Like many in our region, I knew of Occoquan only as some vague place that radio traffic reports mention almost every day: “Traffic slows at the Occoquan,” meaning the I-95 bridge over the Occoquan River, the dividing line between Virginia’s Fairfax and Prince William counties. Until I went there myself, I hadn’t a clue that just a mile from that bridge there’s also a little town named Occoquan—a village that’s been bypassed by time, overshot by sprawl, and loaded with commercial—and supernatural—delights. Occoquan, from the Dogue Indian word meaning “at the end of the water,” was the site of a tobacco warehouse as early as 1736. A quarter-century later, the Merchant’s Mill industrial complex installed the nation’s first automated gristmill.

But the quiet village, some twenty-five miles south of the Capitol, changed forever on June 22, 1972, when Hurricane Agnes blew through town and washed away the bridge that had made Occoquan’s main drag, Mill Street, a major north-south thoroughfare since the horsehand-buggy era. “The bridge had made Occoquan a drive-through town; after Agnes it became a cul-de-sac,” says Martha Roberts, president of Historic Occoquan. That’s because the old onelane bridge was replaced with a new two-lane overpass, this one a quartermile downstream, where Route 123 bypassed the town.

“After the bridge went down, lots of people didn’t want to repair their property,” says Roberts. “Others moved in and built shops, and the idea just sort of mushroomed.”

Today, Occoquan’s historic district is comprised of a hodgepodge of welland not-so-well-preserved seventeenththrough early-twentieth-century homes, stores, banks, movie theaters, and hotels squeezed into a few sloping blocks on the southern shore of the river. There are more than a hundred shops—antiques, pottery, clothing, jewelry, home furnishings, edibles, drinkables— plus an assortment of galleries, cafes, and restaurants. And there are no franchises or national chains in sight.

What attracts merchants to this small-enterprise Brigadoon? “I like being along the river and the easygoing, laid-back, no-mall-hours atmosphere,” says Annette Riley, president of the Occoquan Merchants Association. The Lake Ridge, Va., native is proprietor of Ka Lei Pua, which features “fun things from Hawaii” like shell jewelry, sarongs, Kona coffee, and Vera Bradley purses. “Most stores here—and at one time it was about 75 percent—are owned by military women, spouses of military men,” says Riley, a military spouse herself. (The Fort Belvoir Army base is just across the river, the Quantico Marine base a few miles south.) “We are all fairly independent. We have our own hours of opening and closing, and we decide for ourselves what we choose to sell.”

Occoquan shops, in contrast to the chain gang at Potomac Mills mega-mall a couple miles down the road, convey quirky independence. Americana Furniture looks like any cluttered antiques store, every grandmother’s clock, fanback side chair, and Shaker cupboard is a brand-new, historically accurate reproduction.

The shopkeepers themselves are similarly independent and innovative. In 2000, Janet Carper and her partner made Occoquan the site for Ye Olde Dominion Wine Shoppe, the first store in the Commonwealth to carry exclusively Virginia wines. “Occoquan gets traffic from the local Northern Virginia people and from tourists. It’s the best of both worlds,” says Carper, who stocks wine from nearly half of Virginia’s ninety-four wineries. She recommended a Daniel Cellars Spicy Rivanna—“pre-spiced, perfect for holiday mulled wine”—and from the always-open tasting bar gave me a sip a Stonecastle Monster Red, which added some hair to my chest.

Brooklyn-born Arlene Denton gave up a career as a GS-13 federal budget analyst to open Woman’s Wish, a country-charm-free oasis of womenoriented books, jewelry, and gift items. “I opened my shop in Occoquan because it’s a nice small town, a little out of the way, a place where I could get to know my customers,” says Denton, who also runs Reiki classes, women’s circles, and workshops right in her cozy, lilac-hued store in one of Occoquan’s newer buildings.

The shops’ ambience echoes the individuality of its owners—most reside in homes or buildings made for anything but retail. Heart of Occoquan, a cheerful, sweet-smelling emporium of candles, pottery, and folk art, occupies the circa-1900 town bank—including the second-floor apartment where merchandise is displayed in the erstwhile bank president’s bathroom.

A former funeral home is now the apt setting of Artists’ Undertakings, a co-op of fourteen local artists; each minds the store twice a month. “We have 2-D artists whose work is displayed on the walls,” explained potter David Cowdrill, who was on duty in the gallery’s compact but bright and unfunereally cheerful space the day I dropped by, “and 3-D artists whose work is on shelves.” Jackie Liedl’s Local Color, in the rear of that same space, carries inexpensive paintings of local scenes: the view from Occoquan bridge, the Fort Belvoir Officers Club, a Falls Church bowling alley. Give her a “decent photo,” and Jackie will do a customized pen-and-ink drawing ($50- $85) or watercolor ($100-$150) of your home or business.

Recycled enterprises are also part of Occoquan’s dining scene. A riverside 1810 building that served as a travelers’ inn now houses three hospitable establishments: the upscale colonial-style Occoquan Inn; the casual Virginia Grill, famed for its peanut soup; and Down Under, a basement pub with live entertainment on weekends. Also on the water is Madigan’s Waterfront, a seafood joint with a new riverside deck and tiki bar. Bistrot Belgique Gourmande, one of the area’s few Belgian restaurants, serves only Thursday moules frites (mussels and fries) feasts, Friday and Saturday dinner, and Sunday brunch. The Garden Kitchen sprawls through various rooms of an 1860s residence, serving up breakfast, lunch, and baked goods.

