I find that amazing. When I went to DC to attend President Reagan's inauguration in 1981, I had to stay in Fredericksburg, 50 miles south of the District, because there were no closer accommodations. It seemed to be a rather sleepy and very Southern town. My motel was on Jefferson Davis Highway and I even saw a Bonnie Blue Flag or two while driving around.
Bureaucrats and lobbyists moving in from DC may have changed its culture politics.
You wouldn’t recognize Fredericksburg today. It’s been engulfed by urban sprawl.