Manassas, Virginia

Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Prince William County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. Manassas borders the independent city of Manassas Park. The Bureau of Economic Analysis includes both Manassas and Manassas Park with Prince William County for statistical purposes.

Manassas contains several historic sites dating from 1825 to 1914. Manassas surrounds the county courthouse, which is located on county property.

Manassas is part of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area and is in the Northern Virginia region.

History

In 1851, a post office and railroad stop servicing the Orange and Alexandria Railroad (O&A) were established in the area then known as Tudor Hall, named for a nearby plantation home. Soon after, construction began on the Manassas Gap Railroad (MGRR), which was planned to run westward from the O&A at Tudor Hall to the Shenandoah Valley, by way of Manassas Gap. By 1854, the MGRR was completed between Tudor Hall and Strasburg.

In the early 1860s, following the construction of the railroad junction, the village of Tudor Hall became known as Manassas Junction.

In July 1861, the First Battle of Bull Run—also known as the Battle of First Manassas —was fought nearby, the first major land battle of the American Civil War. Manassas commemorated its 150th anniversary on July 21–24, 2011.

The Second Battle of Bull Run (or the Battle of Second Manassas) was fought near Manassas on August 28–30, 1862. At that time, Manassas Junction was little more than a railroad crossing, but a strategic one, with rails leading to Richmond, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and the Shenandoah Valley. Despite these two Confederate victories, Manassas Junction was in Union hands for most of the war.

Following the war, the crossroads grew into the town of Manassas, which was incorporated in 1873. In 1894, Manassas was designated the county seat of Prince William County, replacing Brentsville.

Between July 16 and July 22, 1911, veterans from both sides of the war reunited in Manassas for a Peace Jubilee marking 50 years since the First Battle of Bull Run. On July 21, after meeting and shaking hands at Henry House Hill, they picnicked together on the former battlefield before re-uniting again at the then-fairly new Prince William County Courthouse to hear a speech by President William Howard Taft, commemorating the event.

In 1975, Manassas was incorporated as an independent city, and as per Virginia law, was separated from Prince William County.

Manassas is home to Annaburg, built in 1892 by Robert Portner as a summer home. It is believed to be one of the first homes in the United States to have mechanical air conditioning. Annaburg was purchased by the City of Manassas in July 2019 to be restored and preserved as a public park.

The Manassas Historic District; Liberia, a plantation house; the Manassas Water Tower; the Cannon Branch Fort; the Mayfield Fortification; the Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth; and Annaburg are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

Manassas is mainly served by I-66, U.S. 29, Virginia State Route 234 Business and Virginia State Route 28.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water.

Since its origin the city has been crossed by key transportation routes which have led to the area being incorporated into major developments such as Interstate 66 and major rail lines, and serving as the government center for Prince William County.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Manassas has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. Average monthly temperatures range from in January to in July. The local hardiness zone is 7a.

Demographics

Education

The City of Manassas is served by the Manassas City Public Schools. There are five elementary schools in Manassas, two intermediate schools, a middle school, and a high school. In 2006, Mayfield Intermediate School opened, serving students in fifth and sixth grade. Due to growth, Baldwin Intermediate School opened in September 2017, also serving 5th and 6th graders.

Some schools in the Prince William County Public Schools district have Manassas addresses, though they are located, and serve areas, outside the Manassas city limits. An exception is Pennington Traditional School, which despite being within city limits, serves students living in Prince William County.

Seton School, a private Roman Catholic junior and senior high school affiliated with the Diocese of Arlington, provides Catholic education from its Manassas location. The All Saints Catholic School at the All Saints Parish provides Catholic Education from pre-K through 8th grade. The All Saints Catholic School was a Presidential Blue Ribbon Award winner in 2009.

Also in the vicinity of Manassas are branch campuses of American Public University System, George Mason University, Northern Virginia Community College, ECPI College of Technology and Strayer University. Though some of these are just outside the city limits in Prince William County, NVCC and Strayer call these branches their Manassas Campuses.

