The road bed here follows the south branch of the Dumfries Road, in use before 1740, which crossed Cedar Run at Tacquet’s Ford. This route connected the Port of Dumfries with Red Store, now known as Warrenton, and interior settlements beyond. Dower . . . — — Map (db m2260) HM
In 1743, the second Prince William County Courthouse was built near here along Cedar Run, replacing the first county courthouse in Woodbridge. After the creation of Fairfax County, the Cedar Run location, owned by Philemon Waters, became the center . . . — — Map (db m2487) HM
Organized April 22, 1837, the nineteen original members of Antioch Baptist Church worshipped in a small log building until the stone church was erected in 1842. Baptisms were held in the creek behind the church. In 1901, the congregation tore down . . . — — Map (db m40091) HM
During the Civil War, this narrow pass in the Bull Run Mountains was a strategic avenue for military movements. On August 28, 1862, during the Second Manassas Campaign, Confederate Gen. James Longstreet directed Gen. Cadmus Wilcox’s division through . . . — — Map (db m11834) HM
In Memory of
John and Mary Thomas
Sept. 1901
Little Union Baptist Church
[Original Cornerstone]:
Little Union Baptist Church
Estb. 1903 — — Map (db m7305) HM
The Little Union Baptist Church was originally built in 1903 on land deeded by Mary Bates Thomas and her husband, John Thomas. Mary Bates Thomas (1838-1922) was a truly remarkable and accomplished woman of color. Born into a free African American . . . — — Map (db m168443) HM
Free African Americans were present in Prince William County as early as the mid-eighteenth century. After the Civil War, emancipated slaves joined other African American families in a growing community near Cabin Branch. Batestown, as it became . . . — — Map (db m168444) HM
In 1850, the people of this area decided to build a church where the Word of God could be preached and expounded. Burr and Emsey Glascock donated the land and were the main leaders. Private donations by the people of the community were a large . . . — — Map (db m2332) HM
If you had stood in this spot between 1822 and about 1900, you would have seen a large structure to your right, bustling with activity. This is the site of the Brentsville Tavern, also know as the Brentsville Hotel. You would have also seen the . . . — — Map (db m2778) HM
If you had stood in this spot between 1822 and about 1900, you would have seen a large structure to your right, bustling with activity. This is the site of the Brentsville Tavern, also know as the Brentsville Hotel. You would have also seen the . . . — — Map (db m2812) HM
Brentsville was the Prince William County seat during the Civil War. In response to John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859, the Prince William Cavalry (Co. A, Virginia Cavalry) was formed here on the courthouse lawn in January 1860. The ladies . . . — — Map (db m2781) HM
Fourth seat of the Prince William County government. Courthouse, jail, Episcopal Chapel, and White House were built in 1822 on land originally part of the Brent Town tract confiscated from Robert Bristow, a Tory, in 1779.
♦ St. James . . . — — Map (db m780) HM
This building served as the fourth courthouse for Prince William County. For seventy years, county business including trials, paying taxes, and voting occurred in this building and on its steps. Auctions, including the buying and selling of slaves, . . . — — Map (db m152412) HM
1822
This now quiet Virginia town was once the busy center of Prince William County for most of the 19th century. The brick Courthouse and Jail were built on the county's public lot in 1822, after which the town grew up around it. . . . — — Map (db m152415) HM
This building served as the Prince William County Jail when Brentsville was the county seat. Inmates were housed here awaiting trial in the nearby courthouse. If convicted of a crime, criminals were transferred to the state penitentiary in Richmond . . . — — Map (db m152413) HM
Built by 1822 with the Courthouse and Jail, the Clerk’s Office was located here. The three buildings created a symmetrical design within the Public Lot. The Clerk’s Office was built to be “…26 feet by 16; pitch 18 feet; walls of the foundation . . . — — Map (db m2813) HM
This building was constructed by 1822 as Prince William County’s fourth courthouse. The County seat was moved to Brentsville from Dumfries to centralize its location within the county. The Courthouse design is typical of 1800s Virginia courthouses. . . . — — Map (db m2797) HM
Built by 1822 with the Courthouse and Clerk’s Office, the Prince William County Jail, or gaol, was larger than most jails built in Virginia at that time. Debtors, runaway slaves, thieves and murderers awaited trial here in timber-lined rooms. . . . — — Map (db m2796) HM
Haislip and Hall FamiliesJohn W. Hall was a Confederate veteran who served as a courier during the Civil War.
