Nomination Form
The Taft Archaeological Site at Mason Neck in southeastern Fairfax County is a multi-component, stratified, upland, prehistoric, and possibly proto-historic Native American camp dating between about 2000 B.C. and A.D. 1560. Located on a Coastal Plain plateau “finger” on the south side of the confluence of the tidal Kanes Creek Estuary and Belmont Bay on Mason Neck, the site contains a midden atop the plateau with eroded features and artifact material exposed on the plateau edges. Included in the midden are mussel and oyster shell piles and pits, hearths, and individual pottery clusters. The site can address important archaeological issues related to the evolution of small base camps from pre-agricultural (Popes Creek) to transitional (Mockley) to agricultural (Potomac Creek) sites. The Taft Archaeological Site contains well-preserved archaeological deposits that can provide information about lifeways during the Middle and Late Woodland periods, as well as the evolution of climate-induced adaptation in the upper Potomac Estuary.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Nomination Form
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia
