Provided by Prince William County
Good news for history buffs and those who have a goal of seeing all 101 historical markers in Prince William County! The county created a new web-based application where users can learn about the location of historical markers and read the the markers’ citations.
“The web application is an innovative presentation of the Historical Commission’s Marker Guide with interactive maps that can be used on any device with a web browser and connection to the internet,” said Prince William County Archaeologist Justin Patton.
Patton said the markers recognize a wide range of subjects. “They identify locations of historic buildings and events. They also recognize important persons and groups in the county’s shared past.”
For example, the web application shows that one of the markers in Occoquan talks about Capt. John Smith exploring the region in 1608. Another, at U.S. 1 near Prince William Forest Park, notes that in April 1781, the Marquis de Lafayette “passed through the county on the King’s Highway with a portion of Gen. George Washington’s army.”
Markers in the western end of the county note the 22 Civil War battles that were fought in the Manassas area. A marker in Brentsville shows that Brentsville was the fourth Prince William County seat and that Col. John S. Mosby operated out of the area during the Civil War.
There are multiple categories that can help narrow searches for interested users. Those categories include Prince William Forest Park, Colonial Virginia, Washington-Rochambeau Road, Historic Brentsville, Orange and Alexandria Railroads, Battlefields and Journey through Hallowed Ground.
The online Historical Marker Guide can be found at gisweb.pwcgov.org/webapps/historicmarkers/ or from the Planning Department’s webpage at pwcgov.org/planning.