Public schools in Manassas:

Baldwin Elementary School
Jennie Dean Elementary School
Richard C. Haydon Elementary School
George C. Round Elementary School
Weems Elementary School
Baldwin Intermediate School
Mayfield Intermediate School
Grace E. Metz Middle School
Osbourn High School

Infrastructure

Transportation

thumb|right|Route 234 in Manassas

Major highways

The major roads into and out of Manassas are Virginia State Route 28, Virginia State Route 234 and Virginia State Route 234 Business. I-66 and US-29 service Manassas, but neither passes through the city itself.

Airports

Manassas Regional Airport is within the city limits. It is the busiest general aviation airport in Virginia, with more than 415 aircraft and 26 businesses based onsite, including charter companies, avionics, maintenance, flight schools and aircraft services.

Between 2019 and 2021 APP Jet Center, a jet servicing company, built three new hangars fit for larger private planes along with extensive renovations to their existing hangars.

thumb|right|[[Amtrak 50, the Cardinal, arriving in Manassas station, which is shared with Virginia Railway Express and hosts the city's visitors center]]

Rail transportation

Manassas began life as Manassas Junction, so named for the railroad junction between the Orange and Alexandria Railroad and the Manassas Gap Railroad. The O&A owned the railway from Alexandria through Manassas to points south, ending in Orange, Virginia, while the MGRR was an independent line constructed from Manassas Junction through the Manassas Gap westward. In addition Manassas was the site of the first large scale military use of railroad transportation.

These original routes are now owned by the Norfolk Southern railroad. Amtrak and the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) provide regular inter-city and commuter service to the city and surrounding area on the tracks owned by NS. Manassas station is served by VRE and three Amtrak routes: the New York City to Chicago Cardinal, Boston to Roanoke Northeast Regional, and New York to New Orleans Crescent.

The train station was also used for the cover photo of Stephen Stills' album Manassas.

Notable people

Jim Bucher, infielder and outfielder in Major League Baseball
Ryan Burroughs, professional rugby league footballer currently playing for the Washington DC Cavalry
Jose Carranza, soccer player
Jeff Causey, soccer player and coach
Mason Diaz, NASCAR driver
Danny Doyle, Irish folk singer
Wilmer Fields, pitcher and third baseman in Negro league baseball
Brandon Hogan, football player
Elizabeth Friench Johnson (1890–1979), college professor
Chaney Kley (1972–2007), American film and television actor
Jon Knott, Major League Baseball outfielder
Jeremy Linn, 1996 Summer Olympics swimmer and current swimming coach
Wilmer McLean, Wholesale grocer, owner of the McLean House
Mike O'Meara, radio personality
Harry J. Parrish (1922–2006), longtime member of the Virginia House of Delegates
Leven Powell, also Levin, (1737–1810), U.S. Representative from Virginia
Jason Richardson, American guitarist
Kevin Ricks, convicted sex offender
David Robinson, American basketball player
Danica Roem, the first ever openly transgender woman to be elected to a US legislature
Ravi Shankar, American poet
Joanna Mary Berry Shields, teacher and founder of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
C. J. Sapong, American soccer player
Leeann Tweeden, model
Lucky Whitehead, former National Football League wide receiver
Ryan Williams, running back for the Dallas Cowboys
George Zimmerman, shot and killed Trayvon Martin, a minor, and later acquitted in Florida
Tyleik Williams, college football defensive tackle for the Ohio State Buckeyes

In popular culture

A season 6 episode of the Discovery Channel series A Haunting, called Marked by Evil, takes place in Manassas in 2008–2011.
Portions of the music video for the Steve Winwood song "Back in the High Life Again" were filmed at the train station in Manassas.
In episode three of Marvel's “What if…?” Manassas, Virginia is featured as Natasha Romanoff travels to a library.
In crime drama Criminal Minds, BAU profiler Aaron Hotchner (Thomas Gibson) is from Manassas.
Country-rock supergroup Manassas, led by Stephen Stills and former Byrd Chris Hillman, took their name from the city, and the cover photo of their self-titled debut was taken at the Manassas Train Station.