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==