Samuel Haislip built the home for his wife and their seven children around 1850. The original . . . — — Map (db m152426) HM
In 2000, this ca. 1830 “log cabin” home was moved to the Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre from the Braemer area in Gainesville to save it from demolition. It was the home of John William Hall (1840-1931) who was a Civil War . . . — — Map (db m2732) HM
(caption of upper, left picture)
The Brentsville School as it appeared ca. 1940.
Lucy Walsh Phinney Collection, Gift of Steve and Cynthia Phinney in Memory of Lucy Phinney
This school was built in 1928 over the original location of . . . — — Map (db m2827) HM
Tavern Activities
The Brentsville Tavern depended on many people working in numerous buildings. Outbuildings likely included a dairy, a smokehouse, a laundry, and housing. The November 22, 1828 Alexandria Gazette described the lot . . . — — Map (db m2811) HM
Between 1822 and about 1900, a large structure bustling with activity stood near here. One of the first buildings constructed in town, the Brentsville Tavern became the new community's social center.
Although known as the Brentsville Tavern, . . . — — Map (db m152417) HM
In 2004, archaeologists from the University of Mary Washington's Center for Historic Preservation excavated portions of the Tavern site. They identified portions of the main buildings as well as numerous outbuilding sites and features. Some of . . . — — Map (db m152418) HM
Here, you can see the edges of a large depression. It is located inside ropes that mark the Tavern’s foundation. This feature was one of two cellars underneath the ca. 1822 Tavern building. These cellars were beneath two rooms that flanked the . . . — — Map (db m2810) HM
Well Improved…
The Brentsville Tavern was among many buildings on the Tavern Square. Owner Thomas Hampton’s 1828* notice read:
SALE OF VALUABLE PROPERTY AT BRENTSVILLE, PRINCE WILLIAM C.H., VA. On Thursday the 18th day . . . — — Map (db m2779) HM
The County gallows was located in this area. The gallows was erected when needed then disassembled. It was a grim symbol of the ultimate price of lawbreaking. Gallows were widely used in America to execute the convicted.
In 19th-century . . . — — Map (db m2746) HM
(caption of upper, left picture) Prince William County’s surveyor, Thomas Nelson Jr., recorded this plat of Brentsville on November 30, 1822. The Public Square is outlined in red. The Courthouse, Jail, and Clerk of the Court’s Office . . . — — Map (db m2828) HM
The Brentsville Tavern was a substantial building. It served a variety of people- from Magistrates to farmers. A notice in the November 22, 1828 Alexandria Gazette advertising the sale of THE BRENTSVILLE HOTEL described the Tavern: . . . — — Map (db m2809) HM
In 1820, Prince William County's port city of Dumfries was in decline and more people moved away from the Potomac River. Citizens petitioned the State to relocate the county seat to a more centralized location. Along Valley road and in between . . . — — Map (db m152424) HM
Brentsville Union Church was built ca. 1880. The church sits on a lot deeded to The Trustees of the Union Church in 1871 by George M. Goodwin, who owned Tavern Square. It was erected “for the use of the Congregation of the Methodist Episcopal . . . — — Map (db m2761) HM
As the North Carolinians moved down the slope behind you, Union artillery took a heavy toll on the Confederate infantry. A shell-burst killed Heth's horse, while another severely wounded both Kirkland and Cooke, taking them out of the fight. The . . . — — Map (db m151293) HM
As Cooke's Brigade charged toward the railroad, they soon were in a foot race with Union reinforcements. Union troops reached the railroad first and unleashed their firepower against Cooke. One Union soldier wrote that the Confederates were, . . . — — Map (db m151291) HM
As the Carolinians pulled back from their attack, an artillery duel continued over the battlefield. The rest of Lee's army arrived under Lt. Gen. Richard Ewell, bringing, 45,000 Confederates facing 8,000 Union troops. Darkness saved Warren's . . . — — Map (db m151288) HM
By 4:30 pm, Ewell saw the approach of Hooker’s two regiments to the north and the withdrawal of the 60th Georgia along the railroad. In the center, Forno’s Louisianans were already slowly pulling back. The arrival of Federal artillery and more . . . — — Map (db m167477) HM
On 26 August 1862 Maj. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s command, led by Col. Thomas T. Munford’s 2d Virginia Cavalry and Maj. Gen. Richard S. Ewell’s division, arrived here at sunset after marching 54 miles in two days around Maj. . . . — — Map (db m4852) HM
In 1862, Federal soldiers in the area found as many as 82 men buried here. Here is a list of known burials in this cemetery as of 2012. As many as 41 are still unknown. William P. Adams Jesse Frank Nabors James Barber William Nunnelly J.G. . . . — — Map (db m64198) HM
