| THE PRINCE WILLIAM HISTORICAL MARKER GUIDE |
 Prince William County formed in 1730 from Stafford and King George Counties, originally included Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria, Loudoun, and Fauquier Counties. The first courthouse was constructed on the south bank of the Occoquan at Woodbridge in 1731. Four other sites have served as the County Courthouse.
Dumfries, a thriving 18th century shipping port which rivaled Boston and New York, was chartered in 1749. Several towns were chartered before the Civil War, but of these, only Haymarket (1799) and Occoquan (1804) remain with Dumfries as functioning municipalities today. The town of Quantico (1927) came into existence after the creation of the Quantico Marine Corps Base. Manassas and Manassas Park withdrew from the County in 1975 to become independent cities.
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The Potomac Path or King’s Highway became a major transportation route, linking the northern and southern colonies. Lafayette, Washington and Rochambeau were travelers along this route, stopping at the Woodbridge plantation of George Mason; Rippon Lodge, the oldest standing Colonial house on the Potomac River and home of Colonel Richard Blackburn; and the Stagecoach Inn at the port of Dumfries. U.S. Route 1 closely follows this early route. Henry Lee III, known as “Light Horse Harry” and the father of General Robert E. Lee, lived just north of Dumfries on the Leesylvania Plantation. The John Tayloe family owned the Neabsco Iron Works, also near here, which provided iron for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
Foreseeing the coming break with the Mother Country, the citizens of Prince William assembled at Dumfries on June 6, 1774, and adopted the Prince William County Resolves. Later in the same year, one of the first companies of Minutemen in Virginia was organized. William Grayson, a native son, played a prominent role in securing Virginia’s ratification of the Constitution and was to become Virginia’s first United States Senator.
Prince William was the setting for the First and Second Battles of Manassas, two of the most significant battles of the War Between the States. Today, the events of these battles are remembered and memorialized in the Manassas National Battlefield Park located just northwest of the City of Manassas.
Much of the history of Prince William County has been documented, and many particular places and events have been depicted on historical highway markers throughout the County. This brochure will guide you in locating some of these sites and in reliving the drama of the period.
The two primary sources of historical markers located in the County are the Department of Historic Resources, a state agency, and the Prince William County Historical Commission. The Department of Historic Resources sponsors and oversees the State Historical Highway Marker Program. State markers commemorate historical events, sites, or people of importance to the history of Virginia and the nation and are designated by the State seal and a marker number. To find out more about the Virginia State Historical Highway Marker Program visit the department’s website www.dhr.state.va.us.
The Prince William County Historical Commission, appointed by the Board of County Supervisors, has been entrusted with the mandate to oversee the county marker program. County markers denote events, sites, and personages important to the history of the County and are designated by the County or Commission seal.
Both the State and County work closely with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), in establishing the marker sites and insuring that areas surrounding the markers are maintained.
You may see other historical markers as you drive through the County such as Mosby Heritage Area markers; Virginia Civil War Trails markers; and the Washington Rochambeau Highway markers – all reflecting the rich and colorful history of Prince William County.
For historic sites located within the City of Manassas, contact the Manassas City Museum. The Town of Occoquan has also instituted a marker program. A brochure and walking tour guide can be obtained in Occoquan at the Mill House Museum.
Published by:
Prince William County Historical Commission
1 County Complex Court
Prince William, Virginia 22192-9201
3rd Edition, 2004
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Prince William County (1)
Route 1 and Annapolis Way
AREA 345 SQUARE MILES
Formed in 1730 from Stafford and King George, and named for William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, second son of King George II. The First and Second Battles of Manassas took place in this county.
(on reverse)
Fairfax County
AREA 417 SQUARE MILES
Formed in 1742 from Prince William and Loudoun, and named for Lord Fairfax, proprietor of the Northern Neck. Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home, is in this county.
State Marker Z-144
Conservation & Development Commission – 1934
One Hundred and Fifty Yards East… (2)
Route 1 and Annapolis Way
One hundred and fifty yards east of this spot stood the first courthouse of Prince William County organized in 1731. This monument erected by the Bicentennial Committee of Prince William County, September 25, 1931, was presented to the people of the county by Wade R. Ellis of Rippon Lodge, chairman of the committee.
Erected 1931
The Occoquan (3)
Route 1 and Annapolis Way
Captain John Smith explored this region in 1608. The town of Occoquan began with the opening of a tobacco warehouse on the shore of the Occoquan River in 1734. Occoquan grew as the focus of the commercial and manufacturing activities of John Ballendine, who had an iron furnace, forge, and sawmills at the falls of the river before 1759. After the American Revolution, Occoquan emerged as a flour-manufacturing center with one of the nation’s first gristmills to use the laborsaving inventions of Oliver Evans. In 1804, Occoquan was established as a town and thrived as a commercial and industrial center into the 1920s.
