Widewater Athletic Association

The Colonial Forge High School site has its own rich history. In 1724, John England, the manager of the Principio Furnace located in Cecil County Maryland, learned that there were rich iron deposits in Stafford, Virginia. These rich deposits were located on a tract of land located near the Accokeek Creek. John England then conferred with Augustine Washington (father of George Washington) who owned this tract of land concerning the supervision and mining of the ore. Washington oversaw the Accokeek Ironworks and bequeathed his interest to his son, Lawrence. For a time, these ironworks and the forge itself proved to be profitable and even exported one-fifth of the entire tonnage exported from Maryland and Virginia.