntley-on-season-finale-of-the-voice-on-nbc/article_1212bb60-9dc8-11ee-b329-dbe16b941079.html |website=Fredericksburg.com |date=December 19, 2023 |access-date=December 20, 2023}}
• Kelvin Jones, professional soccer player{{Cite web| last = Holtzman| first = Kellen| title = U16 boys notch milestone win for Virginia Legacy; Jones tabbed state coach of year| work = vagazette.com| access-date = April 18, 2017| url = http://www.vagazette.com/sports/va-vg-spt-legacy-soccer-0218-20170218-story.html}}
• Mark Lenzi, Olympic diver and gold medalist{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-mark-lenzi-20120410,0,4422006.story|title=Mark Lenzi dies at 43;Olympic diving champion|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=April 10, 2012|access-date=April 10, 2012}}
• John Maine, New York Mets starting pitcher{{cite web|url= http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=mainejo01|title= John Maine Stats|publisher= Baseball Almanac |access-date= November 6, 2012}}
• Danny McBride, actor{{Cite web |url=http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/012008/01242008/351013/index_html?page=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080129150146/http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/012008/01242008/351013/index_html?page=2 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 29, 2008 |title=Movie, TV projects fall in line for local native |access-date=February 10, 2009 |last=Hedelt |first=Rob |date=January 24, 2008 |work=fredericksburg.com |publisher=The Free Lance-Star }}
• Ryan McBroom, American professional baseball player for the Kansas City Royals{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=mcbroo000rya|title=Ryan McBroom Minor League Statistics & History|website=Baseball-Reference|access-date=April 27, 2021}}
• Erin McKeown, musician{{cite web|last=McKenna|first=Dave|title=Jill Sobule and Erin McKeown: Live Last Night|url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postrock/2009/10/erin_mckeown_and_jill_sobule_l.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928232238/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postrock/2009/10/erin_mckeown_and_jill_sobule_l.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 28, 2012|work=Washingtonpost.com|access-date=June 24, 2010}}
• Caelynn Miller-Keyes, television personality, model, and beauty pageant titleholder{{cite web |last1=Igoe |first1=Katherine J. |title=Get to Know 'Bachelor' and 'Bachelor in Paradise' Contestant Caelynn Miller-Keyes |url=https://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/a25856458/the-bachelor-caelynn-miller-keyes/ |website=Marie Claire |date=July 26, 2019 |access-date=December 20, 2023}}
• George C. Rawlings, Virginia House of Delegates{{cite news | last = Delano | first = Frank | title = State political force George Rawlings dies | work = Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star | date = April 23, 2009 | url = http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/042009/04232009/461511 | access-date = July 8, 2013 | url-status=dead | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130124183440/http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/042009/04232009/461511 | archive-date = January 24, 2013 | df = mdy-all }}
• Judge Reinhold, actor{{Cite news|url=https://www.deseret.com/1988/5/29/18767201/actor-has-fond-memories-of-his-small-town-usa/|title=ACTOR HAS FOND MEMORIES OF HIS SMALL TOWN, USA|date=May 29, 1988|work=DeseretNews.com|access-date=April 17, 2017|language=en}}
• Jack Rose, musician{{cite news|last=Rose|first=Joel|title=Remembering Dr. Ragtime: Guitarist Jack Rose|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123861353|work=Npr.org|access-date=August 26, 2018}}
• Jeff Rouse, Olympic swimmer, gold medalist and former world record holder{{Cite news|url=https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/jeff-rouse-weds/|title=Jeff Rouse Weds – Swimming World News|date=August 23, 1999|work=Swimming World News|access-date=April 17, 2017|language=en-US}}
• Dave Smalley, musician, member of All, Dag Nasty, Down by Law, The Sharpshooters{{Cite news| last = Beaujon| first = Andrew| title = The Advancement of Dave Smalley| work = Washington City Paper| access-date = April 18, 2017| date = October 29, 2009| url = http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/arts/music/blog/13072645/the-advancement-of-dave-smalley}}
• Torrey Smith, NFL football player{{Cite news| volume = 232| issue = April 2017| last = Eck| first = Kevin| title = Former Terps, Ravens Torrey Smith Remains Involved In Baltimore| work = PressBox| access-date = April 18, 2017| date = April 17, 2017| url = https://www.pressboxonline.com/2017/04/17/former-terps-ravens-torrey-smith-remains-involved-in-baltimore| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170419101813/https://www.pressboxonline.com/2017/04/17/former-terps-ravens-torrey-smith-remains-involved-in-baltimore| archive-date = April 19, 2017| url-status = dead}}
• Laura Sumner, numismatist
• William P. Taylor, congressmanCongressional Biographical Directory, "William Taylor"
• Keller Williams, musician[http://kellerwilliams.net/cellar Keller's Cellar] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120716003149/http://kellerwilliams.net/cellar |date=July 16, 2012 }} kellerwilliams.net, Retrieved May 7, 2008.
• Monty Williams, basketball player{{Cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/willimo01c.html|title=Monty Williams {{!}} Basketball-Reference.com|website=Basketball-Reference.com|language=en|access-date=April 17, 2017}}