The devastating crossfire provided by the 60th Georgia to your right on the other side of the railroad tracks had nearly an entire Federal brigade pinned down in this field. The Georgians used the cuts and fills along the railroad as a parapet to . . . — — Map (db m59402) HM
In the autumn of 1863, Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, with Lt. Gen. A. P. Hill’s III Corps in the lead, pursued Maj. Gen. George G. Meade’s Union army as it withdrew towards Washington. On the afternoon of 14 October, Maj. Gen. . . . — — Map (db m154867) HM
George Brent, an English Catholic and member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, joined with English merchants Robert Bristow, Richard Foote, and Nicholas Hayward in 1687 to purchase 30,000 acres here. They bought the tract from the Fairfax . . . — — Map (db m143100) HM
Welcome to Bristoe Station Battlefield Heritage Park. The park interprets three important Civil war events that took place around Bristoe Station. This trail focuses on the fall 1861 Confederate encampment known as “Camp Jones” and the 1862 Battle . . . — — Map (db m59032) HM
Welcome to Bristoe Station Battlefield Heritage Park. The park interprets three important Civil War events that took place around Bristoe Station between 1861-1865. This trail focuses on the Battle of Bristoe Station that was fought here on . . . — — Map (db m154870) HM
The Civil War transformed this area. Between 1861 and 1865, thousands of both Federal and Confederate soldiers passed through this region. local road networks allowed soldiers to march rapidly in either direction. While the roads were important, . . . — — Map (db m143099) HM
Twice baptized in blood for Liberty's sake, it will be a place to which in after times pilgrimages will be made by those who reverence the glorious, though suffering, past.
— Chaplain Joseph Hopkins Twichell, November 1, . . . — — Map (db m167450) HM
Bristoe Station Battlefield Heritage Park is one of Prince William County's most treasured open spaces. This peaceful landscape features over 2.7 miles of walking and equestrian trails. Wildlife abounds in the fields, woods and ponds. Evidence of . . . — — Map (db m232611) HM
From August through November of 1861, thousands of Confederate soldiers filled the acres surrounding Bristoe Station. These men belonged to the brigades of Brig. Gens. Henry Whiting and Cadmus Wilcox. This encampment was named Camp Jones after Col. . . . — — Map (db m59038) HM
The area around Bristoe became the final resting place for hundreds of soldiers who died in Northern Virginia. Soldiers from Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia created state cemeteries to bury their comrades. Burial details . . . — — Map (db m59485) HM
During the late summer of 1861, Confederate troops from Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia camped in the vicinity of Bristoe Station. Typhoid, measles, and other contagious diseases quickly swept through these camps . . . — — Map (db m154871) HM
On the afternoon of August 26, 1862, about 350 yards ahead, you would have witnessed a long line of freight trains containing dusty Federal infantrymen passing from the marshalling yards of Alexandria (to your left) on their way to the Federal camps . . . — — Map (db m59301) HM
In this vicinity stood the home of Thomas K. Davis and his family. Davis purchased 136 acres in 1858 and by 1861 had built a substantial home, barn and outbuildings here. Davis also operated a store in the village of Bristoe Station at the northwest . . . — — Map (db m68483) HM
Prior to the action along the railroad, Brig. Gen. Nelson Taylor’s New York brigade, better known as the “Excelsior Brigade” came into the field here. Knowing little of the situation before arriving on the field, Taylor observed the . . . — — Map (db m59407) HM
In the winter of 1863-1864 thousands of Pennsylvania soldiers encamped in the farms and woodlots surrounding Bristoe Station. With easy access to the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, a pair of North-South and East-West roads, and a source of . . . — — Map (db m232527) HM
As the Confederates fell back in confusion, General Thomas Smyth's Brigade was ordered to cross the railroad in front of you into what was then a pine tree thicket and attack the Confederate flank. With fixed bayonets, the Federals entered the . . . — — Map (db m151289) HM
These men died from disease incurred while at Camp Jones near Bristoe Station and from numerous battles in Northern Virginia
"Fame's temple boasts no higher name, no king is grander on his throne: no glory shines with brighter . . . — — Map (db m151272) HM WM
Gen. Hill now had nearly 4,000 North Carolinians moving forward to intercept the retreating Union Fifth Corps. Across the railroad track, to your right, elements of the Union Second Corps under Gen. Warren trudged wearily toward Bristoe Station. . . . — — Map (db m151282) HM
At approximately 2 pm, the lead elements of Lee's army reached the hills in front of you. These men were part of Lt. Gen. Ambrose Powell Hill's Corps and they saw before them a rare opportunity to intercept and destroy a significant portion of . . . — — Map (db m154868) HM
