Brentsville Courthouse and Jail is a historic

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

and

jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cr ...

located at Brentsville,

Prince William County, Virginia Prince William County lies beside the Potomac River in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 482,204, making it Virginia's second most populous county. The county seat is the independent city of Manassas. A part ...

. The courthouse was built in 1822, and is a two-story, Federal 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, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

. 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 Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

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 Brick buildings and structures in Virginia 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