In January 1848 three petitions were submitted to the Virginia General Assembly from businessmen in Culpeper County for incorporation of an "Orange and Alexandria Railroad Company". In March 1848 the Virginia General Assembly chartered the Orange and Alexandria Railroad Company. Its charter specified that it was to run from Gordonsville through Culpeper Court House to Alexandria.
The town in which the station lies began in the small milling community known as Waugh's Ford. With the coming of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad in 1854, the settlement was renamed Rapid Ann Station, reflecting the customary name of the river (a fast-moving stream named for Princess Ann).Upon the arrival of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad through the town in January 1854, and the establishment of a post office at the river crossing, its name was changed to Rapid Ann Station. Milling remained a major industry in the area up through the mid-twentieth century.
A post office was opened at "Rapid Ann Station". In April 1863, W.H.F. Lee's Confederate Cavalry burt the Rapidan River Bridge. In September 1864, the federal cavalry burnt facilities at Mitchell and Rapidan Stations. In 1876, the Charlottesville & Rapidan RR was incorporated to construct a direct line between Orange and Charlottesville. The line was eventually merged into the Southern Railway and today serves as Norfolk Southern's mainline between the two cities. The original line between Orange and Gordonsville was leased to the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad. The current Passenger Depot was constructed. In 1880, the Charlottesville and Rapidan Railroad was opened (Gordonsville by-pass). In 1886, the village and the station was renamed Rapidan. Today the station is part of the Rapidan Historic District.
Rapidan is a small unincorporated community in the Virginia counties of Culpeper and Orange, approximately 5 miles (8 km) northeast of the Town of Orange.
Its strategic location along both a railroad and a river brought about several destructive raids during the Civil War. Willis’s mill (ca. 1772), which stood in the location of the current mill, was burned along with several homes and other structures. Because of this, most of the buildings in the community are of post-Civil War construction. A notable exception is the miller’s house, which was constructed soon after the original Willis’s mill was built.
Following the end of the Civil War, the village of Rapid Ann Station resumed its prominence as a regional shipping point, particularly for lumber and wood products. Its name was changed once again in 1886 to the present-day Rapidan.
The town in which the station lies began in the small milling community known as Waugh's Ford. With the coming of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad in 1854, the settlement was renamed Rapid Ann Station, reflecting the customary name of the river (a fast-moving stream named for Princess Ann).Upon the arrival of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad through the town in January 1854, and the establishment of a post office at the river crossing, its name was changed to Rapid Ann Station. Milling remained a major industry in the area up through the mid-twentieth century.
A post office was opened at "Rapid Ann Station". In April 1863, W.H.F. Lee's Confederate Cavalry burt the Rapidan River Bridge. In September 1864, the federal cavalry burnt facilities at Mitchell and Rapidan Stations. In 1876, the Charlottesville & Rapidan RR was incorporated to construct a direct line between Orange and Charlottesville. The line was eventually merged into the Southern Railway and today serves as Norfolk Southern's mainline between the two cities. The original line between Orange and Gordonsville was leased to the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad. The current Passenger Depot was constructed. In 1880, the Charlottesville and Rapidan Railroad was opened (Gordonsville by-pass). In 1886, the village and the station was renamed Rapidan. Today the station is part of the Rapidan Historic District.
Rapidan is a small unincorporated community in the Virginia counties of Culpeper and Orange, approximately 5 miles (8 km) northeast of the Town of Orange.
Its strategic location along both a railroad and a river brought about several destructive raids during the Civil War. Willis’s mill (ca. 1772), which stood in the location of the current mill, was burned along with several homes and other structures. Because of this, most of the buildings in the community are of post-Civil War construction. A notable exception is the miller’s house, which was constructed soon after the original Willis’s mill was built.
Following the end of the Civil War, the village of Rapid Ann Station resumed its prominence as a regional shipping point, particularly for lumber and wood products. Its name was changed once again in 1886 to the present-day Rapidan.