The Marsh: Crow's Nest Peninsula as seen from the Potomac Creek

Crow's Nest:

Named after the black schooner called the Crow that harbored off the peninsula in the mid-1800s, Crow's Nest Peninsula is one of the last great undisturbed places in the Mid-Atlantic area. With both a rich history and remarkable environmental values, this 4,000 acre peninsula between Accokeek and Potomac Creek is one of the most Pristine Areas in the lower Potomac. 

"Land of Mystery" Bald Eagles soar overhead over 1,000 Great Blue Herons line in the protection of this undisturbed place, as do some of the largest hardwood trees in Virginia. Largely untouched for the last century, Crow's Nest Peninsula in Stafford County, Virginia is a time capsule to an era when Pocahontas was abducted off the shores of Crow's Nest in 1613. By the Mid-1800s, the Peninsula was thriving plantation with a brick and wood manor house called "Tranquility" the plantation was owned by the Daniel family who also owned a black three masted schooner called the "Crow." Because the Crow was docked at the peninsula it took on the name "Crow's Nest." The Civil War saw Tranquility burned, and the harbor used by the Union as a supply port to provide materials to the Army of the Potomac. After the Civil War, Crow's Nest was left largely untouched by human activity. In the 1950s Alabama Senator Frank Boykin owned Crow's Nest. He used it for his hunting lodge and timbered some areas. Since that time, Crow's Nest has remained one of the least impacted areas in the Mid-Atlantic Region. In 1997, The Northern Virginia Conservation Trust took ownership of a seventy-acre wetland area of the peninsula that is home to an estimated 650 Heron nest. Now there is an opportunity to permanently preserve the rest of this 4,000-acre wilderness area.

During the Civil War Crow's Nest was used by the Union as a
port to offload supplies for the Fredericksburg Campaign

A Plan for Preservation:

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has been negotiating with the current landowners of Crow's Nest to purchase the land as new National Wildlife Refuge. Efforts to create this National Wildlife Refuge stalled because of a national backlog in funding for operations and management of Wildlife Refuges.

To overcome this obstacle and preserve the peninsula, the Trust For Crow's Nest (TFCN) was established. The first priority of TFCN is to raise funds to support the operations and management cost of a wildlife refuge on Crow's Nest.

How Can You Help?

By making a tax-deductible donation to Trust For Crow's Nest, you are helping to preserve this remarkable natural resource for future generations to enjoy. 

I want to save Crow's Nest!