Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

None

Use Restrictions

Consult repository for information

Preferred Citation

Richard H. Darne Papers, MSS 06-01, Virginia Room, Fairfax County Public Library

Acquisition Information

Gift of John Wagner, son-in-law of Richard H. Darne

Processing Information

Chris Barbuschak, April 2017
EAD generated by Ross Landis, 2024

Historical and Biographical Information

Richard Henry Darne was born in Loudoun County, Virginia on January 9, 1826 to James W. and Amelia Ward Kitchen Darne. He married his first wife, Ann Eliza Hastings, on April 5, 1857, but she died on January 13, 1880. He married his second wife, Octavia Oliver of Fairfax County, Virginia, on May 5, 1881 in Washington D.C. The couple had three children together.

Beginning in 1853, Darne contracted with the Post Office Department to transport mail from Washington D.C. to Georgetown and back again twice daily. By 1860, he transported mail from Washington D.C. to Langley to Leesburg and back, a 66 mile round trip.

For more than fifty years, Darne operated livery stables in Georgetown from 1855 until 1901 and he was recognized as the “Dean of the Liverymen”. He also owned a stagecoach line which ran from Georgetown to Leesburg over Old Georgetown Leesburg Pike. In the 1860s, he won a trotting race from Washington to Leesburg, winning the $500 stakes. While living in Georgetown, Darne also served as a mounted bodyguard at the inauguration of President Abraham Lincoln.

Darne owned a 200 acre farm in Langley, Virginia near Merrywood that he called “Pinnet Grove”. In 1900, he gave a portion of his land for the right of way for the Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad. Darne died on January 16, 1910, after injuring himself from a fall. He was buried beneath an apple tree he had planted on his farm as a sapling two miles from the Chain Bridge.

Scope and Content

The Richard H. Darne Papers consist of .25 linear feet and span the years 1857-1860 containing Darne’s two contracts and an agreement with the United States Post Office Department for delivering mail from Washington D.C. to Georgetown and from Washington D.C. to Langley, Virginia to Whaley’s Store in Leesburg, Virginia.

Subjects include the United States Post Office Department and postal delivery schedules.

Related Material

None

Separated Material

None

Index Terms

• Darne, Richard Henry (1826-1910)
• Georgetown (Washington, D.C.) - History
• Langley (Va.) - History
• Leesburg (Va.) - History
• McLean (Va.) - History
• Postal service - Employees
• Postal service - United States - History

Adjunct Descriptive Data