State Marker E-59
Department of Historic Resources - 2000
Early Land Patents (4)
Route 1 and Annapolis Way
In 1653, Thomas Burbage obtained 3,000 acres between the Occoquan and Neabsco Creek. Burbage’s Neck later passed to Martin Scarlet (d.1695), pioneer settler and sometime Burgess. George Mason II gained 534 acres of Occoquan River frontage including a ferry landing and the site of the first Prince William Court House. The plantation was named Woodbridge after a toll-bridge built by Mason’s great-grandson Thomas in place of the family-owned ferry.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1976
William Grayson’s Grave (5)
Route 1 near Marumsco Plaza
William Grayson, lawyer, member of the Continental Congress, Constitutional Convention and U.S. Senate, is buried nearby on property formerly part of “Belle Air” the family plantation. In 1774, Grayson organized Prince William County’s first revolutionary militia unit. He commanded a Virginia regiment and served as Aide-de-Camp to Washington. Prince William County Historical Commission - 1986
Potomac Path (6)
Route 1 southbound near Dale Boulevard
To the east is the only preserved segment of the Potomac Path, the earliest north-south route in northern Virginia. Following an ancient Indian trail, the road, later known as the King’s Highway, assumed great importance for overland travel between the colonies and in the early days of the Republic. Washington and Rochambeau traveled this route to Yorktown in 1781 as did the French Army on its return the following year. Rippon Lodge, a portion of which was built in 1725 by Col. Richard Blackburn, stands nearby.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1979
Neabsco Iron Works (7)
Route 1 near Neabsco Creek
Situated along the nearby Neabsco Creek, the Neabsco Iron Works began operation by 1737. Directed by John Tayloe of Richmond County and succeeding family members, the ironworks evolved into a multifaceted antebellum industrial plantation, which included such activities as shipbuilding, milling, smithing, leatherworking, farming, and shoemaking. The complex became an important supplier of raw materials for weaponry during the American Revolution. The Neabsco Iron Works operation ended about 1828, after the death of John Tayloe III, when his sons sold most of the remaining Neabsco lands.
State Marker E-58
Department of Historic Resources - 2001
Events Along Neabsco Creek (8)
Route 1 southbound, just before Cardinal Drive
Nearby are the sites of a fort ordered built in 1679, and of the oldest tomb found in the county, that of Rose Peters – 1690. Iron mining was begun here as early as 1734. Remains of a colonial furnace, foundry, and mill have been discovered. Confederate regiments were camped in the vicinity to support gun batteries set up in the winter of 1861-1862 to interdict union navigation of the Potomac River.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1976
Leesylvania State Park (9)
Neabsco Road at entrance to park
This 508-acre park was donated to the Commonwealth in 1978 by Daniel K. Ludwig and was opened on June 17, 1989. The park, whose name means “Lee’s Woods,” is the ancestral home of the famous Lee family of Virginia. The land, which was patented in 1658, was the home of Henry Lee II and Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee III, father of General Robert E. Lee. Nearby Freestone Point was the site of a Confederate artillery emplacement which successfully blockaded the Potomac River during the Civil War.
State Marker JQ-1
Department of Historic Resources - 1989
Henry Lee III, “Light Horse Harry,” 1756 – 1818 (10)
Leesylvania State Park
1776 – 1781 Cavalry Commander
1779 Awarded Congressional Medal
1786 – 1788 Member Continental Congress
1791 – 1794 Governor of Virginia
1799 – 1801 Member U. S. Congress
Father of General Robert E. Lee C.S.A.
Henry Lee III was born nearby at the mansion house of “Leesylvania Plantation”
Erected 1976
Erected by the Prince William County Historical Commission in Observance of the American Revolutionary Bicentennial
“Leesylvania” (11)
Route 1 southbound, just after Cardinal Drive
This historically important property was part of a land grant dating back to 1658 and was the site of “Leesylvania,” the home of Henry Lee II (1729-1789). The Neabsco Iron Foundry, which was located nearby, furnished “pig iron and shot” to the Virginia Navy and also helped to equip the Commonwealth’s Militia during the Revolution.
This Plaque Erected By Tidewater Oil Company - 1958
Revolutionary War Campaign of 1781 (12)
Route 1 northbound near “V,” Dumfries
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. During July, Brig. Gen. Anthony Wayne and his troops marched through the region on the Carolina Road and joined Lafayette at Rapidan. In September, the cavalry and baggage wagons of the French and American armies took the King’s Highway to Yorktown. After the Battle of Yorktown, the British troops surrendered to the American and French forces on 19 Oct. 1781.
State Marker E-53
Department of Historic Resources - 2000
Dumfries Raid (13)
Route. 1 northbound near “V,” Dumfries
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 thwarted the Confederate cavalry commanded by Brig. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee and Brig. Gen. W.H.F. (“Rooney”) Lee, despite the efforts of Stuart’s legendary horse artillery. Stuart continued the raid through Occoquan, Burke’s Station, Fairfax Court House, Warrenton, and Culpeper before returning to Fredericksburg on 1 January 1863. During the raid, Stuart seized some 200 prisoners, as many horses and mules, and 20 wagonloads of equipment.
State Marker E-82
Department of Historic Resources - 1993
History of Dumfries (14)
Route. 1 northbound near “V,” Dumfries
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 tonnage shipped. The town’s status as a center for the sale and shipment of tobacco, despite its inland location on a creek, reached its peak in the 1760s. In 1762 the county court moved to Dumfries, where it remained for 60 years. Ironically, the soil erosion caused by tobacco farming resulted in the silting up of Quantico Creek. The prosperity and population of Dumfries declined and the court moved to Brentsville in 1822.
State Marker E-83
Department of Historic Resources - 1993
Graham Park (15)
Route 1 northbound near “V,” Dumfries
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 town sprang to life from 60 acres taken from his plantation in 1749. He was a successful merchant, trustee of Dumfries, and County Clerk.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1983
Prince William County Court House (16)
Dumfries - 1760 – 1822
Fairfax and Duke Streets, Dumfries 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 by the present owners of said court house lot.
Erected 1941
Quantico (17)
Fuller Road just east of the War Memorial
Quantico, the Algonquian term for the once navigable creek to the port of Dumfries, lends its name to the Marine Corps installation established in 1917 and to the Potomac River town chartered in 1927. Early land patents date to 1654. “Dipple” plantation became the Glebe for Overwharton Parrish in 1724. Virginia naval units were based here during the Revolutionary War. Early names for the port town were Carrborough, Evansport, and Potomac, a resort community. Quantico shipyard was one of the largest builders in the country in 1916. Quantico, popularly called the “Crossroads of the Marine Corps,” is a major center for officer education, weapons development and other activities.
