Editing Occoquan, Virginia (section)

== History ==
Occoquan is derived from an [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian]] [[Doeg (tribe)|Doeg]] [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indian]] word, meaning "at the end of the water".<ref>{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UfIyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4QgGAAAAIBAJ&pg=4187%2C5192382 | title=History and legend unlock origins of unusual names | work=The Free Lance-Star | date=July 20, 2003 | access-date=3 May 2015 | author=Dyson, Cathy | pages=A7}}</ref> Located on the [[Occoquan River]], Occoquan was long a site of [[indigenous peoples]]' habitation. Like the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[colonists]] after them, they relied on the river for transportation and trade, as well as fish. Early in the 1600s Capt. John Smith sailed and explored the Occoquan River.<ref>{{cite web|title=Historic Times in Historic Occoquan|url=https://historicoccoquan.com/history/HistoricTimes.htm|website=historicoccoquan.com|access-date=23 March 2018}}</ref> In 1608, when the first European reached Northern Virginia, the [[Doeg people|Tauxenent tribe]] (also known by the English as the "Dogues") had its main village at the mouth of the Occoquan River. This tribe was more closely associated with neighbors such as the [[Piscataway people|Piscataway]]s (located across the [[Potomac River]] in what is now Maryland) than the other Algonquian-speaking tribes to the south. The local chief was called a Tayac, who was subservient to an "emperor" located in [[Prince George's County, Maryland|Prince George’s County]].<ref>{{cite web|title=What Happened to the People Who Settled Northern Virginia First?|url=http://www.virginiaplaces.org/nova/whosettled.html|website=www.virginiaplaces.org|access-date=23 March 2018}}</ref>
[[File:Occoquan, Virginia - Occoquan River.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The Occoquan River as it passes the town]]
By 1765, Anglo-American colonists had established an industrial settlement at Occoquan, with [[grist mills]] and [[tobacco]] warehouses.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}} The Merchants Mill established by [[Quakers|Quaker]] Nathaniel Ellicot may have been the first automated grist mill in the nation. It operated for 175 years until destroyed by fire.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Occoquan Mill House Museum |url=https://www.visitoccoquanva.com/museum |access-date=2024-08-24 |website=Visit Occoquan |archive-date=August 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240824143948/https://www.visitoccoquanva.com/museum |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], the post office passed letters and packages between North and South. River silting reduced ship traffic to Occoquan and ended its days as a port, as did the shift in traffic to [[railroads]].