Set in Stone: Government Island to Become a Park

WASHINGTON - A decade ago Government Island would have been turned into another waterside condo development. Now the island in Stafford County is being turned into a natural treasure.

Government Island is 17 acres of woods, marshes and stone in Aquia Creek. And, it holds the quarries that built the White House, the Capitol Building and much more of Washington.

"The county stood up and, thankfully so, preserved Government Island," says Stafford's economic development director Tim Baroody.

The island is on the National Register of Historic Places.

"It's a low-impact park that we're planning. You mostly see the remnants of the quarry of a couple hundred years ago, mostly stone formations," Baroody says. "We plan a trail that will extend a 2-mile swath around this 17-acre island."

The county plans to build a boardwalk so you can walk out there. It could open to the public late this year.

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