Erected 2001
Prince William County
Prince William County (18)
Route 1 at the Stafford County Line
AREA 345 SQUARE MILES
Prince William County, named for William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and third son of King George II, was officially formed from Stafford and King George Counties in 1731. Manassas was designated the county seat in 1892. Previously the county seat had been located at Occoquan Creek, Cedar Run, Dumfries, and Brentsville. The two battles of Manassas took place here on 21 July 1861 and 28-30 August 1862. Both battles resulted in Confederate victories over the Union army. Several sites here are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including Rippon Lodge, the Weems-Botts House and Bel Air.
(on reverse)
Stafford County
AREA 274 SQUARE MILES
Stafford County was formed in 1664 from Westmoreland County and was part of the Northern Neck Proprietary of Lord Fairfax. It was name for Staffordshire, England. The county seat was located at Stafford in 1780; previously it had been at Marlborough Point. During the Civil War, the Union Army of the Potomac’s more than 100,000 troops camped in the county during the winter of 1862-1863. Aquia Church, a National Historic Landmark, and the childhood home sites of George Washington and George Mason are located here.
State Marker Z-158
Department of Historic Resources - 2000
Troop Movements and Camp (19)
Route 234 near Country Club Drive
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 the way to Dumfries. The same road was used by Confederate and Union forces, and the 6th N.C. Infantry quartered near here during the winter of 1861-1862.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1976
Alexander Henderson (20)
At end of Dolphin Beach Road on hill Alexander Henderson, colonial merchant, born Glasgow, Scotland 1738 came to Colchester, Va. 1756. Moved to Dumfries 1787, where his home still stands. Served as vestryman Pohick Church, magistrate of Fairfax and Prince William Cos., member Virginia General Assembly, Virginia delegate to Mt. Vernon Conference-1785 which led to Constitutional Convention-1787. Died Nov.22, 1815. Buried here with his wife Sarah Moore Henderson (1751-Dec.14, 1816). Their son Archibald, (1783-1859) was Commandant of the United States Marine Corps for over 38 years.
Erected 1976 by the Montclair Bicentennial Committee
New School Baptist Church (21)
Cardinal Drive
On this site slaves gathered between 1861-1865. They built a brush arbor church, worshipped God and became a faithful congregation. On December 5, 1881, Rev. John L. Bell and four other church leaders purchased one acre of this land for eleven dollars and called themselves the New School Baptist Church. George W. Thomas helped erect a wooden, steepled church which was re-named Neabsco Baptist Church. The building was used also to educate children of former slaves and free persons of color. This church has undergone two renovations. Hand-hewn timbers below the flooring of the present church are silent reminders of the toil of many persons who held to a dream during troubled times.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1999
Minnieville (22)
Cardinal Drive and Minnieville Road
Nearby is Bel Air Plantation (c. 1740) burial site of Parson Mason Locke Weems, first biographer of George Washington. French and American troops moved through this community on their way to Yorktown in 1781. Northern dairymen developed large farms here in the early 19th century. The Confederate 3d Brigade was located in this area 1861-62. On this corner stood the Minnieville Post Office (1884-1924).
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1978
Benita Fitzgerald Drive (23)
Named in honor of Benita Fitzgerald
Olympic Gold Medalist – 100 Meter Hurdles
XXIII Olympiad – 1984
U.S. National Champion – 100 Meter Hurdles
1983 and 1986
Benita Fitzgerald Drive
Benita was born in Warrenton, Virginia on July 6, 1961 and attended Prince William County schools until her graduation from Gar-Field Senior High School in 1979. An active citizen of Dale City, she attended the First Mount Zion Baptist Church, was a member of the Dalelites, the Dale City Lassie League, the Gar-Field Symphonic Band and the National Honor Society. She was a Women in Community Action debutante, a National Merit Achievement Commended student and an honorary member of Lioness International and Women in Community Action. She graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1984 with a degree in industrial engineering. Her parents Rodger and Fannie Fitzgerald are long-standing Prince William County residents.
Erected 1987 Board of County Supervisors
Neabsco Mills Ironworks (24)
I-95 Dale City southbound exit at rest-stop
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 continuously operating iron-works in present-day Northern Virginia. The 5,000-acre iron plantation, which was worked by resident free laborers, indentured servants, and slaves, was a multifaceted operation. The workers produced not only pig and bar iron for sale at home and export to Great Britain, but also engaged in shipbuilding, milling, leatherworking, shoemaking, and farming. The complex was an important supplier of iron for weaponry during the American Revolution and the War of 1812.
