County to help celebrate area history

On Sept. 26, Warrenton will celebrate 250 years of extraordinary local history -- and Prince William County is part of it.

Rarely open to the public and exclusively open for Warrenton-Fauquier Heritage Day, two of the oldest and most significant county historic sites on the National Register of Historic Places, Chapman's Mill and Buckland Farm, will be available for touring. The sites can be reached by car or scheduled, free buses from Warrenton.

Chapman's Mill will be open between 1:30 and 5:30 p.m.

Straddling the Prince William and Fauquier line, Chapman's Mill has stood watch over Thoroughfare Gap for more than 250 years. In 1742, Jonathan Chapman and his son Nathaniel built a 2½ story mill to process and distribute corn and wheat grown in the Shenandoah Valley.

In the early 1800s, the mill was enlarged to 4½ stories, and by mid-century, the newly built Manassas Gap Railroad transported the mill's products to the port of Alexandria from where they were exported around the globe. The mill was enlarged once again in 1858 to its final height of 83 feet, making it one of the tallest stacked stone buildings in America.

During the Civil War, Confederate troops used the mill as a meat curing warehouse and distribution center. In 1862, the mill was burned to prevent it from falling into Union hands, leaving it looking much as it appears today.

After the war, the Beverly family restored the mill, and it continued operations until 1959. In 1998, arson burned the mill and destroyed the wooden interior and roof.

Since then, thanks to the efforts of the Turn the Mill Around Campaign, the stone walls have been stabilized and efforts are under way to restore public access.

Between 2 and 6 p.m., plan to visit Buckland Farm which will provide tourists with a unique opportunity to experi-ence 18th- and 19th-century America.

Visited by Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Lafayette and Lee, this historic site provides a portal back in time to the development of numerous technological and entrepreneurial innovations, including thoroughbred breeding, road engineering, banking, farming, law and politics.

The site was also once a Native American village called Buck Land and was significant spiritually and economically to the indigenous people of the area.

Just above Buck Land are the remains of a step mound and a town council site. The architecture and archeological record provide a picture of how the earliest Native American occupation and the early republic affected the devel-opment of Fauquier and Prince William counties.

One of the 12 battlefields in Fauquier County, Buckland is also known as the site of the Battle of Buckland Mills and was part of the Bristoe Campaign. On Oct. 19, 1863, the battle was fought between Union cavalry forces led by Brig. Generals Judson Kilpatrick and George Armstrong Custer who fell into ambush. Confederate Major Generals J.E.B. Stuart and Fitzhugh Lee created the trap, which resulted in a five-mile chase to Gainesville and Haymarket. The Union defeat was subsequently labeled "The Buckland Races."

Also witness history as it comes alive along Main Street and Courthouse Square in Old Town Warrenton, and honor Warrenton's national designation as a "Preserve America Community." The Old Town festivi-ties will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Del. Scott Lingamfelter will be grand marshal for the Living History Parade and Grand Review along Main Street beginning at 11 a.m.

The public is also encouraged to enjoy lectures, a walking tour of historic Warrenton, a "Tracing the Gray Ghost" tour, an educational and Children's Corner and a history scavenger hunt.

Supported by the Town of Warrenton and Fauquier County, this free event will run rain or shine.

Interested local heritage, civic, service and landmark business organizations who wish to enter a Fauquier history-themed float in the Living History Parade or who wish to participate with a heritage display in Courthouse Square, provide period entertainment or volunteer to help with the event may contact Paula Johnson at 540-341-7019 or pauladrdr@aol.com.