HISTORY OF THE OLD BENNETT SCHOOL
A Site of Memory
When construction began on the Bennett School in 1908–1909, workers discovered the graves of unknown Civil War soldiers on the property. Community leaders chose to leave the graves undisturbed and construct the school above the site as a memorial.
That decision was made by George Carr Round, a Union veteran and local school leader, and George Tyler, a Confederate veteran, reflecting an early effort at reconciliation in the decades after the war.
Today the site remains a reminder of how earlier generations in Manassas chose to commemorate the Civil War and incorporate that memory into civic spaces.
Generations of Students
For nearly 60 years, the Bennett School served students from Manassas and surrounding Prince William County communities. The building was part of a larger school campus that included the original Osbourn School nearby, reflecting the area’s early role as an educational center.
During the 1960s, the Bennett School was also part of the transition toward school integration following Brown v. Board of Education, when local schools implemented “freedom of choice” plans allowing African American students to attend previously segregated schools.
A Community Landmark
The Bennett School stands within one of Manassas’s most historic civic landscapes. Just next door, the Prince William County Courthouse has long served as the center of public life for the community.
In 1909, President William Howard Taft spoke on the courthouse grounds, reflecting the national significance of this civic center.
Decades later, when the courthouse itself faced demolition, residents organized to preserve it—an effort that became known locally as the “Courthouse Crowd.”
The campaign ultimately succeeded, and the courthouse remains an important historic landmark today.
Together, these buildings tell the story of a community that values both its civic institutions and its history.
A Building Waiting for Its Next Chapter
After serving students for nearly sixty years, the Bennett School eventually closed as the local school system expanded and modernized. The building later housed the Manassas Police Department, continuing its role in public service.
In the decades that followed, the structure was largely unused as the surrounding area evolved into the Prince William County Judicial Campus. Even during these quiet years, the Bennett School remained a recognizable landmark within Manassas’s historic civic district.
Today, the building represents an opportunity to thoughtfully reconnect this historic place with the life of the community.