State Marker G-18 Department of Historic Resources - 1994
Old Telegraph Road (25)
Main Door Entrance to Potomac Mills Mall
Just to the east is the original route of an ancient trail used to lay the first telegraph wire from Washington to New Orleans in 1847. During the Civil War it became a strategic military objective. It was first used by Confederate forces supporting their blockade of the Potomac River. Later, it was used by Union occupational troops.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1986
Russell House and Store (26)
Minnieville Road eastbound near Elm Farm Road
This 19th century two-story flagstone covered Russell House represents a type of local architecture predominant in rural Northern Virginia from the mid-19th century to the 1960s. The house, its barn, granary and other outbuildings made up one of the last farms in eastern Prince William County. Originally a hog and dairy farm, it was converted to dairying in the 1950s. The farm buildings were torn down in 1991. On this site also stood the Russell Store, the center of local commercial and social activity in the Bethel, Smoketown, Agnewville and Hoadley sections of the county. The two-story general store, dating from the early 1900s, was operated by Daisy Tavenner Russell from 1917 until 1977. It was razed in 1992. Courtesy of the Hechinger Company
Old Bethel Church (27)
Minnieville Road westbound near Smoketown Road
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 factor in accomplishing the work. After the Civil War, the church needed extensive repair because it had been used as a hospital and horse stable by troops of both armies. Bethel which means “House of God” has faithfully served as a meeting place for all people. The church was moved to its present site in October 1977 where it is still loved by all who worship there – Amen.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1980
Old Bethel High School (28)
Smoketown Road in parking lot of Smoketown Plaza
On this site once stood the first high school in eastern Prince William County. The original two-story wood frame building was built in 1914. Lightning struck and destroyed the school on June 12, 1927. It was rebuilt as a two-room brick elementary school on the same site. Bethel was the center of many rural activities which reflected the simple lifestyle of this farming community. On March 31, 1968 the school was rededicated as the Muriel Humphrey School for the mentally retarded and became the first such institution in eastern Prince William County with an education program. The two-room brick school was razed on October 24, 1986.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1987
The Chinn Family (29)
Minnieville Road Commuter Lot
Near this site lived six generations of the Chinn family, one of Prince William County’s early African-American families. The family traces its heritage to Nancy, a slave born in 1794 on the William Roe farm in Fauquier County. William Roe’s nephew Henry Fielder Roe, who owned land near present day Lake Ridge, eventually became the owner of Nancy and her children through inheritance. One of Nancy’s daughters, Mary Jane, married Thomas Chinn, another slave, and they had eight sons. After Emancipation, the Chinns bought several hundred acres of land along Telegraph and Davis Ford Roads (now Minnieville Road). They built homes in the area known as Agnewville, or sometimes Chinntown. The family has a long history of service to the County: John Chinn owned a general store; Robert and William Chinn donated land on which Mt. Olive Baptist Church stands. Several Chinns are buried in that Church’s cemetery.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 2002
Washington’s First Journey to the Frontier (30)
The mill at Tackett’s Mill
On March 11, 1748, George Washington and George William Fairfax crossed the Occoquan above the falls near here – Washington to enter the service of Lord Fairfax, and Lord Fairfax to meet his constituents in Frederick County. They traveled by horseback on an unmarked route roughly paralleling the Davis Ford-Minnieville corridor to the Court House near Independent Hill. By evening they reached Neavil’s Ordinary on the south fork of the Dumfries Road, 40 miles from Ft. Belvoir, the starting point.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1984
Town of Occoquan (31)
Next to the Mill House Museum in Occoquan
Nathaniel Ellicott formally established the town in 1804, bringing to fruition industrial and commercial developments begun ‘at or near the falls of Occoquan’ by John Ballendine c. 1750. The estuary of the Occoquan has attracted the attention of travelers since the time of John Smith. Adjacent lands were patented by the 1650s; copper was being shipped from ‘King’ Carter’s landing, and tobacco from a public warehouse by the 1730s.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1976
Town of Occoquan (32)
Corner of Washington and Mill Streets
In 1758 when John Ballendine built his dwelling, “Rockledge,” at Occoquan, the town began to prosper. By 1765 it was a flourishing industrial settlement with grist mills, foundry and tobacco warehouses. “Rockledge” and a portion of Merchants (grist) Mill still stand at the west end of Mill Street. Occoquan, a strategic point on the river, saw skirmishes during the Civil War. Gen. Wade Hampton headquartered here in 1862 at the Hammill Hotel. The building still stands at the corner of Union and Commerce Streets.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1989
Military Operations (33)
Davis Ford Road between Wade Lane and Bacon Race
Road
Preparatory to the Battle of Yorktown (c. 1781) General Washington ordered a troop road cut through this area to move American and French forces via the ford on the Occoquan river at Wolf Run Shoals. The road was again used during the Civil War for military purposes. Bacon Race Church (c. 1845) served as a supply depot for Wade Hampton’s Confederate Brigade. Several Confederate Regiments were camped in the vicinity to support blockade operations along the Potomac River during the winter of 1861-1862.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1979
Colonial Road (34)
Aden Road and Leeta Cornus Drive
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 House was built about 1775 on Effingham Plantation. The main house, built later by Col. William Alexander, great grandson of John Alexander, for whom the city of Alexandria is named stands a short distance to the south.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1985
Second Prince William County Courthouse (35)
Aden Road and MCB 8
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 of Prince William County. The court remained here only until 1759, when it moved to Dumfries after the creation of Fauquier County. Henry Lee, father of Governor Henry (“Lighthorse Harry”) Lee, and grandfather of General Robert E. Lee, practiced law here. The building, like its predecessor, no longer stands.
State Marker G-17
Department of Historic Resources - 1992
Cedar Run Court House Site (36)
On Quantico Marine Base
Cedar Run
Court House Site
Second Prince William Court House
1742-1760
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1974
Asbury Church (37)
Fleetwood Drive, east of Aden Road
Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church, South was built 1893-1894 on land donated by Newton and Annie Allen Sayers of Massadale Farm. Methodist circuit riders stopped regularly at this farm to administer to the spiritual needs of their followers in the neighborhood before the Asbury congregation was formed. The church was named for Bishop Francis Asbury, famed circuit rider of colonial times and the early days of the Republic. Confederate veterans helped to erect Asbury Church. They included Master Carpenter Frank Colvin of Catlett, Va. and John Herndon, Haywood Herndon and Newton Sayers of the Aden area.
Prince William County Historical Commission – 1985
Prince William County (38)
Route 28 at Fauquier County Line
Prince William County, named for William Augustus, duke of Cumberland and third son of George II was formed from Stafford and King George Counties in 1730. The county seat is Manassas. The two Battles of Manassas took place here in 1861 and 1862.
