The estate of Charles Washington, Happy Retreat, was erected in 1780. He came to what is today Jefferson County between April and October 1780. He was the youngest full brother of George Washington. Ĭharles Washington, the founder of Charles Town, was born in Hunting Creek, now Fairfax County, Virginia, on May 2, 1738. That area in 1797 became known as Brooke County, with that 'Charlestown' as its county seat until a Decemact of the Virginia General Assembly changed its name to Wellsburg, to honor a trader and his son. However, for about two decades, confusion arose because the same name was also used for a town established in Ohio County at the mouth of Buffalo Creek, and authorized in the 1791 term of that local court. 'Charlestown' was established by an act of the Virginia General Assembly in January 1787. History 18th century The Happy Retreat estate was owned and developed by Charles Washington It is part of the northwestern fringes of the Washington metropolitan area. The city is named for its founder Charles Washington, youngest brother of President George Washington. The population was 6,534 at the 2020 census. Charles Town is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States.
