To Market We Go ...

With the holidays behind us, it's time we pick up a few things for ourselves at the Winter Market.

On Saturdays until March 25, grab one-of-a-kind finds including comfort-food baked goods, sweet & salty snacks, and other locally made products. And, of course, there's hot coffee and other beverages to keep warm.

Don't stay home! Meet up with family and friends at the Prince William Street Commuter Lot for our Winter Market.

Last ice skating day at Harris Pavilion is Feb. 26! Click here for skating hours, skate rentals, and pricing info

Manassas Museum's Jennie Dean Memorial

Lifting others up. That's the legacy of Jennie Dean.

Of the seven historic sites stewarded by the City's Manassas Museum System, one of them is the Manassas Industrial School/Jennie Dean Memorial.

Located on a four-acre archaeological site, this memorial was built on the original grounds of the former Manassas Industrial School (MIS) for Colored Youth, which opened in 1894 founded by Jennie Dean (1848-1913).

At a ceremony on Sept. 3, 1894, the school was dedicated by social reformer and abolitionist Frederick Douglass; also in attendance was American Red Cross Founder, Clara Barton. One hundred years later in 1994, the site was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and in 1995, was dedicated by the Manassas Museum System.

Established as a private residential institution, MIS provided both academic and vocational training; courses offered were math, natural sciences, geography, physiology, music, literature, and English. Vocational instruction included blacksmithing, carpentry, mechanical drawing, agriculture, cooking, child care, sewing, animal husbandry, and others.

Who was Jennie Dean, this pioneer whose determination, sacrifice, and hard work led to the formation of this school? She was born in western Prince William County near Manassas National Battlefield Park, the daughter of enslaved parents. She rose to become a revolutionary leader in opening schools and churches throughout the area.

Today, this landscaped memorial park named in her honor features a life-size bronze statue of Jennie Dean, a surrounding plaza, and an exhibit kiosk with interpretive panels. Visitors can sense where the buildings once stood through concrete outlines of campus building foundations, plus a bronze three-dimensional model of the original school campus.

In 1937 the public school systems of Prince William, Fauquier, and Fairfax counties formed a joint board of control and purchased 100 acres of land and all the buildings from MIS to establish a regional high school for African-American students. This would become the Manassas Regional High School in the fall of 1938. Decades later, a new school building was constructed, opened in September 1959, and was named to honor Jennie Dean.

When Prince William County's public schools were integrated in 1966, Jennie Dean became a junior high school and remained so until it was incorporated in 1977 into the City of Manassas public school system as Jennie Dean Middle School, and in 1991, was renovated and reopened as Jennie Dean Elementary School as it is today.

Click HERE to watch a video of the Oct. 24, 2020 unveiling of the Jennie Dean bronze statue at 9601 Wellington Road.

Click here to watch YouTube videos on the legacy of Jennie Dean through interviews of those who knew her.

Hints of History

"Give Me An 'M'!"

That's the chant heard by football fans of Manassas Regional High School, a segregated public school for Black students that opened in the fall of 1938.

The school was "regional" since students came from Manassas and the surrounding counties of Prince William, Fauquier, and Fairfax. The school's predecessor was the Manassas Industrial School (MIS) for Colored Youth, which opened in 1894, and was founded by Jennie Dean as a private residential institution providing academic and vocational training (see above for more).

These two photos are from the Manassas Museum's Manassas Online Collections. The photo above of cheerleaders from Manassas Regional High School is dated 1953. Front row kneeling left-to-right: Messrs. Harrod and Monroe. Standing left-to-right: Misses Corum, Smith, Richards, Vaughn, Dyer, Brown, Thompson, and Jones.

The photo below of the Manassas Regional High School's football team is dated Oct. 24, 1948. First Row: #23 John Alexander; #18 Ryland Brown; #22 William Dyer. Second Row: #81 Sammy Fletcher; #7 Floyd Hunter; #60 Billy Randall; #23 Eugene Skinner; #84 Henry Bailey. Third Row: #14 Rodney Webster; #12 James Carter; #1 Kenny King; #16 Sidney Cannon; #52 Chestine White; #2 Carlovs Thomas; and Coach French Nickens.

Today, Manassas cheers all of its youth at the City's only high school: Osbourn High, established in 1977, and in 1999, opened at its current location at 1977 Eagle Way.

Now, chants of "Give Me An 'O'!" echo through the City streets.

Manassas Museum Online Collections