[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 245 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 245

 Recognizing and congratulating the city of Manassas, Virginia, on the 
                   150th anniversary of its founding.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 22, 2023

 Ms. Wexton submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
             the Committee on Oversight and Accountability

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Recognizing and congratulating the city of Manassas, Virginia, on the 
                   150th anniversary of its founding.

Whereas the residents of the city of Manassas will celebrate the city's historic 
        150th anniversary as an active and involved community on April 1, 2023, 
        at Dean Park;
Whereas, originally called Manassas Junction, the town of Manassas was 
        incorporated in 1873 by the Virginia General Assembly;
Whereas the town grew out of being located at the junction of the Orange, 
        Alexandria, and the Manassas Gap railroad lines;
Whereas the fortunes of Manassas and its establishment as a town are linked to 
        the railroad;
Whereas, when the Orange and Alexandria Railroad reached what was then called 
        Tudor Hall in 1851 and connected to the Manassas Gap Railroad, the area 
        became known as Manassas Junction, offering farmers a chance to move 
        their grain and establishing a strategic location for growth after the 
        Civil War;
Whereas the first law enforcement in the then town of Manassas began in 1873 
        with Town Sargent Jacob W. Hornbaker;
Whereas the selection of Manassas as the county seat and construction of the 
        county courthouse in 1894 spurred a building and population boom and led 
        to the growth of the town;
Whereas seven of the city's historic treasures are listed on the National 
        Register of Historic Places, including--

    (1) Liberia, the 1825 home and grounds where nearly 90 enslaved people 
toiled on a plantation, where both Confederate and Union forces set up 
headquarters during the Civil War, and where President Abraham Lincoln 
visited;

    (2) Mayfield Earthwork Fort, built by Confederate forces and the 
enslaved in 1861 to defend against Union advances;

    (3) Cannon Branch Earthwork Fort, built in 1863 to defend rail lines 
supplying Union troops;

    (4) Annaburg, the 1894 summer home of brewer Robert Portner, believed 
to be the first house in the country to have air conditioning after Portner 
invented and installed his own cooling machine;

    (5) the iconic 1914 Manassas Water Tower, built as the town established 
its own water utility;

    (6) the nationally recognized Manassas Industrial School for Colored 
Youth, founded in 1893 by former slave Jennie Dean to provide both academic 
and vocational training for African-American youth when segregated schools 
limited their opportunities; and

    (7) the Manassas Local Historic District, which includes 300 
architecturally and historically significant structures in the downtown and 
surrounding neighborhoods;

Whereas the first all-volunteer fire company, the Manassas Volunteer Fire 
        Company, was founded in 1892 to make the community safer, and in 1914 
        the first fire station was built and then relocated to its current 
        location at 9322 Center Street;
Whereas, in 1895, telephone service was established for the blossoming town, and 
        the first electricity was generated in 1913 and run by the municipality;
Whereas, in 1905, a horrendous fire swept through the town and burned about 30 
        buildings, and by town ordinance, these buildings were rebuilt in brick 
        and fire-resistant materials;
Whereas the first Greater Manassas Christmas Parade was held in 1945 and is the 
        largest Christmas parade in the area;
Whereas the first airport in Manassas was established in 1930, and the current 
        location of the Manassas Regional Airport opened in 1964 and is 
        currently the busiest General Aviation Airport in the Commonwealth with 
        over 400 based aircraft and generates over $275,000,000 in economic 
        benefit to the surrounding region;
Whereas the visionary town council passed an ambitious $5,000,000 bond 
        referendum to purchase land on Broad Run to construct a dam that would 
        create the Lake Manassas reservoir, providing a dedicated water supply 
        to the city and surrounding Prince William County;
Whereas, in 1964, using funds from donations by the community, the Prince 
        William Medical Center (now the University of Virginia Prince William 
        Medical Center) was established to aid in the health care of Manassas 
        area residents;
Whereas, as early as 1897, town father George Carr Round recognized the strength 
        of Manassas diverse population and its newcomers, writing of the town 
        ``It is especially cosmopolitan.'';
Whereas today the city is the fifth most diverse locality in Virginia, with a 
        60.4 percent non-White population, a 26.5 percent foreign-born 
        population, and where Manassas City Public Schools serve students whose 
        families speak more than 27 different languages in the home;
Whereas IBM moved into the town of Manassas in 1968, creating jobs and housing, 
        such as Georgetown South;
Whereas the city of Manassas is a regional employment center and has a robust 
        history of major corporate investment and job creation beginning in the 
        1970s with IBM and most recently exemplified by Micron Technologies 
        Inc., making the largest capital investment in Virginia history;
Whereas the Manassas Museum opened in its first location in 1974, documenting 
        the city's history and culture and providing free cultural exhibits to 
        residents and visitors alike;
Whereas the town of Manassas became an independent city in 1975, one of only 41 
        independent cities in the United States with a population of at least 
        12,800 at the time;
Whereas the Virginia Railway Express began operations in Manassas on June 22, 
        1992, providing commuter rail service to the city generating access for 
        all of northern Virginia and the District of Columbia, as well as a stop 
        on Amtrak's Cardinal, Crescent, and Northeast Regional trains;
Whereas the Loy E. Harris Pavilion was completed as a ``town square''-like 
        facility for gatherings and concerts in 2000, and has grown to become 
        the event center for the area, hosting concerts, events, and even 
        weddings in the warmer months and ice skating in the winter months, 
        making Manassas a destination for events and festivals;
Whereas the city of Manassas logo and tagline of ``Historic Heart. Modern 
        Beat.'' was adopted in 2015 not only by the city, but by the community 
        as well;
Whereas the Manassas City Police Department is one of the highest nationally 
        accredited departments in the country, being accredited as a Gold 
        Standard with Excellence agency by the Commission on Accreditation for 
        Law Enforcement; and
Whereas the city of Manassas has grown from a city of 12,800 in 1975 to a 10-
        square mile city of more than 43,000 in 2023, close to the urban 
        amenities of the District of Columbia but with a small-town feel: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes and congratulates the city of Manassas, 
        Virginia, on the 150th anniversary of its founding;
            (2) celebrates the historical significance of Manassas and 
        the contributions of the city to the Commonwealth of Virginia 
        and the Nation; and
            (3) honors the individuals and communities that have shaped 
        Manassas history, growth, and development over the past 150 
        years.
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