Common Name: silver maple
Scientific Name: Acer saccharinum
Category: Historic tree
Comments: This silver maple has been estimated by an arborist to be over 200 years old. It is a witness tree, along with several other nearby trees, that spreads a wonderful canopy over the last surviving antebellum house known as Merrybrook (formerly known as Brookside). In 1861, Laura Ratcliffe, who lived at the house, met J.E.B. Stuart while she was ministering to his wounded soldiers. Her beauty and manner captivated Stuart and he engaged her in providing intelligence on Federal army activities and deployments. In early 1863, Stuart introduced Laura to John Mosby, who frequented her home to get information on Federal troop movements for the rest of the war. There was a large rock formation on her property and she made arrangements to stash messages for Mosby there. The site is now known as Mosby's Rock . After the war, Colonel Mosby credited Laura with saving his life. One cold and snowy night, Laura risked her own life to warn him of a Federal ambush at nearby Frying Pan Church. Aft
Nominator: Winifred Meiselman
This tree is not on public or publicly accessible property. The owner's name, address, and the exact location of the tree are not displayed to protect the privacy of these individuals. If you are the owner and wish to make this information public, please let us know.
County/City: Fairfax