Fauquier County
Fauquier County was named for Francis Fauquier, lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1758 to 1768. It was formed in 1759 from Prince William County. The county seat is Warrenton. United States Supreme Court Justice John Marshall was born in this county. Col. John Singleton Mosby and his 4
State Marker Z-170
Department of Historic Resources - 1987
Greenwich (39)
Intersection of Vint Hill Road and Burwell Road
Thru this village in January, 1779 passed the British and Hessian troops captured at the Battle of Saratoga on their way to prisoner of war camps located near Charlottesville. Later on June 5, 1781 General Anthony Wayne brought his brigade of the Pennsylvania Line over the same route on his way to support Lafayette in the final campaign of the Revolutionary War.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1976
Action at Bristoe Station (40)
Route 28 at Broad Run
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. Gen. John Pope’s Union army. They surprised and captured Pope’s infantry pickets, derailed two northbound trains, destroyed the Broad Run bridge, and cut telegraph wires to sever the Union lines of supply and communication
with Washington. Jackson then captured Pope’s supply depot at Manassas Junction (present-day Manassas). Left as a rear guard, Ewell held off Union Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker’s division near Kettle Run the next day just before the Second Battle of Manassas on 28-30 August.
State Marker G-19
Department of Historic Resources - 1994
Battle of Bristoe Station (41)
Route 28 at Broad Run
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 toward Washington. On the afternoon of 14 October, Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren’s II Corps, Meade’s rear guard, took a strong defensive position along the railroad embankment to meet an impetuous attack by elements of Hill’s corps from the northwest. The Confederates were repulsed with heavy casualties (about 1,300 to Warren’s 548), including the loss of an unsupported battery of five guns about 500 yards north. Warren stealthily withdrew after dark to resume his march to Centreville. About 43 Union and 137 Confederate dead were buried on the field.
State Marker G-20
Department of Historic Resources - 1994
Confederate Cemeteries (42)
Bristow Road
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 and decimated many of the regiments. A member of the 10th Alabama Regiment recounted, “Burial of the dead was a daily occurrence…military homage was paid…by comrades discharging a musketry volley over the grave of the deceased at the interment. Reports of musketry could be heard throughout the camping grounds of the entire brigade.” Union troops counted 128 graves in two enclosures for Mississippi soldiers the following April. Each regiment established a separate burial ground but individual grave markers eventually weathered away. Except for the 10th Alabama cemetery which was more permanently marked by veterans after the war, the location of the numerous, now unmarked Confederate graves around Bristoe Station is uncertain.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 2003
Brentsville (43)
Bristow Road at Brentsville Courthouse
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 Church of Dettingen Parish (now Hatcher’s Memorial Baptist), was built in 1847 on the site of the old chapel. During the War Between the States Col. Mosby operated in this area. In 1893 the county seat was moved to Manassas.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1980
Century Time Capsule (44)
Bristow Road at the Brentsville Courthouse
Century Time Capsule To be Opened April 2077
Sealed April 1977 By Pr. Wm. Co. Hist. Comm.
In Celebration of the
American Revolution Bicentennial
Erected 1977
Signal Corps Association (1860-1865) (45)
Signal Road at Bloom’s Crossing
8:45 A.M.
July 21st 1861
Battle of First Manassas
(Bull Run)
From this hilltop
Capt. E.P. Alexander, CSA,
Sent America’s First Battlefield
Telecommunication
LOOK OUT FOR YOUR LEFT, YOU ARE TURNED.
This short message to Col. Evans warning him of Brig. Gen. McDowell’s flank march helped turn an impending defeat into a crucial victory, thereby securing for the Signal Corps, a permanent place in the ranks of modern armies.
Signal Corps Regimental Association, U. S. Army Ruffner Public School Number 1 (46)
July 20, 1872
On Center Street near Peabody Street
Named for Wm. H. Ruffner, Virginia’s first Superintendent of Public Instruction, and opened as a public school on this date. Before free public schools were established by the Virginia Constitution of 1869, a one room free school was in operation with voluntary gifts.
State Marker CL-2
Department of Historic Resources - 1965
Manassas (47)
Corner of West and Center Streets
According to tradition the name Manassas was derived either from an Indian source or from Manasseh, a Jewish innkeeper at Manassas Gap (35 miles west). The community originated in 1852 at the junction of the Manassas Gap and Orange & Alexandria railroads, which linked northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., with the Shenandoah Valley and central Virginia. During the Civil War the junction’s strategic importance led to the battles of First and Second Manassas (Bull Run), both Confederate victories. Manassas was incorporated as a town in 1873 and became a city in 1975.
State Marker CL-4
Department of Historic Resources - 1991
George Carr Round (48)
Old Courthouse in Manassas
A Union veteran of the Civil War, Round came to Manassas in 1868. He helped found the first public school in Manassas in 1869, served on the Town Council, was a member of the Virginia General Assembly, and worked to establish a National Battlefield Park at Manassas. His most outstanding achievement was organizing the “Manassas National Jubilee of Peace” in 1911. This 50th Anniversary of First Manassas (Bull Run) was attended by President Taft and thousands of participants. In Commemoration of the Manassas National Jubilee of
Peace (49)
Old Courthouse in Manassas
The first instance in history where survivors of a great battle met fifty years after and exchanged friendly greetings at the place of actual combat. Here on July 21, 1911, the closing scene was enacted, THE TABLEAU OF THE RE-UNITED STATES. The President, the Governor of Virginia, and forty-eight maidens in white took part with 1000 veterans of the blue and the gray and 10,000 citizens of THE NEW AMERICA.
