The Peyton Society of Virginia, Inc. presented a plaque commemorating an early settler of the area, Valentine Peyton.
The dedication ceremony was held on Saturday, May 21, at 11 a.m. at River Mill Park, 407 Mill Street. The plaque is placed where the upper and lower paths merge at the end of the park.
Valentine Peyton purchased several tracts of land on the Occoquan River. He built the first tobacco warehouse located on the south side of the Occoquan River in 1746, as authorized by the Virginia General Assembly. It ultimately led to the establishment of the Town of Occoquan.
Peyton was also a member of the House of Burgesses, 1736-1740; Captain, Virginia Militia before 1745; Sheriff, Prince William County, before 1749. He also served as a Justice from 1738 to 1743 and as Sheriff in 1749. He was a member of Dettingen Parish, where he served as a churchwarden from 1745-to 1746 and as a vestryman in 1749.
He obtained patents and bought considerable land in Prince William County during the period 1711-1750.
Valentine Peyton (1687-1751) was born in Westmoreland County, the son of Henry Peyton (b1656) and his wife, Ann. He was the grandson of Henry Peyton (1631-1659), the Immigrant, and was one of over twenty – 17th and 18th Century Valentine Peyton’s in Northern Virginia. He married Frances Linton, and they had seven children.
They made their home in Prince William County.
At least three sons and fourteen grandsons served as patriots in the Revolutionary War. Several Peyton Society of Virginia, Inc. members descended from Valentine and Frances Peyton.
