The Town Is Born

The Town Is Born. As the twentieth century dawned, an emerging town stood on what was once battle-scarred land. Incorporated in 1873, Manassas included churches, businesses, banks, newspapers, a small force of police and firemen, and hundreds of homes. The influence of the railroad continued to shape the community and was the main factor in Manassas becoming the county seat in 1892. Women in particular played an important role in shaping the town during the first quarter of the twentieth century, establishing schools, working in local businesses and crating civic organizations that supported a wide array of charitable causes. Segregation was a way of life, yet local black citizens contributed much to their neighborhoods, building schools, churches and businesses central to the growth of the community., [Aside:] , Everything is new here... , , George Carr Round, 1885, [Captions:] , Eugenia Osbourn (left) and Jennie Dean (below) used their passion for education to establish schools in the late nineteenth century for the children of Manassas. , , Manassas Museum Collection, This view of Center Street in 1915 shows the first water lines being installed. Note the horse drawn carriages parked in the background. For Manassas, automobiles were still a thing of the future when this photo was taken. , , Manassas Museum Collection, Surveying tools like this one were used when laying out streets and lots in Manassas during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. , , Photograph by Don Flory , Manassas Museum Collection