Adoptions From The Heart, a Virginia adoption agency, is proud to provide its pioneering adoption services to expectant parents and prospective adoptive parents in Fredericksburg.
Officially established in 1728, Fredericksburg, Virginia has played an important role throughout American history. Home to one of the nation’s founding fathers and a strategic location during the Civil War, Fredericksburg has become a regional center for healthcare, commerce and education in the 21st century.
A Journey Through Fredericksburg, VA Then & Now
Fredericksburg is relatively small, with a population of around 28,000 residents. In fact, it’s so small that many locals consider it a town, and not a city at all. While predominantly rural, recent years have seen Fredericksburg undergo a commercial explosion, which is probably why the city’s population grew by 25% between 2000 and 2010.
The city’s motto, “America’s Most Historic City,” manages to pick up on Fredericksburg’s major role in early US history. As you’d expect, much of the area’s economic activity is generated through tourism.
Fredericksburg Nurtures Early America
Situated on the banks of the Rappahannock River, and only 12 miles southwest of the Potomac, the city seemed an ideal site for colonial settlers, who displaced around 1,000 native inhabitants of the Manahoac tribe in the early 17th century. Fredericksburg quickly became a prominent port, instrumental in providing goods to new settlers as they pushed further west.
The nation’s first president, George Washington, spent his boyhood years right across the Rappahannock River from Fredericksburg. Visitors can still walk the site of Ferry Farm, a name given to the property after Washington’s family relocated to Fredericksburg. In his own day, Washington would have simply referred to the place as “Home Farm.”
Mary Washington’s house in Fredericksburg, as it looks today.
Thomas Jefferson also found Fredericksburg an inviting location. One year after penning the Declaration of Independence, the brilliant lawyer wrote the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, a document explicitly revoking the Church of England and its brand of Anglicanism in favor of secular politics that would ensure religious freedom for all.
Caught Between Adversaries: Fredericksburg In The Civil War
Located midway between the Union and Confederacy’s capitals, Washington to the north and Richmond to the south, Fredericksburg became the site of several pivotal battles, including its namesake Battle of Fredericksburg, a five day assault that saw the city pummeled by Union artillery, and then plundered by Union soldiers. Nearly 1.5 million tourists visit the battlefield every year.
Siding with the Confederacy, Fredericksburg was massively depopulated during the Civil War. It would take the city some 80 years, and the economic boost of World War II, to regain the number of inhabitants lost between 1861 and 1865.
Prosperity Finds Fredericksburg In Recent Years
In the 1960s, Interstate 95 (I-95), the East Coast’s largest highway, reached Fredericksburg. Travel brought opportunity, and the city soon became a growing residential community as thousands of people employed in Washington, D.C. and Richmond settled down in the quaint “bedroom community.” Many of these transplants remain in Fredericksburg today, which is home to numerous military employees working at nearby Marine Corps, Navy, Army and National Guard bases.
With the founding of the University of Mary Washington in 1908, Fredericksburg also became a local hub for education and continuing enrichment. Now, the city may be best known for its healthcare, with nationally-renowned hospitals servicing patients throughout the region.
Adoption Resources In Fredericksburg, VA
Due in part to its excellent healthcare system, Fredericksburg is home to many quality options for expectant parents in need of assistance.
Free Pregnancy Tests & Health Consultations
At the Fredericksburg Pregnancy Center, caring medical professionals provide pregnancy tests, ultrasounds and health consultations free of charge. They offer parenting classes, too, and eligible women can even earn points toward maternity clothes and other necessaries by taking them.
Learn more about the Fredericksburg Pregnancy Center, located at 1616 Stafford Ave., here: http://www.fredericksburgchoices.com/
Is Free Prenatal Care Available In Fredericksburg?
Yes, and you have several options.
- Call Fredericksburg’s Department of Health office at (540) 899-4142. They offer prenatal care on a sliding scale basis, so you’ll only pay what you can afford. The office is located at 608 Jackson Street.
- Contact one of the University of Mary Washington’s hospitals. There are two in Fredericksburg, one at 2300 Fall Hill Avenue and the other at 1001 Sam Perry Boulevard. You can reach the Sam Perry location at (540) 741-1100.
Remember – if you ever need help, in any way, contact Virginia’s Office of Family Health Services. They can connect you with providers to meet your nutritional and medical needs, often at no cost.
Can I Get Health Insurance If I Don’t Have It?
Yes. There’s a state program calledVirginia Family Access to Medical Insurance Security (FAMIS MOMS) that can help you find health care and pay for it.
You don’t need to pay anything to join FAMIS MOMS and there’s no monthly premium. You might have to pay a small co-pay for some services, but it’s usually around $2 to $5.
To qualify, you need to live in Virginia, be pregnant or within 60 days of giving birth to a child and not be covered by health insurance already. Beyond that, your eligibility depends on the size of your household and its income.
For households of 1 (if you’re not married and no one can claim you as a dependent on their taxes, you’re a household of 1), you need to make less than $23,340 every year before taxes to qualify for FAMIS. Households of 2 have to make less than $31,460 a year. To find income thresholds for households larger than 2, and learn how to apply, visit Cover Virginia.
A similar program, just called FAMIS offers ongoing health insurance for eligible children after birth.
Counseling & Adoption Agencies In Northern Virginia
If you just need someone to talk to, or you’re starting to look into your pregnancy options, give the counselors at Adoptions From The Heart a call. Have questions before you call? Check out our Learning Center to find an answer.
Our dedicated professionals have been helping expectant parents discover their best choice for over 30 years. We’re not in the business of forcing a decision on you; we want you to thrive, whether that means working with us to place your child for adoption or not.
Unlike Christian adoption agencies, Adoptions From The Heart provides non-sectarian services to expectant parents and prospective adoptive parents. The only creed to which we ascribe is that the well-being of children should always be put first.
Where Can I Find Adoptions From The Heart In Virginia?
Adoptions From The Heart is one of the East Coast’s most trusted agencies, and we’re proud to call ourselves a Virginia adoption agency. We have an office in Chesapeake, VA, and also work with a network of adoption consultants in Richmond.
A little less than 3 hours south of Fredericksburg, our Chesapeake office is located at 1407 Stephanie Way, Suite #H, Chesapeake, VA 23320 and you can reach us there by calling (757) 361-0008.
You can learn more about the services our adoption consultants offer in Richmond, an hour and a half south of Fredericksburg, by calling (804) 218-2569.
