PWC - Brentsville Link to the Underground Railroad

Brentsville courthouse and jail, located in Prince William County, Va., are associated with the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom because they served as sites of arrest and jailing of runaway bondsmen and of abolitionists from the 1820s until 1862, while Brentsville served as the county seat.

Prince William County, Virginia, formed in 1731, encompasses 337.78 square miles (US Census, 2000), and became part of the northward land and population expansion of the Northern Neck of Virginia. Original Prince William area land patents are found recorded in Westmoreland County (established 1648). Prince William’s neighbor to the north is Fairfax County, with which it shares the Occoquan River as a border. The colonial town of Colchester in Fairfax County was on the opposite shore of the Occoquan. Historically Prince William County contained the colonial town of Dumfries, a Potomac River seaport shipping town and site of tobacco warehouses and required inspection. Dumfries held the earlier courthouse that more centrally located Brentsville replaced as the population center shifted westward in the county. Dumfries originally rivaled Alexandria, Virginia, for goods and services. A second colonial town is Haymarket, chartered in 1799, and located in the northwestern part of the county. Haymarket arose as a settlement area with the Red House Tavern, built by William Skinker as its center. Haymarket was burned by Union troops in 1862, but has been rebuilt. In the 1810 census in Prince William County, the decade before the erection of the Brentsville courthouse and jail, bondsmen comprised 46% of the population.

By 1820, the importance of the Dumfries seaport declined sharply. Citizens petitioned to move the county seat to a more central location in the county. In 1820, the Virginia Assembly created the Town of Brentsville on 50 acres of land in the geographic center of the Prince William County and along the Valley Road, the major east-west road in the county. This land had previously been part of the Bristow Tract, which was confiscated by the Commonwealth of Virginia because the owner, Robert Bristow, was a Tory during the American Revolution. Thus, creating a new town on undeveloped land was done with ease. By 1822, the county courthouse, jail and clerk’s office were constructed. Also, numerous taverns, churches and homes had been constructed to meet the need of the county courts.

There was a widespread custom of enslavement in Prince William County, where tobacco was the original green gold crop of Virginia, and corn the necessary staple. By the beginning of the 19^th century, wheat later supplanted tobacco with the addition of dairy farming, raising of animals: sheep, hogs, and cattle. Many new farmers from New Jersey and New York began moving into the area and bought up inexpensive farmland. Many of these farmers did not own bondsmen, but did buy slave labor from local plantations to work their farms. On the eastern border of the county, Potomac River farms added fishery enterprises to their money making activities, while the riverine forested areas provided monies from lumbering operations. Also on the eastern part of the county were the Tayloe Iron Works on Powells Creek, and significant milling operations on the Occoquan River.

The Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850 were enacted to threaten freedom seekers. Unscrupulous slave catchers found the monies given for a capture very profitable, and would jail them as runaways if they could. But the second law had another effect: it polarized further the existing pro-slavery and anti-slavery sentiments in Virginia and across the nation. Owners of enslaved workers seeking the legal return of their runaway property also advertised, requesting the captured be taken to jail for return to owners. In the first half of the nineteenth century, Virginia was galvanized by two brutally suppressed rebellions – that of Gabriel Prosser in Henrico County in 1800 and that of Nat Turner in 1831 in Southampton County. Both occurred during the period of use of Brentsville courthouse and jail. Local events also indicate that local fears in Prince William County were justified. One means of controlling the enslaved and free black population was the Prince William Patrols, members of which were taken from the Virginia Militia. Assigned by the Justice of the Peace, the members of the patrols were instructed to:

“patrol and visit all Negro quarters [dwellings] and other places suspected of entertaining Negroes or other persons unlawfully assembled to apprehend all Negroes without passes as runaways & Free Negroes for the violation of the law & bring them before a magistrate to be dealt with according to law. January 25, 1839”

At Brentsville, the general public was regularly reminded of the resistance to slavery by African American residents of Virginia, both enslaved and free, as freedom seekers were caught, jailed, tried, and punished. In addition to runaways, there is evidence that free blacks had to fight for their freedom and that white abolitionists were tried, found guilty, and fined huge sums of money, while a black abolitionist gave his life in response to the cause.

