Warrenton, Virginia is the county seat of Fauquier County. It was originally named The Red Store and later Fauquier Courthouse.
[1]
Warrenton, ca 1862. Wikipedia: Warrenton, Virginia
History[]
- 1759: Fauquier County founded, Fauquier Courthouse named the county seat.
- 1777: Warren Academy founded.
Geography[]
Warrenton is directly west of Auburn, Virginia
- |Google Maps, Warrenton & Auburn, 11 May 2014
Then and Now[]
- Warrenton Court House
- 13th Manassas Web site - Camp at Warrenton (From "Three Years In The Army."), Saturday, July 5
Warrenton, Virginia; from Harper's Weekly; courtesy www.sonofthesouth.net
Warrenton Courthouse, Summer 1862>
Photo by Timothy H. O’Sullivan in August 1862., Library of Congress image.
August 26, 2012, Library of Congress
Courthouse, 1865 [2]Waymarking.com
Warrenton Main Street, 1908 - Book - Warrenton and Fauquier County Virginia
Warrenton, Virginia, July 12, 2014. From the courtyard of The Fauquier Bank, wide angle lens @Kdcoppes
Excerpts[]
- By Mark Hotz, Bank Note Reporter, July 31, 2012
- Fauquier (pronounced faw-keer) County is located in Northern Virginia, about 40 minutes southwest of Washington, D.C. by highway. It was established on May 1, 1759, from Prince William County, and is named for Francis Fauquier, lieutenant governor of Virginia at the time, who won the land in a poker game, according to legend.
- The main town and county seat of Fauquier is Warrenton, conveniently located at the junction of U.S. Routes 15-29 and 211. Although close in proximity to the nation’s capital, it is a world away in pace and style of life. When Fauquier County was founded in 1759, what is today Warrenton was just a rural trading post. Over the years, it was developed as a “crossroad town,” and at the time of the War of Independence, the county courthouse was moved to the area and the town was named Fauquier Courthouse. In 1790, Richard Henry Lee donated 71 acres for a new courthouse and for the first town plots for homes and businesses.
- The name Warrenton was adopted in 1810 and became the chartered town name in 1816. The name came from the popular Warren Academy, a school located in the area, originally named for Gen. Joseph Warren, a doctor and Revolutionary War hero who died at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775. It was Warren who sent Paul Revere on his famous ride.
- In 1853, a railroad reached the town, which then boasted several churches, thriving mercantile establishments, a weekly newspaper, and two schools. During the Civil War, Warrenton was a hospital town with most churches and large homes used by both sides when the controlled the area. The town changed hands 67 times, but after 1862 was primarily in Federal hands, with the nearby Rappahannock River dividing the opposing forces.
- Fauquier County became a center for the raiding activities of Confederate partisan leader Colonel John Mosby and his Rangers. It was in Warrenton that Union General George McClellan bade farewell to his officers after being removed as Commander of the Army of the Potomac by President Lincoln in 1862. (McClellan later challenged Lincoln for the presidency in the 1864 election.)
- Warrenton was electrified starting in 1902, and it was at this time that the first of its two national banks opened for business. The Fauquier National Bank received charter 6126 in February 1902 and was the larger of the two banks in town. It survived well past the end of the National Currency era, with a total circulation of $1.1 million. Despite this large output, notes from the bank are quite scarce, with just four large and seven small notes reported.
- In 1909, a huge fire broke out which destroyed close to half the structures in Warrenton. Dynamite was ultimately used to form a fire break to stop the spread of flames. It was after this fire that the Fauquier National Bank erected its large structure on Court Street.
- In 1910, Warrenton’s Peoples National Bank received charter 9642 and opened its doors on Main Street. It, too, survived the end of the National Currency era, with a total circulation of $920,000. Its notes are more available than those of the Fauquier National Bank, with eight large and 12 small reported. With increased interest in Virginia National Bank Notes, the few Warrenton notes that appear for sale find ready buyers.
- Warrenton today has a charming old downtown area, but because of urban sprawl, modern neighborhoods have sprouted up and downtown can be easily missed by those not looking to visit it. In the 1970’s a U.S. Route 29 bypass was built so that traffic could skirt the town, and with it went many tourists. However, Warrenton has a lot to offer.
- The center of the old business district is dominated by the Fauquier County Courthouse on Courthouse Square. Originally built in 1790, and then subsequently rebuilt in 1819 and 1854, the current structure dates from 1890 after fires destroyed the earlier building. The current courthouse is an attempt to reproduce the 1854 courthouse in a Greek Revival style.
- On narrow Court Street directly behind the Courthouse stands the old Fauquier National Bank building, a massive structure that is now used as a courthouse adjunct. Just across Hotel Street from the bank, on the corner of Hotel and Culpeper streets, is one of Warrenton’s most famous locales, the Warren Green Hotel. Originally built on the site of the Norris Tavern in 1819, it was the site of a sumptuous banquet honoring General Lafayette on his return visit to the United States in 1825. Six thousand of Fauquier’s population came out to cheer the hero of the War of Independence.
- President James Monroe dined at the Warren Green; President Andrew Jackson stayed there. Henry Clay declared for the Presidency on the steps of the Warren Green; on those same steps General McClellan said farewell to his officers in 1862. In 1927, Wallis Warfield, later the Duchess of Windsor, spent a year at the hotel while she waited for her first divorce to become final. Further into town, along Main Street, one will find the old Peoples National Bank building, somewhat remodeled and now serving as a branch of BB&T Bank. I have included a photo showing this and adjacent structures; many of the buildings are constructed of red brick which is the main architectural feature of the old downtown.
