MuseumHistoric Centreville Park Fairfax County Park Authority

Explore the Historic Centreville Park and stand at the crossroads of history. Historic Centreville Park includes significant cultural resources related to the early Federal period, the Civil War, and Centreville’s modern transformation into a suburban commuter community. The historic town of Centreville is situated at the top of a natural ridge and became the hub of a network of 18th and 19th century roads that connected the port towns of Colchester and later, Alexandria with roads to the northwest, west, and south. The combination of high ground, roads, and rails placed Centreville at a strategic location in the early years of the Civil War. Consequently, the town was important to three different campaigns: First and Second Manassas, and Bristoe. It was integral to the defense of the Confederate northern line during the fall and winter of 1861-1862, and was used as General Joseph E. Johnston’s headquarters.  Later, the Union Army would take command of Centreville’s fortifications and use the area as part of the outer defenses of Washington D.C. Centreville’s recovery after the Civil War was slowed by wartime damage to the town, its surrounding farms, and road network.  It also lacked a rail station in an era when that mode of transport dominated the economy. It was not until the advent of the automobile that the town’s crossroads location once again brought it some measure of economic growth, eventually leading to its present-day status