After the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia commanded by Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade settled in central Virginia on either side of the . . . — — Map (db m151278) HM
As the North Carolina brigades advanced down the hill, Maj. David G. McIntosh was ordered to advance his artillery battalion here to support the Confederate attack. Hill chose the location over the protest of McIntosh due to its exposed position. . . . — — Map (db m151284) HM
Near here is the site of the Anglican Dettingen Parish’s Broad Run Chapel which served this part of Prince William County from 1745-1758 until a new church was built on Slaty Run at Old Church Road. Though the Chapel was abandoned it was still . . . — — Map (db m218897) HM
As dawn broke on August 27, 1862, Stonewall Jackson moved two of his divisions up the railroad to the main Federal supply depot at Manassas Junction, leaving three brigades of Maj. Gen. Richard S. Ewell’s Division as a rear guard at Bristoe. Ewell’s . . . — — Map (db m59325) HM
By the first quarter of the 1700s, revisions to the road laws in the colony mandated more convenient travel routes over land. In conjunction with new settlement pushing west through the Piedmont region to the Blue Ridge, a series of old Indian . . . — — Map (db m781) HM
In June of 1862, fighting in Virginia was focused around the Confederate Capital in Richmond. In a series of battles known as the Seven Days Campaign, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee beat back Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan’s Federal Army of the . . . — — Map (db m59036) HM
In this creek bed, three Louisiana regiments made a stand. These men, many recruited from the wharves of New Orleans, had already established a reputation as hard fighters and were labeled “Tigers” by their comrades. Their brigade . . . — — Map (db m165660) HM
What is a Natural Area Preserve?
Established in 1989, Virginia's Natural Area Preserve System protects some of the best examples of natural communities and rare plant and animal habitats in Virginia. The first preserve was dedicated to . . . — — Map (db m108520) HM
About the Preserve
A Living Laboratory
The Bull Run Mountains are the easternmost mountains in Virginia. The Virginia Outdoors Foundation's Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve is approximately 2,350 acres that serve as . . . — — Map (db m163987) HM
Beginning late in 1861, the Confederate Subsistence Department used this mill for a meat curing and distribution center and surrounded it with livestock pens. On March 9, 1862, as the Confederate army evacuated northern Virginia to protect Richmond, . . . — — Map (db m156688) HM
When war broke out, the Confederate Subsistence Department used John Chapman's mill as a meat-curing and distribution center. On March 9, 1862, Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston ordered stockpiles here destroyed when he evacuated northern . . . — — Map (db m167428) HM
Colonel Oliver O. Howard's brigade brought up the rear of the Federal flanking column. After crossing Bull Run, the New Englanders hastened towards the sounds of battle. In the mid-afternoon heat, dozens of men straggled on the march or collapsed by . . . — — Map (db m94606) HM
Jennie Dean (1852-1913) was born in slavery near here. A pioneer in the advancement of education and religion among the black citizens of Prince William County and neighboring counties, Miss Dean founded the Manassas Industrial School for Colored . . . — — Map (db m7618) HM
The site for the first church, a small brick building, was donated by Landon Carter of Woodland in 1822. During the battles of Manassas (Bull Run), it was used as a field hospital by both the North and the South, but was so badly damaged that it was . . . — — Map (db m874) HM
Originally constructed in 1825, the Stone Bridge carried the Warrenton Turnpike across Bull Run. Its ability to carry traffic across the steep-sided stream, even at times of high water, gave the bridge a key role in the Civil War. Both sides . . . — — Map (db m194383) HM
Named in honor of Benita Fitzgerald,
Olympic Gold Medalist – 100 Meter Hurdles,
XXIII Olympiad – 1984 •
Pan American Games Champion – 1983 •
U.S. National Champion – 1983 and 1986.
Benita was born in Warrenton, . . . — — Map (db m2333) HM
In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education. Many school systems resisted integration. Nearly ten years later many Virginia schools remained segregated. In 1964 the Prince . . . — — Map (db m206649) HM
The 2nd & 11th Mississippi Infantry Regt’s. (C.S.A.) camped here from Oct 1861 to Mar 1862. They named their camp in observance of the 6th North Carolina’s Camp Fisher (1 Mile to the NW). The 6th N.C. was the first Reg’t. to establish quarters in . . . — — Map (db m3820) HM
This building is dedicated to
Carey M. Perkinson
for his years of service
to the
Dumfries-Triangle Vol. Fire Dept.
