Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre

Hours of Operation

Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre is open for self-guided tours Friday-Monday from 10am-4pm with guided tours offered at 11am and 2pm. Grounds are open from dawn to dusk.

Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre
12229 Bristow Road in Bristow, Virginia 20136
(703) 365-7895

Pricing

Tours: $5 per person, free for children under six. For Education Field Trips, the cost is $6 per student and accompanying adults are free (reservations required). Please visit our Education Field Trips page for more information regarding field trips and other educational programs.

Pricing varies for special programs, please view our calendar for a complete list of our special events. Donations to support historic preservation efforts in the County are gratefully accepted.

Accessibility

Virtual 360* Tour tablets are available that allow visitors with disabilities to be able to experience rooms and spaces with 360-degree views of varying images, videos, and narration of the rooms by Historic Preservation staff. Virtual 360* Tour tablets are available at no additional fee.

Foreign Language guides are available in French, Italian, German, Chinese Simplified, Spanish (Latin America) at no additional fee.

Adventure Backpacks: We have a new program offering at Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre! Bring your family to Brentsville to explore the site using our new family friendly adventure backpacks! Each backpack is filled with crafts and activities to explore the site with little ones. Two themes are available:

Nature Backpack: Explore the site looking for different plants and animals. Play nature bingo, catch and release a bug with our bug boxes. Using magnifying glasses and binoculars to get a close look, and record our findings in the field logs!

History Backpack: Explore a Brentsville's historic buildings with different crafts and activities. Try your hand at being the County Clerk, play a mix and match game to compare past and present, play historical games, design a town and more!

Backpacks are available during our open hours Fridays-Mondays from 10am-4pm for a two-hour rental for only $20! A $30 deposit is required and is returned when the backpack is returned. Self-guided admission is required to enter the buildings.

What Happened Here?

Established on 50 acres in 1820, the Town of Brentsville became the fourth county seat of Prince William County. By 1820, many residents had moved farther west for better farm land and the old county seat (Dumfries) was too far east for the western residents to conveniently travel. The new town of Brentsville was centrally located in Prince William County, along the major east/west road, which led from the port of Dumfries to the Shenandoah Valley. Every type of county business occurred in this courthouse, civil and criminal cases alike, for the next 70 years. Finally, in 1893, the county seat moved to Manassas, which allowed Brentsville to retain much of its 19th century character.

The 28-acre Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre includes five historic buildings: 1822 courthouse, 1822 jail, 1880 church, 1850 farmhouse, and a one-room schoolhouse that served the young children of Brentsville from 1929 to 1944. The 1822 Williams-Dawe House is currently closed to the public as it undergoes preservation.

Brentsville Courthouse ca. 1910.jpg Brentsville Courthouse

Prince William County used the Courthouse from 1822-1893. All manner of important business occurred here, from voting for presidents, mustering up for the Army, legal battles over lost payments or property, to capital crime case deliberations. After the county seat moved to Manassas, the building was repurposed as a college for teachers, then an elementary school, a community center, and office space for the Park Authority, before being acquired and preserved by the county Historic Preservation Division.

Brentsville Jail

The Jail was built at the same time as the Courthouse and is just a 30-yard walk from one building to the other. The jail has six cells and two rooms used as the jailor's office and likely living space. After the county seat moved to Manassas, this building served as a women's dorm for the teacher's college held in the Courthouse. After the college moved, the structure was renovated inside and became a private residence for many years until the County Park Authority used the Jail as office space. The Office of Historic Preservation Division restored the jail back to its original appearance and opened the Brentsville Jail Museum which tells the story of the town of Brentsville and its inhabitants, and highlights the building's various uses.

Brentsville One-Room Schoolhouse

The children of Brentsville who lived within three miles attended school in this building from 1929-1944. During this time period, Virginia schools were segregated, therefore only white children attended this school. Students 1st through 5th grade were all taught together by one teacher and learned subjects ranging from math, history, science, geography, penmanship and hygiene. Once the school closed, the building served a variety of uses from a community and recreation center, private residence, arcade, office, and finally museum. Restored in October 2012, the building has returned to its 1930s appearance.

Haislip-Hall Farm House

The 1850s farmhouse was built and lived-in on 300 acres near Vint Hill Road. It was rescued from demolition, transported here, and restored by the PWC Historic Preservation Division in 2005. The house and side garden represent the life style of the Haislip and Hall families who were middle class, farming families in the 19th century in Prince William County.

Visit the Haislip-Hall Farm House and garden to learn more about family life in the mid-1800s.

Union Church

The Brentsville Union Church was built ca. 1880 and 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 Church south, the Presbyterian Episcopalian, the New and both branches of the old school Baptist Churches, worshiping in Brentsville".

Now the church is available for special occasion rental, please see more information here.

