OUR MISSION To provide a repository for historically valuable documents on the Central Rappahannock Region, and a center for the scholarly research thereof.

The Central Rappahannock Heritage Center, Inc. is the nation's first regional archives dedicated to preserving for research and posterity materials documenting the lives and work of the people.

The nonprofit organization was formed in 1997 to preserve the common heritage of Fredericksburg and the Virginia Commonwealth Counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford. All share an intertwined history dating back to the formative years when the Rappahannock River linked their thriving ports.

King George County's Port Conway and Caroline County's Port Royal faced each other across the river.   Twenty miles upriver, Spotsylvania's thriving hub, the port at Fredericksburg, was across the river from Falmouth, shipping port for King George County and later, Stafford County. Fredericksburg became a city independent of Spotsylvania County in the late 1880s.

While the region's famous statesmen and epic battles have been scrupulously documented, its binding grass-roots history was a different matter. Founders of the Heritage Center recognized that the documentary evidence of the citizens, their families, commerce and culture was rapidly vanishing and with it the history of how the region was shaped and evolves. Their determination to save this part of the region's heritage was the catalyst for creation of the Heritage Center.

Whether you are a citizen of this region, have roots here or are a student of its history, we welcome your interest and participation.