& Auxiliary
and the
Dumfries-Triangle Rescue Squad
August 1993 — — Map (db m86256) HM
Williams Ordinary is believed to have been built in the 1760s, although the exact construction date is unknown. The building’s symmetrical façade features header bond, a brick pattern rarely found in Virginia. This building was one of the most . . . — — Map (db m3297) HM
Dumfries, an important Potomac River port chartered in 1749, became strategically significant in the autumn of 1861 when Confederate forces built batteries along the Potomac River nearby to blockade Washington, D.C. Gen. William H.C. Whiting, . . . — — Map (db m3207) HM
On 26 December 1862, Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart led 1,800 cavalry out of Fredericksburg on his third and last major raid. Stuart divided his column and on 27 December launched a two-pronged attack on Dumfries, a major Union supply base. The garrison . . . — — Map (db m166460) HM
Just east of this location along the Quantico creek was the plantation known as Graham Park. This property was patented by John Graham (1711-1787) who came to Virginia from Scotland about 1733. Graham is known as the founder of Dumfries since the . . . — — Map (db m519) HM
The old roadbed to your right was a forerunner of today's interstate highways. American Indians made a path through the woods so they could travel between villages and their hunting and fishing grounds along tidewater creeks. European settlers . . . — — Map (db m211322) HM
Dumfries, first settled in the early 18th century, became in 1749 the first town in Prince William County chartered by the House of Burgesses. It soon grew in wealth and importance as a major port, rivaling Alexandria, Baltimore, and New York in . . . — — Map (db m520) HM
Mason Locke Weems (1759-1825), minister, bookseller, and writer, owned a half-acre lot here from 1798 until 1802. Weems published the first edition of his most influential work, later known as The Life of Washington, in 1800. Widely . . . — — Map (db m150716) HM
The Neabsco Mills Ironworks complex, under the ownership of three generations of the Tayloe family, of Richmond County, operated between 1737 and 1828. Located near this site, it was one of the longest continually operating ironworks in present-day . . . — — Map (db m2105) HM
The Potomac Path, or King’s Highway, was a major transportation route linking the northern and southern colonies in colonial America. Following an ancient Indian trail, the road assumed great importance for overland travel between the colonies and . . . — — Map (db m5365) HM
Forty yards southerly of this spot stood the third court house of Prince William County. The brick in this monument came from the foundation of this old court house, and was donated present owners of said court house lot. — — Map (db m2274) HM
This site was the location of the 1745 stone church and the frame edifice of the Dettingen Parish in the twentieth century.
Here lies the mortal remains of the Dumfries pioneers, from 1667. — — Map (db m7296) HM
The roads through Prince William County were important routes for the Revolutionary War campaign of 1781. In April, the Marquis de Lafayette passed through the county on the King's Highway with a portion of Gen. George Washington's Continental Army. . . . — — Map (db m166461) HM
Revolutionary War Patriots and War of 1812 Veterans known to be interred in Historic Dumfries Cemetery
Revolutionary War
QM Timothy Brundige 1754 - 1822
PVT George Smith 1765 - 1822
Patriot Thomas Cave 1745 - 1802
PVT William Ford - . . . — — Map (db m85566) WM
Built by Richard Blackburn of Ripon, England circa 1745, Rippon Lodge was home to many noted individuals including Colonel Thomas Blackburn, a former aide to General George Washington, Judge Wade Ellis, a Federal Judge in Washington, D.C., and . . . — — Map (db m5366) HM
Prince William militia opened a road nearby in preparation for the Yorktown Campaign of 1781. French and American cavalry, wagon trains, and cattle unable to use the ferry at Woodbridge, traveled this road, fording the river at Wolf Run Shoals on . . . — — Map (db m166464) HM
The Weems-Botts House offers a fascinating history on Virginia’s oldest chartered town and two of the more colorful personalities to have lived here: the Rev. Mason Locke Weems and attorney Benjamin Botts. Weems, biographer of George Washington, was . . . — — Map (db m5371) HM
Weems-Botts House
Dumfries, Virginia
Marked by Bill of Rights Chapter, NSDAR
October 6, 1996
Also on the house:
This Property has been
placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the . . . — — Map (db m2360) HM
Built in 1747, the Weems-Botts House is one of the oldest surviving structures in Dumfries. The smaller, original section of the house comprised two rooms and served as the Quantico Church vestry until the town confiscated it during the American . . . — — Map (db m101526) HM
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