Four Mile Fork, Virginia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Four Mile Fork, Virginia
Unincorporated community
Four Mile Fork, Virginia Location in Northern Virginia Show map of Northern Virginia Four Mile Fork, Virginia Location in Virginia Show map of Virginia Four Mile Fork, Virginia Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	Virginia
County	Spotsylvania
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)

Four Mile Fork is a small place in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, in the United States. It is not a city or town with its own government. Instead, it is an "unincorporated community." This means it is part of the larger county area.

Four Mile Fork is located just south of the city of Fredericksburg. Its name comes from a spot where three important roads meet. These roads are State Route 208, U.S. Route 1, and U.S. Route 1 Business. This junction is about four miles south of downtown Fredericksburg.

In the past, Four Mile Fork was also known by another name: Thomas' Store.

How Four Mile Fork Grew Over Time

Four Mile Fork started to grow in the middle of the 1900s. It became a "suburb" of Fredericksburg. A suburb is a smaller community near a larger city. Many new homes, called "tract housing," were built. These homes spread out from Fredericksburg along U.S. Route 1 Business.

At first, there were only a few small shops and businesses. But things changed after a big highway, Interstate 95, was finished in 1964. A new exit for U.S. Route 1 was built just south of Four Mile Fork. This helped the area grow a lot.

New Businesses and Development

After the highway was built, many new businesses came to Four Mile Fork. These included places to stay, restaurants, and gas stations. From the late 1960s to the 1980s, even more types of businesses opened. There were car dealerships, a shopping center, furniture stores, and a movie theater. Many other local businesses also started up.

Changes in Shopping and Growth

In 1980, a large shopping mall called Spotsylvania Mall opened. It is now known as Spotsylvania Towne Center. This mall was built west of Fredericksburg, not along U.S. Route 1. This caused a shift in where people went to shop. Many businesses in Four Mile Fork saw fewer customers. Some even closed or moved away.

Renewed Interest and Future Growth

However, since the 1990s, Four Mile Fork has seen new interest. More development has happened to the south along Routes 1 and 208. Older business areas around Four Mile Fork have also been updated. This has brought new businesses back to the community.

Most of the new home building between Four Mile Fork and Fredericksburg was finished by the 1990s. But new homes are still being built in empty spots. This means the area continues to grow and change.