Biography
Charles was born at Hunting Creek in Stafford County, Virginia (now Fairfax County). He married Mildred Thornton, daughter of Colonel Francis Thornton and Frances Gregory around 1761. They had four children. Charles served as a magistrate in Stafford County before the Revolution. In 1766 with his brothers Samuel Washington and John Augustine Washington, he signed the Leetown Resolve to protest the British Stamp Act. In 1780, during the Revolutionary War, Charles served as colonel of the Spotsylvania County, Virginia, militia. He arrived in present Jefferson County, West Virginia between April and October 1780 and founded Charles Town. There he erected a house, Happy Retreat, the same year. In 1786, on 80 acres (320,000 m²) of his adjoining land, Charles laid out the streets of Charles Town, naming many of them after his brothers and one after his wife, Mildred. He donated the four corner lots at the intersection of George and Washington Streets for public buildings of the town and county, provided the town become the seat of the county upon its separation from Berkeley County. Jefferson County was formed in 1801 as Charles anticipated. The county court house stands on one of these lots. Charles died sometime between July and September, 1799, only a short while before the death of his brother, George. The grave sites of Charles and Mildred are near Evitts Run and have recently been located and surrounded by a stone wall.
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