Why the name? Was there a rock or a boulder that looked like a pope's head? Or maybe was the family name Pope and the road was in the shape of his head? It is all very odd. I wonder if there were big farms or mills or dairies along that road back in the day.

Street Scholar 49 Wrote:
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> Why the name? Was there a rock or a boulder that
> looked like a pope's head? Or maybe was the family
> name Pope and the road was in the shape of his
> head? It is all very odd. I wonder if there were
> big farms or mills or dairies along that road back
> in the day.


Be more concerned about the origins of Bradlick road;
Ask the alter boys about Pope's head; they know.

Popes Head Creek first appeared on maps of the Northern Neck Grants in 1710. The name “Popes Head” was possibly taken from a street name in London. A street near the Royal Exchange in London was named Popes Head Alley and was renamed during Henry VIII’s reign as Kings Head Alley. The alley was renamed back to Popes Head Alley during Bloody Mary’s reign. Many pubs in London were named Popes Head and renamed Kings Head or Bishops Head after the Reformation.

Historical records document that the Hope Park Plantation owned by Edward Payne was located in the watershed. This plantation was located along present day Popes Head Road. In 1765, the election for the Vestry of Truro Parish resulted in the selection of a group which included George Washington of Mount Vernon, George Mason of Gunston Hall, and Edward Payne oHope Park “in the Forrest.” The plantation included over 1,200 acres of land and eighteen outbuildings including a grist mill. The landscape was dramatically changed by widespread logging and the conversion of forest land into agricultural land as settlement continued. Most of the forest that exists now in the watershed is second growth forest.

In 1850-1851, the Orange and Alexandria Railway (now the Norfolk Southern Railroad) was constructed from Alexandria to Manassas Station and beyond. The route ran down Popes Head Creek to its mouth and then along Bull Run before crossing into Prince William County. During the Civil War there was heavy occupation extending south from Centreville through the current site of the Hemlock Overlook Regional Park and a fortified line of trenches were constructed.

Control of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad was critical to both the Union and the Confederacy. The railroad consumed many wood products, leading to increased logging in the watershed. Map 2.2 shows a historical map of the watershed, circa 1863. The Town of Clifton sprang up in the late 1800s on land owned by the Beckwith family. Clifton was a prosperous town that grew and thrived because of local lumbering operations and ransportation available on the Southern Railway, which ran through the center of Town. The greatest growth in the Clifton area occurred between 1890 and 1920. Map 2.3 shows a historical map of the watershed circa 1915. Although the station was removed in 1958, the town is noted for its late-19th century architecture. Clifton was declared a National Historic District by the U.S. Department of Interior in 1984.

Hemlock Overlook Regional Park is located at the mouth of Popes Head Creek. The land for the park was purchased by the Fairfax County Park Authority in January 1962 who then sold the property to the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NVRPA) in August 1962. The NVRPA purchased the property to add to its existing holdings acquired for the protection of the Occoquan Watershed.

https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/publicworks/sites/publicworks/files/assets/documents/watersheds/popes-head-creek-watershed-plan-chapter-2.pdf