The three relevant African American cases are: 1833 - runaway Negro man Billy documented because of medical treatment he received at the jail on three succeeding days by a local physician, James B. T. Thornton; 1833 - free black William Hyden who was unjustly imprisoned in the Brentsville jail and sold into slavery; 1839 - Landon a runaway held in the Brentsville jail, charged and tried for the crime of arson, and sentenced to be hung a month later. There are three relevant cases involving abolitionists. There are two white abolitionists, and one black abolitionist. Dangerfield Newby was a free black abolitionist whose enslaved wife and children resided in the Brentsville area. White abolitionists include: Prince William resident Crawford (first name unknown), committed to jail in 1857 for declaring he was an “Abolitionist”. Also in 1857, John Underwood, who was found, “guilty of uttering and maintaining that owners have no rights of property in slaves”, the legal language that identifies an abolitionist.

The first documented evidence of use of the jail to house runaways in Brentsville jail comes from a bill dated June 4, 1833, for the medical treatment of a runaway in jail. “Runaway” Negro Man Billy was seen on three successive days (February 21, 22, and 23, 1833), by Physician James B. T. Thornton.

The second case was that of captured free black William Hyden. In a petition in 1835 to the state legislature, deputy sheriff Basil Brawner sought compensation for “expense that arose from apprehension [sic], confinement, advertising &c” because Robert Lipscomb was unable to pay his $452 bid for William Hyden. Former sheriff Michael Cleary, “now stands charged on the books of the Auditor of public accounts with a large sum of Money which your petitioner will be compelled to pay unless your Honorable body will release him from it, although [sic] he has not received nor has he any hope of receiving one cent of the same.” This sum was the price for a free black man arrested as a runaway in Prince William County who had been offered for sale.

New York-born free black William Hyden moved with his parents to Ohio when he was in his teens. Traveling to Washington, DC, in 1833, Hyden was arrested and offered for sale. According to the petition in 1835, deputy sheriff Basil Brawner sold Hyden to Robert Lipscomb, a trader in bondsmen who was an agent for an unnamed buyer. When the buyer refused to pay, Brawner futilely asked Colonel James Fewell, a passing slave trader going to Fredericksburg and Richmond, to sell Hyden. Later Brawner tried to sell Hyden at Court Day in Brentsville. Local traders would not purchase Hyden ”alledging [sic] that his colour [sic] was too light and that he could by reason thereof too easily escape from slavery and pass himself for a free man.” Hyden was jailed for nearly a year, until he escaped. The sheriff “made every exertion in his power to regain possession” of Hyden but was unsuccessful.

The third and last case of African Americans involves the crime of an imprisoned runaway. In the case Commonwealth vs. Landon a Slave dated March 4, 1839, a special court was held that just included the Justice of the Peace. This limited court representation was legal in trials of enslaved African Americans charged with treason or a felony.

“A negro man slave named Landon, confined as a runaway, the property of William Bowers of Fauquier County, on the 10th of February: not having the fear of God before his eyes, but being moved and seduced by the instigation of the Devil with force and arms at the County within the jurisdiction of this court feloniously did with force and maliciously set fire to the Jail of the County of Prince William situated in the Town of Brentsville against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth and against the forum of the acts of the general assembly of Virginia.”

Three witnesses gave testimony to Landon’s guilt. None of the witnesses actually saw him start the fire, which started in the room adjoining his. A piece of burned cloth the size of a walnut found in a hole in one of the floorboards was the physical evidence used against him. But what incriminated Landon most seems to be the testimony of another enslaved person, Overton (sworn to testify in the trial), who said that he gave the prisoner a piece of lighted coal to start the tobacco in Landon’s pipe. Also someone testified that Landon had been earlier prying at the window in his room. When the fire alarm was sounded, it appeared that fire had been burning for about a half hour in the ceiling of the room next to the one where the prisoner Landon was being held. The witness who answered the fire alarm said that it originated in the room where the prisoner was held. Within a month, prisoner Landon was convicted and sentenced to death by hanging on Friday, April 4, 1839.