}}

{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|

• {{flagdeco|ITA}} Este, Italy{{cite news |url=http://www.newstalk1230.net/2015/06/17/why-italian-flags-downtown/ |title=Why Italian Flags Downtown? |newspaper=WFVA |date=June 17, 2015 |access-date=June 18, 2015 |quote=A delegation from Este, Italy is here. They are the city's newest sister city. }}
• {{flagdeco|FRA}} Fréjus, France{{cite web|last1=Baroody|first1=Timothy J.|title=Sister Cities|url=http://www.fredericksburgva.gov/index.aspx?NID=808|website=Fredericksburg, Virginia|access-date=April 14, 2017}}
• {{flagdeco|NEP}} Kathmandu, Nepal{{cite news|last1=Jett|first1=Cathy|title=Fredericksburg Forming Sister City With Kathmandu|url=http://www.fredericksburg.com/news/local/fredericksburg/fredericksburg-forming-sister-city-with-kathmandu/article_d855cde4-a156-52cb-9fca-7aae159173f4.html|access-date=April 14, 2017|publisher=Free Lance-star|date=December 15, 2015}}
• {{flagdeco|GHA}} Princes Town, Ghana
• {{flagdeco|GER}} Schwetzingen, Germany{{cite news |url=http://fredericksburg.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/city-adds-schwetzingen-germany-as-sister-city |title=City Adds Schwetzingen, Germany as Sister City |date=December 17, 2012 |last=Larson |first=Susan |newspaper=Fredericksburg Patch |access-date=September 27, 2013 }}

}}

{{reflist|group="note"}}

{{reflist|30em}}

{{Commons}}

{{wikivoyage|Fredericksburg (Virginia)|Fredericksburg, Virginia}}

{{NIE Poster|Fredericksburg (Virginia)|Fredericksburg, Virginia|year=1906}}

{{Wikisource|Fredericksburg, Virginia 1608–1908}}

• {{official website|http://www.fredericksburgva.gov}}

{{Coord|display=title|38.301829|-77.470778}}

{{Geographic location

|Centre = Fredericksburg, Virginia

|North = Stafford County

|Northeast =

|East = Stafford County

|Southeast =

|South = Spotsylvania County

|Southwest =

|West = Spotsylvania County

|Northwest =

}}

{{Virginia}}

{{DCMetroArea}}

{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia}}

{{Virginia county seats and independent cities}}

{{authority control}}

Category:1728 establishments in the Colony of Virginia

Category:Cities in Virginia

Category:Former county seats in Virginia

Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Fredericksburg, Virginia

Category:Populated places established in 1728

Category:Washington metropolitan area