Spend the Night at the Historic Brentsville Jail
Are you a history buff? Or maybe you’re looking for a unique, fun and somewhat eerie experience to have with friends or family? Then spending the night at the historic Brentsville Jail might be just what you’re looking for. Don’t worry—you won’t be behind actual bars, but you can still get a feel for what it was like for prisoners in the 1800s with this overnight experience.
“With this overnight program, our goal is to give people an idea of what the crime and punishment was like at Brentsville Courthouse,” Paige Gibbons Backus, historic site manager at Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre & Lucasville School.
From 1822-1893 Brentsville was the center of law and order for Prince William County. The Brentsville Jail held prisoners accused of various crimes from theft, poisoning and murder while awaiting trial in the Brentsville Courthouse. The Jail was built at the same time as the Courthouse and is just a 30-yard walk from one building to the other. The jail has six cells and two rooms used as the jailor's office and likely living space.
After the county seat moved to Manassas, the building served as a women's dorm for the teacher's college held in the Courthouse. After the college moved, the structure was renovated inside and became a private residence for many years until the County Park Authority used the Jail as office space. The Office of Historic Preservation restored the jail back to its original appearance and opened the Brentsville Jail Museum which tells the story of the town of Brentsville and its inhabitants and highlights the building's various uses.
During the overnight program, in addition to sleeping in one of the cells, you’ll get to experience a mock trial, evening tour and ghost stories around the campfire before settling in for the night in the 202-year-old building.
“Guests will take part in a mock trial where we take court cases from the 1800s and we give everyone different roles,” says Gibbons-Backus. “They go through the court case, hear the evidence and then decide if someone is innocent or guilty and we tell them if they changed history or not.”
If you sign up for the overnight program, you and your group will be in your own “cell” (room) separate from other guests also there for the overnight. There can be up to five people in a cell. The building is air-conditioned and there are six cells available. Reservations are required and the registration fee also includes a light breakfast. A staff person will also be on site. The overnight will take place from Saturday to Sunday, July 20-21.
“Participants should plan to bring their own sleeping materials,” says Gibbons-Backus. “Think of it like an overnight camping experience, except you’re indoors but you’ll still get that feel of what it would’ve been like for prisoners sleeping in the jail, but in a safer, more comfortable way.”
To register or learn more, click here. For questions, please contact the Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre at 703-365-7895.
Related links:
Office of Historic Preservation
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