That Happened Here

08/26/2026

For this week’s look at the origin of road names, we’re asking the question if it’s really a theme neighborhood if you only use variations of the same two names? Originally built under the name “The Meadows at Barnes Crossing” and now the northern part of the Hope Hill Crossing, it is on the southwest corner of Spriggs and Minnieville Roads. The street names in the neighborhood include Spriggs Tree Lane, Spriggs Meadow Drive, Spriggs Valley Court, Barnes Lane, Barnes Meadow Court, Barnes Edge Court, and Minnie Court. As we learned when we visited the Minnieville historical marker, Minnie as the name of a daughter of the man who was the first postmaster there. Spriggs was the name of the family who had land next to Spriggs Ford on the Occoquan. And as we learned when we visited the Howison Homestead historical marker, the Barnes were the family that inherited the farm (noted on the Brown 1901 County map) that was across Minnieville Road from the neighborhood. The fourth generation son of the Barnes’ family passed away only earlier this year. While the names were a bit repetitive, we salute the neighborhood developers for ensuring the family name will be remembered.

08/24/2026

For this week’s look at Brentsville, we are at Hatcher’s Memorial Baptist Church on Barbee Road. Built in 1847 as St. James Episcopal Church, it is one of the oldest church buildings in the County. An earlier church on the site was built about 1822, replacing the “old church” that gave “Old Church Road” its name. During the Civil War, the church was used as a hospital and barracks. At the end of the war, only the stone walls remained, and the interior of the church had to be rebuilt. The Brentsville Baptist congregation was founded in 1866, and first met in the Courthouse until the Union Church (that we learned about last week) was built. They moved to the then unoccupied St. James Church with the assistance of Rev. Dr. William E. Hatcher of Richmond, and have remained an active congregation since that time.

08/23/2026

n this week’s look at the newspapers, it’s August 1917, and Prince William County has established a quarantine against infantile paralysis, more commonly known as polio. In the early 20th century, polio was one of the most feared diseases in industrialized countries, paralyzing hundreds of thousands of children every year. Small localized paralytic polio epidemics began to appear in Europe and the United States around 1900, including a major outbreak in 1916 in New York. As is evident in these articles from the Manassas Journal and Washington Post, it was taken very seriously - including removing families from trains passing through Manassas. In 1955, Jonas Salk’s injectable vaccine was announced safe to use and a nation-wide immunization campaign began in the United States. Due to aggressive prevention campaigns, polio was considered eradicated in the United States. However, non-vaccinated individuals have caused a resurgence of the disease. We here at THH remind you that vaccination is the best way to continue keeping people safe from polio. Love your neighbor.

08/20/2026

For this week’s then and now, we are returning to Historic Prince William’s fabulous Ed Stallknecht Photo Collection. Taken in the mid-1970’s, Ed’s subject this time was the then new Woodbridge campus of Northern Virginia Community College. Originally known as the Southern Campus, classes were offered in local community facilities from 1972 through 1975. Construction began ion the 109-acre site between US Route 1 and Interstate 95 in 1974, and the now named Seefeldt Building (named after a former Board of County Supervisors chair) was completed in 1975. The campus offers an expansive range of academic programs, workforce development, and skilled trades classes. The Arts and Science Building opened in 2013, and the Regional Center for Workforce Education and Trainingopened two years after that. NOVA’s sees its mission as to “provide equitable access to affordable and exceptional higher education and workforce programs, transforming the lives of [its] students and advancing opportunity in [the] community.”

08/20/2026

For this week’s origin of road names, we’ve got another themed neighborhood - but we’re frankly disappointed in the majority of the theme. In 2001, Centex Homes approached what today is the American Battlefield Trust about creating a battlefield park on the 341-acre property the corporation was purchasing at Bristoe. After several months of negotiations, and in consultation with historians and preservation professionals, a plan was developed for a park with boundaries based on where the majority of fighting at the Battle of Bristoe Station occurred. While this was certainly a win for battlefield preservation, the naming of many of the roads in the New Bristoe Village neighborhood after Confederate commanders was questionable, even back in 2003 when the neighborhood was built. Roads are named in honor of senior rebel Generals Robert E. Lee, Jeb Stuart, and AP Hill, as well as some named after Confederate division commanders. The remaining roads are named after a mixture of lower level Union and Confederate soldiers. And although Clara Barton is honored, she was living in South Carolina during the time of the battle.