Fifth Prince William County Courthouse (50)
Lee Avenue, Manassas
The city of Manassas originated in 1852 at the junction of the Manassas Gap and the Orange & Alexandria railroads. During the Civil War the junction’s strategic significance led to two important battles nearby. After the war, as the community grew, citizens sought to move the county seat there from Brentsville. In 1872, a year before Manassas was incorporated as a town, and again in 1888, referenda failed. A third referendum in 1892 succeeded. This Romanesque Revival courthouse, designed by James C. Teague and Philip T. Marye, of Norfolk and Newport News, was completed in 1893 and served the county until 1984 when a new courthouse was built nearby.
State Marker CL-5
Department of Historic Resources - 1994
Old Bennett School (51)
Lee Avenue in Manassas near County Courthouse
In 1908 the General Assembly authorized ten agricultural high schools, one in each congressional district. The first such school was built in Manassas in 1908-1909 and named for Dr. Maitland C. Bennett, who donated the land. During construction, workers discovered the graves of unknown Civil War soldiers. Union veteran George Round, a Manassas school district trustee, and Confederate veteran George Tyler, school superintendent, decided to erect the school over the burials as a monument to the fallen. The school housed teacher training and elementary classes, and students conducted agricultural experiments on the grounds. The building remained a Prince William County public school until 1969.
State Marker CL-6
Department of Historic Resources - 1994
McLean Farm (52)
(Yorkshire Plantation)
Route 28 at Yorkshire Lane
Part of an early 18th century plantation established on Bull Run by Col. Richard Blackburn formerly of Yorkshire, England, the land was acquired by Wilmer McLean in 1854. The battle which opened 1st Manassas raged across this farm July 18, 1861, with the house and barn used as a headquarters and hospital by Confederate troops. Following 1st Manassas, in an attempt to escape the forefront of the war, McLean moved his family to the tiny village of Appomattox Court House. There, four years later, the War would come full circle to end in McLean’s parlor with Lee’s surrender to Grant, April 9, 1865.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1988
Ben Lomond Farm (53)
Sudley Manor Drive at the Ben Lomond Manor House
The Federal style stone, “Manor” house and its accessory buildings are the visible reminders of Ben Lomond Farm, which was begun in about 1830 by Benjamin Tasker Chinn, the grandson of Robert “Councillor” Carter. Ben Lomond is one of the few remaining Carter family houses in an area which once exhibited such fine country residences as Portici, Pittsylvania, Hazel Plain, Mountain View, Elmwood, Sudley and Woodland. The house served as a hospital during the First and Second Battles of Manassas. The small stone accessory building west of the house is thought to have been a slave quarter. In 1980, this building was moved by Prince William County from its original site east of the house to save it from demolition.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1981
Dean Divers Church (54)
Bethlehem Road south of Balls Ford Road
This area was known as Five Forks during the Civil War and was settled by freed slaves during Reconstruction. In 1900 a missionary Sunday School was opened on Balls Ford Road by Miss Jennie Dean. In 1909 this site was donated by Henrietta Page. Through financial contributions by the Divers Family of New Jersey and efforts of Miss Dean, the establishment of Dean Divers Baptist Church became a reality.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1984
Campaign of Second Manassas (55)
Route 234 at Northern Virginia Community College
Here Taliaferro, of Jackson’s force, came into the highway in the late night of August 27, 1862. He was marching from Manassas to the position about a mile and a half to the north held by Jackson in the Second Battle of Manassas.
State Marker C-48
Conservation and Development Commission - 1931
Second Battle of Manassas (56)
Route 234 at Northern Virginia Community College
On the Henry Hill, Pope’s rear guard, in the late afternoon of August 30, 1862, repulsed the attacks of Longstreet coming from the west. If the hill had been taken, Pope’s army would have been doomed; but the Unionists held it while the rest of their troops retreated across Bull Run on the way to Centreville.
State Marker C-46
Conservation and Development Commission 1931
First Battle of Manassas (57)
Route 29, east of Route 234
Henry Hill lies just to the south. Here the Confederates repulsed the repeated attacks of the Union Army under McDowell, July 21, 1861. Here Jackson won the name “Stonewall” and from here began McDowell’s retreat that ended at Washington.
State Marker C-34 Virginia State Library - 1961
Henry House (58)
Route 29, east of Route 234
These are the grounds of the Henry House, where occurred the main action of the First Battle of Manassas, July 21, 1861, and the closing scene of the Second Battle of Manassas, August 30, 1862.
State Marker G-15
Conservation & Development Commission - 1935
James Robinson House (59)
Route 29, east of Route 234
To the south stood the farmhouse of James Robinson, a former slave freed by Landon Carter. There, during the First Battle of Manassas on 21 July 1861, Col. Wade Hampton’s Legion covered the Confederates falling back to Henry Hill, where Jackson stood “ like a stone wall.” The house survived that battle, and during the Second Battle of Manassas in August 1862 served the Union troops as a field hospital. Congress later authorized compensation to Robinson for property damages. The present house stands partially on the foundation of the original.
State Marker G-16
Department of Historic Resources - 1991
First Battle of Manassas (60)
Route 29, east of Route 234
On the Matthews Hill, just to the north, the Confederates repulsed the attack of the Unionists, coming from the north, in the forenoon of July 21, 1861. The Union forces, reinforced, drove the Confederates to the Henry Hill, just to the south. There the latter reformed under cover of Stonewall Jackson. In the afternoon, McDowell vainly attempted to rally his retreating troops on the Matthews Hill after they had been driven down the Henry Hill.
State Marker C-44
Conservation & Development Commission - 1931
Prince William County (61)
Route 29, just east of the Prince William County Line
AREA 345 SQUARE MILES
Formed in 1730 from Stafford and King George, and named for William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, second son of King George II. The First and Second Battles of Manassas took place in this county.
