{"nrhp_refnum":"90001829","name":"Brentsville Historic District","other_names":["DHR File No. 76-338","See Also:Davis--Beard House","Brentsville"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly Bristow Rd. from Old Church Rd. to Isaac Walton Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Bristow","county":"Prince William County","state":"VA","lat":38.688858721500026,"lon":-77.50105701507066,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-12-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A roughly 27-acre village historic district in Brentsville, near Bristow, Prince William County, Virginia, centered on the 1820-22 county courthouse and jail and including churches, a school and houses, mostly from the 1820s and late 1800s.","why_significant":"The village grew around the fourth Prince William County Courthouse, built 1820-22, and reflects Brentsville's role as the county seat until 1893. The nomination also cites its range of architecture, from Federal public buildings and a Greek Revival church to turn-of-the-century I-houses. The courthouse, jail and White House were already listed.","narrative":"Brentsville is a small village in central Prince William County, Virginia, laid out in 1822 around the county's fourth courthouse. The nominated district covers about 27 acres on both sides of Bristow Road and holds 25 contributing and 5 noncontributing resources. The core is a public square with the Federal-style brick courthouse, designed by William Claytor of Orange County, and the brick jail built by James Drisco Masson. A circa 1910 one-room schoolhouse stands nearby. Three churches include the 1847 Greek Revival sandstone St. James Episcopal Church, now a Baptist church, and the circa 1875 Union Church. Houses range from the stuccoed Federal-style White House of 1822 to vernacular I-houses and a 1940s bungalow, many with farm outbuildings. The district was listed because it records Brentsville's life as a county seat and shows a varied set of public, religious and domestic buildings. The form warns that road widening, development and neglect threaten its integrity.","period_of_significance":"1822-1940","architect_builder":"William Claytor of Orange County (courthouse architect); James Drisco Masson (jail builder)","architectural_style":"Early Classical Revival, Federal, Greek Revival, Frame I House","criteria":[],"status_note":"Several buildings are in use as residences, offices, storage and churches; the Bauder House is in ruins and slated for demolition, and the district is described as threatened by development and neglect.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:01.071158-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/96/6788/41678896/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/90001829.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001829/84a17a3aa5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001829/84a17a3aa5-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jerrye &amp; Roy Klotz, MD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BRENTSVILLE_HISTORIC_DISTRICT.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Jerrye &amp;amp; Roy Klotz, MD</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BRENTSVILLE_HISTORIC_DISTRICT.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41678896","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brentsville_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15204579"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/prince-william-county/brentsville-historic-district-90001829/"}