Manassas, Virginia
Manassas, Virginia
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2297687

Manassas, Virginia

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2297687

Manassas, Virginia

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Manassas, Virginia

Manassas (/məˈnæsəs/), 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 38-acre (15-hectare) 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.

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.

Although the first known reference to the word "Manassas" appeared in the form of "Manassas Run" on a 1737 land survey, the origin of the word itself is unknown. There is some evidence that it may have originated from a Jewish innkeeper named Manasseh in the Shenandoah Valley, but this is disputed by others who cite evidence that the word may be of Native American origin, possibly relating to Massanutten, or to the Manahoac people who once inhabited the area.

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.

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