Fairfax County
AREA 417 SQUARE MILES
Formed in 1742 from Prince William and Loudoun, and named for Lord Fairfax, proprietor of the Northern Neck. Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home is in this county.
State Marker 169-Z
Conservation & Development Commission - 1929
The Stone Bridge (62)
Route 29 just east of the Prince William County Line
Originally built of native sandstone in 1825, the turnpike bridge over Bull Run became an important landmark in the Civil War battles at Manassas. Union Brig. Gen. Daniel Tyler’s division feigned an attack on Col. Nathan G. Evan’s brigade guarding the bridge as the First Battle of Manassas began on the morning of 21 July 1861. When the confederates withdrew from the region, they blew up the bridge on 9 Mar. 1862. The rear guard of Maj. Gen. John Pope’s retreating army, defeated at the Second Battle of Manassas on 30 Aug. 1862, destroyed a replacement military bridge at the site. Fully reconstructed after the war, it remained in use into the 1920s.
Erected 2000
Department of Historic Resources, State Marker C-23
Untitled Marker (63)
Route 29 southbound at Conway-Robinson State Forest
This marker, erected by the Haymarket Agricultural Club, indicates the spot where General R. E. Lee, General Longstreet, and General Jackson, met on August 29th, 1862, about 12:30 p.m. as certified by Lieut. Col. Edmund Berkeley, sole survivor of that meeting, who served that day on General Longstreet’s staff, by special order. Haymarket Agricultural Club
Second Battle of Manassas (64)
Route 29 northbound opposite Conway-Robinson State Forest
The center of Lee’s Army rested here on August 30, 1862; Jackson was to the north of this road, Longstreet to the south. Late in the afternoon, after Jackson had repulsed Pope’s assaults, Longstreet moved eastward, driving the Union forces facing him toward Henry Hill. Jackson advanced southward at the same time.
State Marker 27-C
Conservation & Development Commission - 1928
Campaign of Second Manassas (65)
Route 29 northbound opposite Conway-Robinson State Forest
On 25 Aug. 1861, Maj. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson with half of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia began a wide flanking march around Union Maj. Gen. John Pope’s Army of Virginia on the Rappahannock River near Warrenton. Jackson first marched west toward the Shenandoah Valley, then turned back east to strike Pope’s railroad supply and communication lines. On the afternoon of 26 Aug., Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart joined Jackson near Gainesville to protect his right flank. Jackson next captured Bristoe Station on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, and then Manassas Junction, in a prelude to the Second Battle of Manassas.
State Marker C-28
Department of Historic Resources – 2000
Battle of Groveton (Brawner Farm) (66)
Near Conway-Robinson State Forest
In Aug. 1862, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee dispatched Maj. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson to lure Maj. Gen. John Pope’s Union army away from the Rappahannock River. On Aug. 28, Jackson’s force concealed itself northeast of here near Groveton atop a wooded ridge on and beyond John Brawner’s farm to await the rest of Lee’s army. Early in the evening, as Brig. Gen. Rufus King’s division of Pope’s army marched by in search of Jackson, he attacked, stopping the Federal movement with heavy casualties on both sides. This engagement began the Second Battle of Manassas.
State Marker C-26 Department of Historic Resources - 2003
Rock Fight (67)
Near Conway-Robinson State Forest
In Aug. 1862, during the Second Battle of Manassas, Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s command occupied an unfinished railroad grade northeast of here, including “the Dump,” a gap in the grade heaped with construction stone. On 30 Aug., the Federals attacked, the 24th New York Infantry almost broke through. Out of ammunition, Confederates there and at Deep Cut to the west, began hurling rocks. Some startled Federals threw stones back before retreating as Jackson reinforced his line. The Rock Fight became a Southern legend.
State Marker C-33
Department of Historic Resources - 2003
Bull Run Battlefields (68)
Route 29 median strip
Just to the east were fought the two battles of Manassas or Bull Run.
State Marker C-31
Conservation & Development Commission – 1934
The Macrae School (69)
Virginia Oaks Drive at Route 29
Between 1914 and 1953, African-American children of the surrounding area attended a two-room schoolhouse a short distance east of here along the Warrenton Turnpike. This was the final location for the Macrae School, originally established in 1870 as a one-room school on land provided by the Macrae family near Buckland. The Prince William County School Board purchased a building in the village of Gainesville and relocated the school there in 1888 but because the building eventually proved inadequate, classes were moved again in 1908. The hall of Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church served as an interim classroom until a new schoolhouse near this location was built. In 1953, the Macrae School was closed and consolidated with the Antioch School on Thoroughfare Road about five miles west of here.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 2002
Sudley Methodist Church (70)
Route 234 in Sudley Springs
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 razed and a frame church built in its place. The second church was struck by lightning in 1918 and burned. The present church was dedicated in 1922. The annual Sudley Church bazaar has been a gathering place for friends and neighbors for decades.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1983
Jennie Dean (71)
Route 234 at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church
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 and neighboring counties, Miss Dean founded the Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth in 1894 and Mount Calvary Baptist Church in 1880. The Manassas Centennial Commission proclaimed her Woman of the Century. She is buried in the church cemetery nearby.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1980
Simon Kenton’s Birthplace (72)
Intersection of Route 234 and Route 15
Near Hopewell Gap, five miles west, Simon Kenton was born, 1755. Leaving home in 1771, he became an associate of Daniel Boone and George Rogers Clark in Indian fighting. He won fame as a scout and as one of the founders of Kentucky. Kenton died in Ohio in 1836.
State Marker F-14
Virginia Conservation Commission - 1942
Prince William County (73)
Route 15 at Loudoun County Line
AREA 345 SQUARE MILES
Formed in 1730 from Stafford and King George, and named for William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, second son of King George II. The First and Second Battles of Manassas took place in this County.