Landon’s harsh sentence was likely a response to the frustration and fear of slave holders. Arson by bondsmen was one more indication that whites feared enslaved African Americans and generally had little idea whether any particular bondsman presented a clear danger. The cases of an owner’s murder of his bondswoman Katy and of five years later his own murder in turn by another of his bondswomen, Agness, show the tensions in Prince William County. In October 1845, Gerard Mason was accused in Commonwealth vs. Gerard Mason with the murder of the enslaved Katy. In William Bates’ deposition he stated: "[Bates] Has been in Gerard Mason's’ neighborhood [the farm Woodbridge on the Occoquan River, southern shore] for about two months past – When he [Bates] first came, Katy was unable to walk about & has continued so ever since, has seen her crawling about her cabin & when crawling would sometimes fall some – [Bates] has been in her cabin three times.” The coroner, after exhumation of Katy’s body from a grave on Mason’s property, ruled, after oaths from twelve county residents, that

“Gerard Mason . . . with some instrument or thing unknown to the jury which he the aforesaid Gerard Mason then and there used . . . upon the head then and there violently and voluntarily struck and cut and gave to the said slave Katy . . . upon her head several severe wounds one of which on the back and lower part of the head is of the length of one and a half inches, cutting into and taking off a part of the skull, of which said wounds the aforesaid slave Katy shortly after their infliction died."

Mason was found guilty and was committed to jail, with sentencing to be held on November 6, 1845. The public record is not available for the following years, but since he was out just five years later when he was murdered, he did not serve long. However, his well documented brutality to Katy as noted above was repaid when he died at the hands of enslaved Agness, five years hence. Mason’s reputation as a “hard master” in Prince William and Fairfax Counties, despite his escape from any long lasting punishment by the court system, would have been apparent to fellow bondswoman Agness. She continued to work for Mason after Katy’s death and was likely a witness to Katy’s exhumation. The strength of racial tensions created by the trial of Agness is attested to by local historian Lillian Gaskill who was told the story by Annie Williams (noted Prince William midwife, now deceased) in the 20^th century.

The National Era, in two issues in August and November 1857 carried articles about Prince William’s white abolitionists. In Prince William County, there were those who questioned the legality of owning people as property. Two men were brought to trial for their antislavery views. Punishment was swift for those white citizens who too openly objected to slave holding in any way or who made an announcement of being an abolitionist.

On August 27, 1857, the paper read: “On Wednesday evening, a resident of Prince William County, named Crawford, was committed to jail by Justice Kankey, charged with declaring 'that he was an Abolitionist, that he believed a Negro as good as he was, if he behaved himself; and maintaining, by speaking, that persons have not the right of property in slaves under the law.'”

Another selection from November of the same year reads: “On Tuesday last, in Prince William County, Va., John Underwood, was found guilty of 'uttering and maintaining that owners have no rights of property in their slaves,' and fined $312.50. The Brentsville Journal, a local paper said: ‘A motion was made for a new trial, on the ground that the evidence did not justify such a verdict. The decision: “Over-ruled by the court.” Underwood moved to appeal the judgment on the verdict, upon the ground that the statute upon which the prosecution was founded was void and an unconstitutional act. Underwood was overruled again and was fined $312.50, a huge sum for that time period. The Baltimore Sun August 11, 1857, p2, noted:

“The grand jury of Prince William County, Va, have found a true bill against John Underwood . . . the fact that Mr. Underwood is a justice of the peace for this county, has tended in no small degree to add to the excitement, and has called forth violent expressions of feeling in regard to the matter.”