Williams-Dawe House

In April 2022, Prince William County purchased the Williams-Dawe House, the oldest residential structure in Brentsville. Built in 1822, the House was once owned by Jane Williams, widow of John Williams, who had served as the county clerk from 1795 until his death in 1813. After her husband's death, her brother Phillip Deveraux Dawe became clerk in 1813 until his death in 1832, after which her son John Williams II became the county clerk until 1852. The property sits on 5.61 acres and is located across the street from the Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre. The Prince William County Board of County Supervisors approved $450,000 in funding to stabilize and restore the House, which will entail chimney and roof repair, mold remediation, tree removal and other required interventions. Prince William County Historic Preservation staff will work with a design firm to develop a restoration plan to preserve the historic integrity of the House.

As part of the larger Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre, staff intends to offer programming at the site for historic preservation and special event purposes upon completion of restoration. Please visit our calendar of events or social media channels for restoration updates and special programming featuring the Williams-Dawe House.

The Williams-Dawe House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Virginia Landmarks Register and the County Register of Historic Sites.

Brentsville in the Civil War

Brentsville was the seat of Prince William County during the Civil War. In response to John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry in 1859, the Prince William Cavalry (Co. A Virginia Cavalry) formed here, on the courthouse lawn in January 1860. The ladies of Brentsville made a flag and presented it to the company. Other Confederate units from Prince William County such as Ewell Guards (Co. A. 49th Virginia Infantry) also organized and drilled here.

Like many Virginian towns, Brentsville suffered heavily at the hands of both armies. Confederate General Eppa Hunton, a Brentsville resident and lawyer, had his house and other buildings destroyed. The Hampton Legion, among other units, posted here on scouting missions. Several homes and churches served as hospitals. The county clerk's office was torn down and its bricks used for camp chimneys. Part of the ca. 1822 courthouse roof was torn off and many county records were either destroyed or taken by soldiers as souvenirs. Capt. Andrew McHenry of the 13th Pennsylvania Infantry wrote of Brentsville in 1864 "the houses generally are in ruin."

The Battle of Bristoe Station fought three miles west on Oct. 14 1863 brought combat to Brentsville's doorstep. During the battle, Federal General John Buford's cavalry posted here to protect the Federal supply train. Confederate partisan units operated in Brentsville until the end of the war.

Nature Trail

A mile-long nature trail traverses the forested section of the park and reveals a scenic view of Broad Run. This historic site also offers many acres of open space for family picnics or a peaceful spot to read a book.

Brentsville Trail Guide

Connect to our local natural resources and learn more about the animals, water and land in our community with a fun activities guide. You can pick up the Brentsville Trail Guide at the Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre or print a copy at home. Earn a free wristband when you complete the Brentsville Trail Guide.

Visiting Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre

From Interstate 95: Take Rt. 234 North (Exit 152B); travel seven and a half miles and make a left onto Independent Hill Drive. Then make your immediate right onto Bristow Rd. Brentsville is five miles on the right.

From Interstate 66: Take Rt. 234 South (Exit 44); travel 4.5 miles and turn right onto Rt. 28 south (Nokesville Rd.). Travel 1.5 miles and make a left onto Rt. 619 (Bristow Rd.); Brentsville is four miles on the left.

Brentsville Timeline

1686 Brent Town Grant made by King James II to Brent family including present location of Brentsville

1779 Commonwealth of Virginia confiscates the land from the Bristow family due to their British loyalties

1779-1820 Land was rented by the Commonwealth for farming and timber

1820 Town of Brentsville established by the Virginia General Assembly as the new Prince William County seat

1822 Brentsville courthouse, jail, clerk of court's office, and tavern completed

1853 Samuel Haislip built a new farmhouse off of Vint Hill Road now located on Brentsville site

1861 (April 1) Prince William County magistrates vote to endorse Virginia's secession

1862 (March 3) Last day of court in Prince William County until end of war

1870 (Oct. 17) First County Board of Supervisors meeting in courthouse with five supervisors

1874 Brentsville Union Church completed

1893 County seat moved to Manassas

1928 Brentsville one room schoolhouse built for grades 1-5 school was previously held in the courthouse

2004 Prince William County Historic Preservation Division assumes management of site

2006 Courthouse and Union Church restored

2008 Haislip/Hall house restored

2010 Jail stabilization begins

2017 Jail reopens for tours

2021 Brentsville Jail Museum opens to the public

2022 Brentsville celebrates its bicenntenial

2022 Prince William County purchases the 1822 Williams-Dawe House


Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre is part of the Virginia Civil War Trails program.	Brentsville Courthouse was named a part of the National Underground Railroad in 2008. Learn more about the Underground Railroad and specifically about the connection between Brentsville and the Underground Railroad.	We are a Blue Star Museum. Learn more at https://www.arts.gov/national/blue-star-museums	We are a Certified Wildlife Habitat.