Town file
Dumfries, Virginia
Dumfries, Virginia (Prince William County, Virginia) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 397, "Stunning Brutality, Shocking Stupidity" (15 June 2023).
- Town
- Dumfries
- County
- Prince William County
- State
- Virginia
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 397
- Approximate location
- 38.567, -77.322
Episode 397 / 15 June 2023 / 165 min / full
Stunning Brutality, Shocking Stupidity
"This is Dumfries, Virginia, DUM fries like French fries, and it's in northern Virginia, about 40 minutes to Washington DC, in Prince William County." about 0:05:18
The case: Murder of Larry Wayne Perry (May 22, 1979); Murder of Alexander Stanko (June 16, 1990). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2023
- Population
- 5,669
- Median age
- 30.4
- Median household income
- $57,111 a year
- Median home value
- $525,500
- Two-bedroom rent
- about $1,660 a month
- Cost of living
- 127
- Religious
- 38.3%
- Property crime
- ▲ about 20% high
- Violent crime
- ▼ one third
History, in brief
- Settlers started coming as early as 1690, when a grist mill was put up on Quantico Creek. about 0:06:18
- The town was formally established on 60 acres of land provided by John Graham. about 0:06:53
- Graham named it Dumfries after Dumfries in Scotland, where he was born. about 0:07:09
- It became the second leading port in colonial America, receiving tobacco, and rivalled New York, Philadelphia and Boston. about 0:07:22
- Dumfries peaked in size and importance in 1763. about 0:07:42
- It was a thriving port for about 15 years before it began to decline. about 0:08:02
- The Revolutionary War, unfixed erosion and a shift in shipping from tobacco to wheat and sugar ended its importance. about 0:08:21
- In 1950 it was combined with Triangle, Virginia, to form Dumfries Triangle, but the communities were separated again in the mid-1950s. about 0:08:35
- Its mottos are 'Virginia's first chartered town' and 'we like paperwork'. about 0:05:56
The reviews read out
5 stars
"The reviewer loves having so much variety at so many grocery stores, listing Lidl, Aldi, Walmart, Costco, Shoppers, Target and Wegmans, and says Prince William County's education is superb."about 0:09:13
4 stars
"It is great most of the year; the west side of the Costco gets a little bad in the fall."about 0:11:07
3 stars
"Opens with gibberish, then in capitals says it is boring and expensive."about 0:11:25
3 stars
"The reviewer moved there that year and is counting down the days until the lease ends; traffic always stops at the Lorton, Aquacon and Woodbridge exits, but Easy Pass preserves their sanity."about 0:11:49
2 stars
"Warns people to stay away: it is not quiet or clean, children scream and litter, police come to the building regularly and the units are dilapidated."about 0:13:00
2 stars
"Neighbours introduced themselves and offered to help move in; the neighbourhood has a high crime rate but the reviewer's area is less crime prone, and they started parking their car near the house after their keys would not go into the lock."about 0:13:48
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Woodbridge, Virginia6.2 miles
- McLean, Virginia27 miles
- Warrenton, Virginia28 miles
- Bethesda, Maryland31 miles
- Largo, Maryland34 miles
- Leonardtown, Maryland41 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.