- No visit to Warrenton is complete without a stop at the Old Jail Museum, located behind the Courthouse. One of the finest preserved old jails in Virginia, it was built in 1823 and was actually used as a jail until 1966. It contains several of the original cells, and its walled courtyard held hangings until 1896.
- Main Street is replete with small shops catering to both tourists and locals, including several interesting thrift stores. The people of Warrenton are friendly and accommodating, and a visit to this lovely town is well worth the effort.
- Warrenton Virginia Historic District Nomination PDF with history (cached)
- Warrenton Virginia Historic District Guidelines, with history (cached)
Camp at Warrenton
(From "Three Years In The Army.")
Saturday, July 5. Started at 7:30 A.M. for Warrenton, eight miles. As the weather was very hot we were allowed to take it pretty easy. The cherries were in great abundance along the road, and as they were not included in the list of articles to be protected for the use of Stonewall Jackson, we were allowed to help ourselves. Just before our arrival in camp, news was received that McClellan had taken Richmond, whereupon we all cheered ourselves hoarse. Camp gossip set the day for our departure for home during the following week. A good many of the boys expressed sorrow that they were to go home without seeing any fighting that amounted to anything.
Warrenton, Virginia; from Harper's Weekly; courtesy www.sonofthesouth.netWe went into camp in a delightful spot, a mile or so from the town of Warrenton. The whole country about was beautiful, and the land possessed of great fertility. Near our camp was a clear sparkling brook of pure water, besides a spring highly impregnated with sulphur. A short distance away were blackberry fields, one of which was many acres in extent, filled with berries of the most luscious kind, reminding us of the words in Izaak Walton as applied to the strawberry: “Doubtless God might have made a better berry, but doubtless He never did.” If, perchance, this record of ours is read by other persons than ourselves, who have not seen the like, they may think we exaggerate; that the contrast with our frugal fare added a ficticous sweetness to the berries we found about Warrenton. And such quantities ! For nearly two weeks the whole division luxuriated in those fields. This is the only camp of the regiment where the doctor was able to report: “No sick in the hospital.”
Pictures[]
- Book - Warrenton and Fauquier County Virginia
- Photograph of Generals George Armstrong Custer and Alfred Pleasonton at Warrenton, VA, 1863.
- Created in 1863 by O'Sullivan, Timothy H., 1840-1882.
Library of Congress Title: The town of Warrenton, Va., from the east Creator(s): Forbes, Edwin, 1839-1895, artist Date Created/Published: 1862 July 14. Medium: 1 drawing. Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-ppmsca-20496 (digital file from original item) Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication. Call Number: DRWG/US - Forbes, no. 22 (A size) [P&P] Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA Notes: Gift, J.P. Morgan, 1919 (DLC/PP-1919:R1.1.23) Forms part of: Morgan collection of Civil War drawings.
Warrenton Main Street circa 1920
Warrenton Main Street circa 1945
Warrenton Culpepper Street circa 1900 facing north with Mecca on the left
Warrenton Culpeper Street circa 1920
"Warrenton Street View"
View of Train at Warrenton Depot
SOUTHERN RAILWAY STATION, WARRENTON, VA
- Calendar Scan, Marshall National Bank and Trust Company, 2005 Calendar
- Not only is the piece a masterfully done watercolor painting, it is also a depiction of Warrenton, VA as it appeared during the tumultuous years of the Civil War. Most intriguingly, the painting's date puts it just 3 days after General George B. McClellan's farewell to his troops at the Warren Green Hotel and one day prior to Burnside breaking camp at the Warren Green. By November 16, 1862 the Union army would have left Warrenton and by the 18th they would have left Fauquier. This painting represents Warrenton during a pivotal moment in the American Civil War.
- Warrenton painting makes the top 10 artifacts list
- By JOEY LoMonaco, Times Staff Writer
- Its creator is anonymous, its history is undeniable, and now its stewards are asking for help.
- The Old Jail Museum has nominated a watercolor painting - dated to November 1862 - for the Virginia Association of Museums Top Ten Endangered Artifacts program.
- "A lot of people have this sense that once you put it in a museum, an item is conserved and preserved forever," Museum Director Frances Allshouse said. "There are always a few pieces that are in need of some help."
- Currently on display, the approximately 8.5 by 11-inch painting depicts a lone Union soldier mounted and gazing back at Warrenton. The courthouse steeple is visible in the background.
- The unnamed artist painted it on Nov. 14 of that year, during one Union occupation of the town.
- The 14th is the same day newly appointed Army of the Potomac Commander Gen. Ambrose Burnside ordered his troops to break camp in Warrenton and march for Fredericksburg.
- The artist remains a mystery - so does its origin in the museum. Allshouse said the painting has a paper trail in her records since at least the 1970s.
- And back in 2008, Allshouse assessed all of the museum's pieces. When she stumbled upon the Civil War-era painting, it was hidden in a corner and fading into disrepair.
- "It's an awesome painting," Allshouse said. "It's of this moment that's really pivotal in our nation's history... As I looked at it, I realized that it really needed some help."
- It needs to be re-matted and reframed, Allshouse said. In addition, the paper canvas needs to undergo a de-acidification process.
- Recently, Allshouse went to Framecraft, a Warrenton framing shop, to get an estimate on the repairs. About $500 to $600 should cover everything the painting needs, she said.
- The endangered pieces program doesn't ensure any direct funding, but raises awareness for the selected pieces. In addition, people can donate to preservation efforts for any of the pieces.
- Allshouse said all the items on the list are worth saving, but hopes Warrenton residents will give their support to a piece of town history.
- "I'm just hoping people will be voting for the local piece," she said.
- To vote for the painting and/or donate, visit: www.vatop10artifacts.org