Brentsville Courthouse and Jail - Bristow VA - Underground Railroad Sites on Waymarking.com

The courthouse and jail in Brentsville, Virginia are part of the Underground Railroad Network because slaves and abolitionists were tried and jailed there from 1820 to 1862 when Brentsville served as Prince William's county seat. Slave auctions were held on the public lot which was part of the courthouse grounds. Runaway slaves were regularly rounded up and taken to the jailhouse for retrieval by their owners.

The first documented incarcerated slave was a runaway named Billy. A bill dated June 1833 states he received medical attention on three successive days.

William Hyden, a free black man, was also arrested and held in the jail as a runaway slave. He was offered for sale, but he escaped.

Landon was held at the jail as a runaway and was accused of setting fire to his cell. He was tried and found guilty of arson although there were no witnesses and it was strictly hearsay testimony. He was sentenced to hang in 1839.

Outspoken abolitionists were arrested in an effort to suppress and silence their anti-slavery views. White abolitionist John Underwood was found guilty of publicly speaking out about the legality of owning humans as property and was fined.

Dangerfield Newby was a free man born to a white man and slave mother. His wife and children were slaves whose owner moved them to Brentsville. In 1858, the Newbys moved to Ohio, but Dangerfield's wife was left behind in Virginia. He attempted to buy her from her owner to no avail. Frustrated, Newby joined John Brown and the abolitionist cause and was the first person killed in the raid on Harper's Ferry.

The courthouse and jail are part of the Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre. The grounds are open daily dawn to dusk. The buildings are usually open from 11 AM to 4 PM on Thursday through Monday, although times are subject to change. There is no admission. The NPS Certificate of Acceptance to the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom is posted on a wall in the historic Brentsville Schoolhouse on site that also serves as a visitors center.

References:

• The Underground Railroad Connection to Prince William County at Brentsville

Address: 12239 and 12249 Bristow Rd. Bristow, VA USA 20136 Web site: [Web Link] Site Details: Grounds are open daily dawn to dusk. Free admission. Open to the public?: Public Name of organization who placed the marker: No marker

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