In its Dec. 10 meeting, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors approved the purchase of two historic properties in Gainesville and Bristow.

The first of the properties was the Ned Distiller House at 16210 Lee Highway and the adjoining Ashe Property at 16206 Lee Highway. These properties span approximately one acre. According to county documents, the Board originally wanted to purchase Ned Distiller's house, but staff recommended the county also purchase the adjoining property due to its size.

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Braemar Park in Bristow is now open with new improvements, including a newly paved parking lot, a new playground, new fencing, newly painted courts and the conversion of a tennis court to two pickleball courts.

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The beautification project along Sudley Road from Rixlew Lane to Portsmouth Road was completed and commemorated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday.

The project, which was funded by the Board of County Supervisors' $500,000 allocation for such projects in fiscal year 2024, provided new landscaping to "enhance the appeal of the area." Some of the landscaping included adding crape myrtles, knock-out roses, shamrock hollies, hydrangeas and more.

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The Brentsville Road Interchange — which connects the Route 234 Bypass, the Prince William County Parkway, Dumfries and Brentsville roads — is now open for pedestrians and cyclists.

Opened in the Coles District, the $54.9 million project was fully funded by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority. The project was first considered in 2019 and under contract in 2020, according to Department of Transportation Director Rick Canizales.

Coles District County Supervisor Yesli Vega attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 25 and was excited about the new bridge.

“I always refer to my district as the heart of Prince William County. You cannot connect the east and the west without the Coles District. This is a project that has been long overdue and in the making,” Vega said.

Prince William County Trails and Blueways Council Coles District Representative Joe Marshall said he was excited about the new bridge because it now presents a safer option for pedestrians.

“Biking over this pedestrian bridge is so much better than dodging traffic coming off of a high-speed roadway,” Marshall said. “This is an awesome bridge and hopefully the first of several needed throughout the county to realize the mobility trail network in the county’s comprehensive plan. I believe my neighbors and I, and many in the county, will feel the benefits of this intersection for years to come.”

The Prince William County Office of Historic Preservation and Prince William County Parks & Recreation will host a special event at the Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre. The event marks the 15th anniversary of the Centre's appearance on an episode of the television show Ghost Hunters.

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The Brentsville Jail, built in the 1800s and now a historic site in Prince William County, is offering an overnight experience on Saturday, July 20, where attendees can sleep in a prison cell, take part in a mock trial, take an evening tour and listen to ghost stories around a campfire.

“Guests will take part in a mock trial where we take court cases from the 1800s and we give everyone different roles,” Paige Gibbons Backus, historic site manager at Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre & Lucasville School, said in a press release. “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.”

The jail was built in tandem with the Brentsville Courthouse in the 1820s and served as the “center of law and order” for the county until 1893, the release stated. The county seat moved to Manassas, so the jail transitioned to a women’s dorm for the teacher’s college in the defunct courthouse. It was then renovated to become a private residence then the county park authority’s jail space.

Since those days, the jail has been restored by the Office of Historic Preservation to return to its original appearance. A museum is now the main occupant of the building, detailing its own history and that of Brentsville.

Up to five people can sleep in a single, air-conditioned cell and attendees will receive a light breakfast on Sunday morning, which is included in the $120 registration fee.

Authorities at Patriot High School in Brentsville were alerted to the presence of a weapon on school premises following a tip received through the See Something Say Something App.

The School Resource Officer (SRO) was notified on May 7 at 10:24 a.m., indicating that a student had been in possession of a weapon the previous evening during an after-school function. The investigation revealed that the student was seen with metal knuckles, police said.

Police learned the suspect did not employ the weapon in a manner that threatened fellow students, faculty, or staff.

Kelven Duong, 18, 13259 Sapphire Ridge Pl. in Bristow, was charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds. has been released on a court summons, with the court date pending.

The knuckles were on the student during an after-school function, said a school division spokeswoman, when asked it the knuckles passed through the school’s new metal detectors.

Prince William County Historic Preservation: “Brentsville’s Bluegrass Festival is on Saturday, September 30th from 10 am-4 pm. Tickets will go live on August 1st and can be purchased at http://pwcparks.org/bluegrass.”