Clog Heroes, Your Woodbridge, VA Plumber Where Thomas Mason's Toll Bridge Crossed the Occoquan
Woodbridge homes in Prince William County can count on Clog Heroes for plumbing, drains and sewer lines. Woodbridge is named for a bridge. In the 18th century Thomas Mason, son of George Mason, built a wooden toll bridge over the Occoquan River, and the name stuck.
Clog Heroes does plumbing, drain and sewer work for Woodbridge homes today. The technician who comes out speaks in everyday words and quotes the job in writing before touching a thing.
Marumsco and the Creeks
Marumsco is part of Woodbridge. Marumsco Village, Marumsco Hills, Marumsco Acres and Marumsco Woods once made up most of the Woodbridge CDP.
Marumsco Creek and Neabsco Creek carry rain from the neighborhoods east of Interstate 95 down to the Potomac.
The median Woodbridge home was built in 1991, and 57.5% are owner-occupied.
Route 1, Gordon Boulevard and the Train
Woodbridge counted 44,668 residents at the 2020 Census, on 10.8 square miles about 20 miles south of Washington, D.C.
U.S. Route 1 runs straight through it, north to south. Interstate 95 marks the western edge. Route 123, which locals call Gordon Boulevard, the Prince William Parkway and Dale Boulevard carry most of the rest.
Plenty of people skip the drive. Woodbridge station is a stop on the Virginia Railway Express Fredericksburg Line and on Amtrak's Northeast Regional.
And if you've spent a Saturday at Potomac Mills, you know Opitz Boulevard. The mall opened on September 19, 1985. At its peak it held 225 stores in 1,540,304 square feet.
A Radio Station Turned Wildlife Refuge
The Army ran its East Coast Radio Transmitting Station on the old Deep Hole Plantation from 1950 to 1994. In 1995 the land became the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
The refuge covers 644 acres where the Occoquan meets the Potomac. About four miles of trails loop through it, a two-mile Wildlife Drive is open to cars and bikes, and more than 220 kinds of birds have been recorded there.
Bring binoculars, and a slow pace. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service counts over 200 bird species, 79 kinds of butterflies and 77 kinds of dragonflies and damselflies. The visitor center opens Thursday through Saturday.
Before the antennas, that shoreline was Dawson Beach, a popular tourist spot right up to the 1940s.
Next door, Veterans Memorial Park at 14300 Veterans Drive sits on Marumsco Creek. There's a 50-meter outdoor pool with a slide, a community center, picnic pavilions and the Scott D. Eagles Skatepark, which is free.
Water in and water out: Woodbridge drinks Occoquan Reservoir water treated at Fairfax Water's Griffith plant, and its wastewater goes to the H.L. Mooney Advanced Water Reclamation Facility.
Leesylvania State Park and Freestone Point
Leesylvania State Park sits at 2001 Daniel K. Ludwig Drive: 556 acres on the Potomac, with a 300-foot accessible fishing pier, two boat ramps and five hiking trails.
The Lee family made its home here. Henry Lee II lived at Leesylvania from 1747 to 1787. His son, Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee III, rode as a Revolutionary cavalry colonel and served as governor of Virginia from 1791 to 1794.
Walk out to Freestone Point and you're standing on the reason for its name. Settlers quarried the sandstone there for building.
Rippon Lodge and the Neabsco Creek Boardwalk
Richard Blackburn built Rippon Lodge around 1747, at what is now 15520 Blackburn Road. The house sits between Neabsco Creek, the Potomac and the old King's Highway, which you know as Route 1.
Wade Hampton Ellis bought it in 1923 and turned it into the Colonial Revival home you see today. The county bought it in 2000 and opened it to visitors in 2007. Tours run Friday through Monday.
Admiral Richard Blackburn Black bought it next, in 1952, and kept caring for the house. It stands on about 43 acres.
Below the house, the Neabsco Creek Boardwalk crosses the marsh for 3,300 feet. It's 10 feet wide, with a two-level observation deck, a single-level deck and three overlooks. The boardwalk is part of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, and it ties Rippon Lodge to Leesylvania.
Stand still on one of the overlooks and watch. Great blue herons, wood ducks, mallards, sparrows and red-winged blackbirds all live in this marsh.
That trail is bigger than it looks from the boardwalk. Congress established the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail in 1983 as an 800-mile network running from the Allegheny Mountains in Pennsylvania down to the Potomac.
It opened on June 1, 2019, National Trails Day. Parking costs nothing, and the trail is open from dawn until dusk.
Houses in Woodbridge run from colonial to brand new, and most sit somewhere in the middle. Whatever yours is, the technician explains what they find in plain words and writes the price down before starting.