Welcome to Historic Occoquan, Virginia
& to HistoricOccoquan.com

Often duplicated. Never replicated.

Historic Occoquan is a community rich in history and consists of residents, artists, shops, restaurants, businesses, and a local town government. It's outdoor dining, ghost walks, town boat dock and more are located just 11 miles south of the Capital Beltway on I-95 at exit 160 and then north on Gordon Blvd/Rte 123 to Commerce Street. Directions to Historic Occoquan are available at Google Maps.

Occoquan is located at 38°40′58″N, 77°15′39″W and is accessible by car, boat, raft, bike, and foot traffic. Access is available by road, river and the East Coast Greenway.

Occoquan is also conveniently located just minutes from the Amtrak Auto Train stop in Lorton, VA. Unlike a plane or the car, the auto train provides onboard entertainment, a lounge car and a dining car as it takes both you and your vehicle on a stress free journey to Florida. So when you next consider a trip to Florida, please remember your opportunities of shopping and dining in Historic Occoquan before you depart or upon your return.

The Town of Occoquan can be explored by this aerial view where you can click on shops and business for more information.

Read about this month's masthead celebrating the Yuletide Season.

To keep informed of what is happening in Occoquan, click on the RSS icon to subscribe to Historic Occoquan's RSS Feed.

Weather Forecast | Weather Maps

2009 Community Events in November & Beyond

If you couldn't make it, see what you missed - pictures are available of previous Occoquan events at the links below:

Harvest Parade and Children's Festival
Occoquan Art Walk
A Trolley Car in Occoquan
The Ebenezer Bake Sale
The Farmer's Market
The Artists' Undertaking
The Prince William Art Society Wine and Cheese Event
Occoquan River Festival
Mamie Davis Park
Carefree Boat Club's launch of National Boating Safety Week
Occoquan Duck Splash
Occoquan Craft Show
Some of the participants in the Farmer's Market
Donations of cell phones, glasses, and shredding of papers

The Town of Occoquan has been blogged.
See the first and original Blog Site at the
Occoquan Blog Postings.

Please welcome and take a look at the new websites of the following Occoquan merchants:

Faith Creek Country Store

Carefree Boat Club of Occoquan
- Putting pleasure back into pleasure boating the Carefree way
- Boating without owning. It's about TIME.

Roither's Frame Design
Sincerely Yours Stained Glass Studio
Endeavors
Good Vibrations
La Maison Gift Shop and Candy Boutique
Classic Creations Photography
International Gift and Boutique

Pictures of some of the Historic Occoquan Town Markers are now online. Read about some of the town history as more markers are added to the site.
The "Just say 'Hi' Campaign"
- Show your support for the "HistoricOccoquan.Com" website and help maintain the friendly Occoquan lifestyle. When next in town, don't forget to smile and say 'Hi". Having a sparkle in your eye is optional.
October 6 (Tuesday) - November 2 (Monday)
- The Artists’ Undertaking Gallery in Historic Occoquan, VA presents “Autumn Surprise”
  - Exhibit consists of plein air watercolor paintings by Jack Dyer of Springfield, VA and pottery by Gary Outman of Woodbridge, VA.
  - The gallery is open 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily and is located at 309 Mill Street in Historic Occoquan, VA.
  - For more information contact the gallery at 703-494-0584.
    - As a plein air artist, Jack Dyer paints his watercolors outdoors. Historic Occoquan is a favorite location of his, where many a day you may find him painting in this quaint river town.
    - Gary Outman’s pottery is both functional and artistic with intriguing faces incorporated into many of Gary’s pieces.
  - The Artists’ Undertaking Gallery welcomes everyone to see the exhibit “Autumn Surprise” and to browse through the gallery’s ever-changing works of art by local artists.
November 3 (Tuesday) - November 30 (Monday)
- The Artists' Undertaking Gallery in Historic Occoquan, VA presents "Celebrating Women"
  - Exhibit consists of whimsical pastels by Roger Frey, unique silver and bronze jewelry by Sherry Chaples, and delicate eggshell sculptures by Tina Kannapel.

The gallery is open 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily and is located at 309 Mill Street in Historic Occoquan, VA.

