The Brentsville Courthouse is the fourth courthouse to serve Prince William County. It was built in 1820-22, along with the adjacent jail, following the decision to move the county seat from Dumfries to this more centralized location. The public function of the plain country Federal structure is signaled by its octagonal belfry. The county abandoned the building following Union occupation of the area in 1862. County records strewn across the courthouse floor to a depth of two feet were nearly all lost. The Brentsville Courthouse and Jail complex was reoccupied following the war and functioned until the county seat was moved to Manassas in 1893. The building was converted to a school and later a public meeting place. The Brentsville Courthouse and Jail became the charge of the Prince William County Park Authority in 1974, and was later leased to the Prince William County Historical Commission.
The Brentsville Courthouse and Jail are contributing buildings within the Brentsville Historic District, and they were listed in the registers under the Civil War Properties, Prince William County Multiple Property Documentation form.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia