Moving - Prince William County, Virginia

Come read a brief history of Prince William County, VA, which we have included for you.

A Brief History of Prince William County, Virginia

Founded in 1731, the county honoring King George II's second son William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, originally included Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria, Loudoun and Fauquier before it was reduced to its present size in 1759 – its remaining 348 square miles offering the visitor a bountiful array of attractions and activities to explore.

The misty skies cleared as we left the battlefield for Manassas, which in 1856 was a railroad junction linking Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. with the Shenandoah Valley and Richmond, and whose strategic location led to two tragic clashes between North and South. 

Rebuilt after the Civil War, Manassas retained its small-town dimensions throughout much of the following century, and much of its original ambience can still be seen today, particularly in Manassas's historic Old Town district, where the original railroad depot now serves as the Historic Manassas Visitor Center. I was pleased to find a small artist colony flourishing within the walls of various Victorian and turn-of-the-century buildings, a hint of the past in harmony with more recent traditions.

With the sun now dancing merrily on signs welcoming the visitor to art galleries, studios and boutiques, our first call was at the Creative Brush Studio – cozily tucked into the renovated Opera House – where we met artist Mary Reilly and her current project, a portrait in oil. From there we strolled down to Manassas Clay, where we watched some forty potters transforming their earthy medium into works both practical and a delight to the eye. Without question, Manassas has come a long way from its early days as "Manassas Junction" – and even earlier, as our visit to the Manassas Museum quickly revealed. The Museum's interpretive journey through Northern Virginia Piedmont history presents a rich tapestry of the region's past, its various threads enhanced by exhibits of prehistoric tools and Civil War objects, photographs and documents.