How Island Creek Got Its Name

Did you ever wonder how the developer chose this particular name for our community? After all we could have been know as Princeton or Queenstown to tie in with Kingstowne but both were rejected.

When Carr Properties purchased the land they contacted Lee District Office to research their files to see if there was any historic reference to this property. Surprisingly the District’s ad agency had background information and wrote the following to John Cowles, President, of Carr Properties: “I think we have a real winner with Island Creek and we’re delighted that no one else went back as far as 1678 to find it. The name has been verified as historically correct… It is always nice to get an appropriate name that has a tangible link with the history of the site.”

The tract of land that Island Creek is built on was part of the Hunter Tract; 1000 acres of land granted to John Thomas before 1678 and was one of the first Royal Patents in Fairfax County. The land grant was adjacent to the Long Branch creek and the whole general area was referred to as Island Creek in 1694 possibly due to its location within Accotink, Dogue and Long Branch creeks.

Daniel McCarty purchased the site of the tract in the early 18th century. The land is situated very near the ruins of the ancient Truro Parish Glebe later becoming Pohick Church. The land was originally surveyed by John West. Some of the other 18th century landowners in the adjacent areas were James Whaley, Richard Chichester, William Fairfax, Charles Green and Thomas Ousley.

In an 1878 survey, the local residents were Samuel Nevitt, Fred Graves, E. Cash, George Wiley and Mrs. Lamoyne. The present tract is very near the old Long Brach Station on the Alexandria and Fredericksburg Railroad. Long Branch was a consideration but was rejected as a negative due to its Gunsmoke association and older subdivisions nearby. Many of the street names within the community as you can see are also based on these historic references provided Carr by Williams, Whittle Associates, the District’s advertising firm.

Carr Properties choice of names for our community in order of preference was: Island Creek, Town Creek, Royal Patent, Thomas’s Grant and Parish Glebe. However, at the final determination ISLAND CREEK was the historic name that was registered and agreed on.