Brentsville Courthouse and Jail is a historic

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

and

jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

located at Brentsville,

Prince William County, Virginia Prince William County is located on the Potomac River in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 482,204, making it Virginia's second-most populous county. Its county seat is the independent city of Manassas ...

. The courthouse was built in 1822, and is a two-story,

Federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

style brick building. It features a fanlight over the main entrance, within a keyed, semicircular brick arch and an octagonal-roofed, frame-built

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

. The Brentsville Jail was built about 1820, and is located 30 yards from the courthouse. It is a well-constructed, two-story, gable roofed structure. The county seat was moved to Manassas in the 1890s to the Prince William County Courthouse and the courthouse and jail were abandoned. an
''Accompanying photo''
/ref> It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1989.

Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre

Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre is an open-air museum centered around the restored 1825-period courthouse. The museum is owned and operated by Prince William County Historic Preservation Division and interprets the history of Brentsville and Prince William County through three centuries. The Brentsville site consists of 28 acres with five historic buildings and several archaeological sites. Visitors can tour the interior of the restored courthouse, Union Church and 1853 Haislip-Hall House. There are plans to restore the jail and a one-room schoolhouse.

References

External links

Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre
- Prince William County County courthouses in Virginia Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Jails on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Federal architecture in Virginia Government buildings completed in 1822 Buildings and structures in Prince William County, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Prince William County, Virginia Jails in Virginia Museums in Prince William County, Virginia Open-air museums in Virginia 1822 establishments in Virginia {{PrinceWilliamCountyVA-NRHP-stub