November 6 (Friday)
- Live music at the Occoquan Coffee House starting at 1900 hrs (7:00 PM)
November 7 (Saturday)
- Occoquan Farmers Market (OFM) featuring fresh produce grown by producers located within 120 miles of the Town.
  - Fresh Produce available only from 0800 - 1400 hrs... (That's to 2:00 PM)
  - Come and get yours before they are sold out
- If the spirits are willing, the Historic Occoquan Ghost Tours 7:00 PM and 8:30 PM call 703.494.6983 for more info
- Ken Smith will be playing at the Occoquan Coffee House starting at 1900 Hrs (7:00 PM). You may want to come early to ensure a seat. Admission is free.
November 10 (Tuesday)
- Town Hall another action-packed meeting at 1900 Hours (That's 7:00 PM).
  - Local Town residents are invited to attend.
November 13 (Friday)
- Live music at the Coffee House of Occoquan starting at 1900 hrs (7:00 PM)
November 14 (Saturday)
- Occoquan Farmers Market (OFM) featuring fresh produce grown by producers located within 120 miles of the Town.
  - Fresh Produce available only from 0800 - 1400 hrs... (That's to 2:00 PM)
  - Come and get yours before they are sold out
- If the spirits are willing, the Historic Occoquan Ghost Tours 7:00 PM and 8:30 PM call 703.494.6983 for more info
- Annual Shopping Spree sponsored by the OMA will be held. Shoppers at participating merchants will be entered in a drawing for $1000. Spree ends on December 12th when the drawing occurs. You must be present to win.
- The Artists' Undertaking Gallery welcomes everyone to join then for an Artists Reception 1500 hrs - 1900 hrs (3:00 pm - 7:00 pm)
- Live music at the Coffee House of Occoquan starting at 1900 hrs (7:00 PM)
November 20 (Friday)
- Business Guild of Occoquan Open House
  - 1600 Hrs - 2000 Hrs (4:00 PM - 8:00 PM)
  - An evening of shopping, refreshments, an specials. Register to share $1000 in gift certificates. You must be present for the 2015 Hrs (8:15 PM) drawing in front of Hawthorne House to win.
    - Hawthorne House is at 404 Mill St.
    - Santa will announce the names of the 10 winners.
    - Children in the crowd take turns drawing the winners.
  - After many years, this open house has become a holiday tradition in Occoquan as the shops are decorated in their holiday best and the town will have their tree lighting ceremony.
- Live music at the Coffee House of Occoquan starting at 1900 hrs (7:00 PM)
- Occoquan Tree Lighting Ceremony, commencing immediately after the Business Guild of Occoquan gift certificate drawing.
November 21 (Saturday)

The very last Occoquan Farmer's Market for 2009.
From 0800 - 1400 hrs...(That's to 2:00 PM)
The Artists' Undertaking Gallery Saturday hours extended to 2000 hrs (8:00 PM) on every Saturday evening until December 19.
Live music at the Coffee House of Occoquan starting at 1900 hrs (7:00 PM)

November 28 (Saturday)
- Santa arrives in Occoquan at 1200 hrs (Noon) by boat and will set up shop in Town Hall to talk with children of all ages.
December 8 (Tuesday) - January 4 (Monday)
- The Artists' Undertaking Gallery in Historic Occoquan, VA presents "Gifted"
  - This group show includes unique works of art consisting of watercolors, etchings, photography, fused glass, turned wood, basketry, pottery, monotypes, encaustics, pastels, eggshell carvings, jewelry, and acrylic paintings

The gallery is open 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily, except Saturdays - see above, and is located at 309 Mill Street in Historic Occoquan, VA.

December 12 (Saturday)
- The Artists' Undertaking Gallery welcomes everyone to come and join seventeen local artists for a Holiday Open House Reception from 1300 hrs - 1900 hrs (1:00 PM -7:00 PM)
Prince William County Community Alert Network
- In an emergency situation, PWC will send important alerts, notifications and updates right to your e-mail and mobile device(s). Registration is free at the PWC site.

Other News

The Historic Occoquan website is hosted and maintained in Historic Occoquan using a Velocity Micro Raptor Computer. See why people are flocking to Velocity Micro.

2009 Events in Occoquan

Clicking on a picture will enlarge the picture for better viewing.

Harvest Parade & Children Festival

The Parade

Face Painting, Petting Zoo, Merchants, & the Quest

Occoquan on All Hallows Eve

Pie Throw

At the end of the Fall Festival Parade, two people who had contributed to the Prince William Chapter American Red Cross where selected at a random drawing. The winners were the town's Vice Mayor, Ken Brunsvold, Delegate Paul Nichols. While Ken was there at the event, it was decided that the town's Administrator and Clerk, Claudia Cruise would throw the pie. Below are pictures of this historic event.

When you click play on the flash video on the left, you can see our Mayor of Occoquan, Earnie Porta, being a good sport and taking not one, but two pies in the face to raise money for the Prince William Chapter American Red Cross' annual Heroes Campaign.

While our Mayor's efforts helped, they still need your support. You can still contribute to the organization that needs money, blood, and platelets. You can access the Prince William Chapter of the American Red Cross by clicking their logo on the right to donate money or schedule a blood donation.

If you're in the mood for a movie, do what the webmaster of HistoricOccoquan.com does, donate platelets. The Red Cross will let you watch one of the movies they have available for selection while you are donating. You can click on the lower Red Cross logo to schedule a platelet donation.

The Prince William Chapter of the American Red Cross

The Prince William Art Society Wine and Cheese Event
- hosted by Roither's Frame Design Center in Occoquan

More information about the service providers above, can be found at the following sites:

If you are a resident of Prince William County, registration with the County's Community Alert Network will allow you to receive county alerts on your mobile phone.