08/18/2026

For this week’s look at Brentsville, we are at the former Union Church. The land for a church building to be used “free to all denominations of Christians” was donated in 1871 by George M. Goodwin, owner of the Tavern that was located next door. It was built in 1880, according to the deed, for the use of (white only) congregations “of the Methodist Episcopal Church south, the Presbyterian Epıscopalian, the New and both branches of the old school Baptist Churches.” Despite the offered use to multiple congregations, only one (Baptist) congregation initially used the building. That congregation moved to the former St. James Episcopal church in 1897. Presbyterians used the building from 1915 until 1950 when they outgrew the space and moved into a new building next door to the Jail (we’ll discuss both church buildings in the future). Civic and religious groups used the building after that; the County purchased the building in 1997 and finished a restoration in 2005. It is now part of the historic center, and can be rented for weddings and other events.

08/17/2026

For this week’s look at the newpapers, we’ve got another couple getting married in Manassas, who have no readily apparent connection to the city. Mary Katheryn Parker and Lowell Joseph Ragatz (eleven years her senior), according to a Washington Post article in April 1930, were married in the Episcopal Church on Church Street. Much more than a “girl from Texas”, Katheryn earned a Masters in History a year earlier from Northwestern, while Lowell earned a Ph.D. in history from the University of Wisconsin, and eventually was a full professor of history at George Washington University. Together in 1932 they published “A Guide For The Study Of British Caribbean History, 1763-1834: Including The Abolition And Emancipation Movement”. Dr. Ragatz was regarded as a pioneer of African studies in the United States, and was the editor of the American Historical Association from 1929 through 1942; Katheryn was involved with the editing as well. At some point they divorced, because they both remarried in 1948. Lowell died in 1978; Katheryn became a member of the United States Foreign Service, and resided and passed away in 1995 in Surrey, England.

08/15/2026

08/13/2026

National Park Service Announces Planned Interment of Civil War Soldier Recovered at Manassas National Battlefield Park

Archaeological study complete as NPS prepares to transfer remains of young Union soldier recovered at Manassas

More than 160 years after he likely fought in the Second Battle of Manassas, a young Union soldier recovered during archaeological excavations at Manassas National Battlefield Park is one step closer to receiving the honors afforded to those who served their country.

The National Park Service today announced its plan to transfer the soldier's remains to the Office of Army Cemeteries following the completion of archaeological study and documentation, consistent with its responsibilities under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

The soldier was discovered during professional archaeological excavations conducted in March 2024 at the site of a Civil War field hospital within Manassas National Battlefield Park. Archaeologists were investigating an area associated with the Second Battle of Manassas when they uncovered the nearly complete burial of a Union soldier, along with a historic rubber pocket comb. The excavation also recovered four surgically amputated limbs from wounded soldiers treated at the hospital during the battle.

Analysis indicates the soldier was approximately 16 to 19 years old and likely fought during the Second Battle of Manassas in August 1862, one of the largest and most significant engagements of the Civil War.

"Every soldier who fought on this battlefield has a story, even if we may never know their name," said Superintendent Kristofer Butcher. "It has been our privilege and responsibility to care for these remains with dignity, guided by science, respect, and our commitment to preserving America's history. We are honored that this soldier will now receive a final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery."

The planned transfer reflects the National Park Service's dual responsibility to preserve and study archaeological resources while treating human remains with dignity and respect. The National Park Service remains committed to preserving America's battlefield history, advancing archaeological research, and honoring those who served.

Supporting documentation will be available for public review through the National Park Service Planning, Environment and Public Comment website from Aug. 13, 2026, through Sept. 4, 2026, consistent with the public notice requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

For more information, visit: https://home.nps.gov/mana/learn/news/national-park-service-announces-planned-interment-of-civil-war-soldier-recovered-at-manassas-national-battlefield-park.htm

Image Text: Soldiers from the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Regiment, the "Old Guard" carry flag covered caskets of two Union soldiers discovered in the Manassas National Battlefield Park in 2018 during the transfer ceremony before their interment in Arlington National Cemetery. A park ranger salutes in the background.

08/13/2026

For this week’s then and now, we are on a 152-acre tract just south of the County’s Bristoe Station Battlefield Park. In another sketch by battlefield artist Alfred Waud, we see Captain William A. Arnold’s Battery A of the First Rhode Island Artillery in action during the Battle of Bristoe Station in October 1863. While the land has remained under cultivation, it is currently owned by the Hylton Group (the builder who built Dale City), and according to the American Battlefield Trust, it is already zoned for residential development. The County recently purchased a 22 acre property south of the railroad that the Trust had saved, and the Trust is working hard to purchase the additional property as well.