These worldly pleasures are attended by Occoquan’s large and allegedly active supernatural community. The Occoquan Merchants Association shopping and dining guide designates ten haunted structures with a Casperesque logo. The Occoquan Inn complex, for example, is frequented by a long-gone Dogue Indian, and footprints mysteriously materialize, and merchandise gets rearranged in the Elements pottery shop.

When I asked Deborah Mobley, a sales associate at the Details by Ursula boutique, whether she ever encounters a resident ghost named Charlotte, she confessed to occasionally feeling the presence of another when she was sure she was alone. “One day I found a purse in the middle of the floor for no reason—and no one else could have put it there. I said, ‘If you don’t like it there, I’ll move it,’” jokes Mobley.

Similarly, Jeanne Sweeney broke away from a going-out-of-business sale—after thirty-one years—at her Back Stage Costumes Antiques & Collectibles to tell me about a girl who pined to death after being jilted at the altar. Her ghost had tormented several of Sweeney’s female employees. “But I never saw her because she only haunted married women. I wasn’t married, so she left me alone,” says Sweeney, who insists that the lure of retirement—not fear of ghosts— dropped the curtain on her shop.

The ghosts may just be looking for a place to sleep: Occoquan has many things but nowhere to spend the night. “We keep saying it’s about time somebody opened a B&B,” says Dolores Elder, who works at the Tourist Information Center in a charming little house on the edge of town. (It’s practically under yet another new bridge— a higher four-lane version under construction beside the existing one.)

There are some homes under construction, a pair of upscale real estate developments to supplement the small apartments above many of the stores, a handful of free-standing houses, and several condo developments on the edge of the historic district. Soon to open is Gaslight Landing, a complex of twenty “architecturally compatible” townhouses with forty floating docks in the midst of the Mill Street commercial district; and Occoquan Reserve, five townhouses two blocks up from the river that are expected to be finished by next March. But local merchants don’t seem worried about the influx of new buildings and residents and cars. “They’re required to have enough parking spaces for their residents— that’s one of the major things in a town this small,” says Riley. “And it’ll take more than that to change the town’s character.”

Locals’ Guide to Occoquan

Is the Doctor In?
Within an eighteenth-century miller’s house, Historic Occoquan’s free Mill House Museum displays old photos and medical implements. Don’t miss the tombstone inscribed to an unnamed “good old soul killed by some cruel wrong.” 412 Mill St., 703-491-7525.

Family-Friendly Nightlife
The Coffee House of Occoquan features G-rated groups playing folk, country, jazz, whatever on Fridays, and an open mike on Saturdays. 202 Commerce St., 703-492-8976.

Christmas 52/7
A maze-like arrangement of overstuffed rooms, The Golden Goose carries every imaginable Christmas decoration — including instant snow. 302 Mill St., 703-494-4964.

Body Work
When it’s “me time” in Occoquan, locals take Scandinavian day spa treatments at Dansk (212-A Commerce St., 703-492-1991, http://www.danskdayspa.com); select all-natural cosmetics and nutritional supplements at Just Between Friends (125 Mill St., #8, 703-497-2682); and install no-smudge (ever) eyebrows and lipstick at Permanent Make-up by Angela (305 Mill St., 703-583-2433).

Haunted Hikes
It doesn’t have to be Halloween to get spooked. The Occoquan Merchants Association conducts Evening Walking History and Ghost Tours year-round. Reservations required; ten-person minimum. 703-491-1736.

Contacts

Prince William County Tourist Information Center
200 Mill St.
703-494-0584

Decorum
301 West 21st St.
703-491-4045 or http://www.occoquan.com

Artists’ Undertakings Gallery
309 Mill St.
703-494-0584

Decorum
301 West 21st St.
757-623-3100 or http://www.decorumfurniture.com

Bistrot Belgique Gourmande
302 Poplar Alley
703-494-1180 or http://www.belgique-gourmande.com

Commerce Street Gallery
204 Commerce Street
703-491-9020 or http://www.commercestreetgallery.com

Details By Ursula
206 Mill St.
703-494-4959

Elements
313 Mill St.
703-490-8697

Four Paws Bakery and Boutique
125 Mill St., #9
703-494-3764 or http://www.fourpawsbakery.com

The Garden Kitchen
404 Mill St.
703-494-2848

Heart of Occoquan
308 Mill St.
703-492-9158 or http://www.heartofoccoquan.com

Le Marche
1607 Colley Ave.
757-625-0071 or http://www.lemarcheva.com

The Irish Collection
125 Mill St., #3
703-492-9383 or http://www.irishco.com/Irish.com

Ka Lei Pua
311-C Mill St.
703-491-0635

Local Color
309 Mill St.
703-216-2055

Madigan’s Waterfront
201 Mill St.
703-494-6373 or http://www.madiganswaterfront.com

Occoquan Inn/Virginia Grill/Down Under
301 Mill St.
703-491-5712 or http://www.village-americana.com

Texture
806 Baldwin Ave.
757-626-0991

Woman’s Wish
310 Mill St.
703-492-0407 or http://www.womanswish.com

Ye Olde Dominion Wine Shoppe
408 Mill St.
703-494-1622 or http://www.olddominionwine.com