Another anti-slavery activist associated with Brentsville, is Dangerfield Newby, probably remembered best in the history books as the first person killed at John Brown’s raid at Harper’s Ferry. Dangerfield Newby was a free black, born about 1825, emancipated by his white father. His wife Harriet and children were enslaved, owned by Dr. Jennings who moved them to Brentsville in the late 1850’s. His wife’s poignant letters to free them led Newby to raise funds, but he was never successful in their release. Reportedly he raised $742, but Jennings refused to sell her and the children to him.

With the frustration and hatred of the system of slavery that separated families, he joined the John Brown conspiracy, and became a martyr to the abolitionist cause. After his death, three poignant letters from his wife were found among his belongings. In her last letter she said "I want you to buy me as soon as possible, for if you do not get me some body else will . . . their [there] has ben one bright hope to cheer me in all my troubles, that is to be with you …" It is believed that she and her children were sold away to Louisiana a short time later.

Brentsville suffered severely during the Civil War. The majority of the buildings in town were destroyed along with the county clerk’s office and the roof of the courthouse. The jail was also in “deplorable” condition. By the summer of 1865, county business was once again being conducted in Brentsville. Private homes and churches in town served as the county courthouse and clerk’s office until the courthouse could be renovated. The clerk’s office would never be rebuilt, with the clerk’s office being moved into the courthouse.

Brentsville never recovered physically or financially from the Civil War. With the increased reliance on railroad transportation in the economy, Manassas Junction became the economic center of the county. As more businesses and people moved to Manassas, Brentsville slowly lost its political influence. After several attempts to move the county seat to Manassas, in 1893 the county courts voted to move to Manassas. This move proved to be the death of Brentsville as a commercial center. Brentsville would become a rural farming community, maintaining much of its 19^th century historical character.

Once the county seat moved to Manassas, the county attempted to sell the courthouse property. Eventually it was leased by the Prince William Academy to be used as a school. Several changes were made to the building, including extending the second floor the length of the building for more classroom space. This floor was deemed improper by the State Education Board and was removed. But the physical changes (new windows) were left behind. The Prince William Academy would prove to be unsuccessful and the building was turned over to be used as a public school for Prince William County. The courthouse served in that capacity until 1928, when a new schoolhouse was built on top of the foot print of the county clerk’s office that was destroyed in 1863. The building would then become a civic/recreation center where dances, fundraisers, weddings, and concerts were held. Beginning in the 1970s, the Prince William Park Authority took possession of the building and began plans for turning the site into a recreational park. Eventually this idea was abandoned and with community support, the decision was made to historically restore the building to the 1820s. After 10 years of research and restoration, the building was officially dedicated in 2007.

After the move of the county seat to Manassas, the jail building was converted into a dormitory for the Prince William Academy which was housed in the courthouse. The school was ultimately not a success and the jail was converted into a single family home. In 1971 the building was being used as a lawyer’s office. The property, along with the courthouse property, was turned over to the Park Authority and the jail served as their headquarters. In 2004, the Park Authority turned the building over to the Prince William County Department of Public Works which created a Historic Preservation Division to administer historic properties owned by the county. The jail is currently not open to the public, but research is now ongoing and soon plans will be drawn up to restore the building to the 1820s. Like the courthouse, it will be used as an interpretative space.

Currently the courthouse and jail are owned by the Prince William County Historic Preservation Division. The 25 acres contain the courthouse, jail, 1870 Union Church, 1928 One Room Schoolhouse, and the 1830 Hall Cabin. The property contains several archaeological sites and a mile long nature trail.

Currently, the Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre is undergoing restoration and site development for future public use. The County courthouse, jail and the location of the gallows are interpreted by interpretative wayside signs (See Appendix II). Currently site tours are offered on the weekends during the spring and summer months and by special appointment. These tours highlight the history of enslaved African Americans in Prince William County with specific cases mentioned in this nomination. Educational programming for students is now under development that will focus heavily on the limitations put on bondsmen by the County court system. Long range plans call for a topic specific brochure/handout that will give detailed information on the enslaved and free African Americans of Prince William County and the town of Brentsville (i.e. Dangerfield Newby). This information will also include other examples of runaways and resistance to slavery in Prince William County.

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