Loudoun County
AREA 519 SQUARE MILES
Formed in 1757 from Fairfax, and named for Lord Loudoun, titular governor of Virginia, and head of the British forces in America, 1756-1758. Oak Hill, President James Monroe’s home is in this County.
State Marker Z-281
Virginia Conservation Commission - 1946
Antioch Church (74)
Waterfall Road
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 the stone church because of structural damage and erected the present building. The Women’s Missionary Society acquired the log house in 1926 and deeded it to the church in 1957. In 1962, the church was closed due to a dwindling congregation, but it was reopened in 1996. Annual Homecoming Meetings have continued since 1922.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 2002
The Carolina Road (75)
Route 15 southbound near James Long Park
The Carolina Road, earlier an Indian hunting path, roughly approximating Route 15 at this point, derived its name from trade between Frederick, Maryland and Georgia. Later the road was used by settlers emigrating to western lands. Because of notorious gangs of thieves besetting travelers the road was also known as Rogue’s Road. Its most famous traveler was Lafayette who rode triumphantly by here on August 24, 1825, on his way to Oakhill, home of ex-
President Monroe. Nearby Burnside, Waverly, Mill Park, Mt. Atlas, Evergreen, Snow Hill, and other plantations carved from the huge Carter Bull Run tract were served by the Carolina Road.
Prince William County Historical Commission – 1987
Thoroughfare Gap (76)
Route 55 westbound, Thoroughfare Gap at Fauquier County Line
Just west is Thoroughfare Gap, where Union and Confederate armies clashed during the Civil War. In July 1861, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston marched eastward through the gap to join Brig. Gen. P.G.T Beauregard in the First Battle of Manassas. Maj. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson passed by here on 26 Aug. 1862 to attack the Federal supply depot at Manassas Junction. Two days later, Gen. Robert E. Lee and Maj. Gen. James Longstreet surprised and repelled Union cavalry under Col. Sir Percy Wyndham and an infantry division under Brig Gen. James Ricketts. Ever after, Union troops occupied the gap whenever Lee’s army was near.
State Marker C-50
Department of Historic Resources - 1995
Campaign of Second Manassas (77)
Route 55 westbound, Thoroughfare Gap at Fauquier County Line
Lee and Longstreet, moving eastward to join Jackson at Manassas, found this gap held by a Union force, August 28, 1862. They forced the Gap, after some fighting, and moved on toward Manassas, August 29, 1862.
State Marker 1-FA
Conservation and Development Commission - 1928
Colonial Roads (78)
Fayette Road and Washington Street, Haymarket
The town of Haymarket, chartered in 1799, owes its location to the junction of the Old Carolina Road and the north branch of the Dumfries Road at the site of the Red House. The Carolina Road developed from the Iroquois hunting path which was abandoned by the Indians after 1772, when they were forced by treaty beyond the Blue Ridge. The Dumfries Road was in use as a major trade route between the Potomac and the Shenandoah Valley before 1740.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1979
Buckland (79)
Route 29 and Buckland Mill Road
The town of Buckland, named for William Buckland, architect, was chartered in 1798 with streets and lots on both sides of Broad Run near the mill of John Love. Tranquility, future site of Buckland Hall nearby was John Love’s seat. This property was transferred in 1853 to Richard Bland Lee, nephew of Lighthorse Harry Lee of Leesylvania. Buckland Tavern, now restored as a dwelling, served during the early 19th century as a refreshing stop on the Alexandria-Warrenton Turnpike.
Prince William County Historical Commission - 1984
Manassas National Battlefield Park Markers
First Manassas Monuments
Bull Run “Henry Hill” Monument
Bartow Monument (Col. Francis S.)
Bartow Monument (wartime)
Bee Monument (Gen. Barnard E.)
7th Georgia Markers
Henry Family Grave Markers (Judith C., Henry, et al)
Jackson Equestrian Monument (“Stonewall” Jackson)
Stovall Monument (Pvt. George T., 8th Ga. Inf.)
Virginia Battlefields Marker – First Manassas
Second Manassas Monuments
Cedar Pole Marker (Pvt. George E. Albee, 1st USSS.)
Groveton, “Deep Cut,” Monument
5th New York Monument
10th New York Monument
14th Brooklyn Monument
Virginia Battlefields Marker – Groveton
Webster Monument (Col. Fletcher, 12th Mass. Inf.)
Other Manassas Monuments
Dunklin Monument (Pvt., Tim, 4th Texas Inf.)
Groveton Confederate Cemetery
Cemetery Markers
Confederate Monument
Ridley Grave Marker (Pvt. Wm. G., 6th Va. Inf.)
Palmer Grave Marker (Pvt. James J., Palmetto S.C. Sharpshooters)
Old Town Manassas Markers
The Defenses of Manassas and the Railroad Depot
Confederate Cemetery
First Baptist Church
Tudor Hall
Civil War Railroad Buildings
Katie Hooe House
Annaburg
Liberia
Mayfield Confederate Fort
Defenses of Manassas
Town of Occoquan Markers
1804 Occoquan Town Plat
1804 Boundary Stone
Occoquan Wharves
Mill Street
Methodist Church
Ellicott’s Mill
Occoquan River Bridges
The Dogue Indians
“Rockledge”
Commerce Street
Odd Fellows Hall
Old Hammill Hotel
Ebenezer Baptist Church
Ogle Harris’ Store
Other Marker Programs
Civil War Trails
Mosby Heritage Area
Washington-Rochambeau Highway
Prince William County Dedications and
Monuments of Historical Interest
Fernstrom Forest
Jefferson Davis Highway Marker
“Great Tree of Peace”
May Peace Prevail on Earth
Roll of Honor
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