Early: The area which now is Prince William County was discovered in 1608 by Captain John Smith during an expedition up the Potomac River. Originally inhabited by Anacostan, Doeg, Iroquois, and Piscataway Indians, the area was believed to be first settled in 1720.

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In 1733, The Virginia General Assembly established Prince William County from 2000+ square miles of Northern Virginia. In the late 1700's the present day counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudon and Fauquier were carved out of this land.

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Effingham Manor was believed to have been built in 1774 by the great grandson of John Alexander ... the namesake of Alexandria, VA. William Alexander built the "Tidewater" style plantation house on about 473 acres of land. Along with the house, now the home of the Effingham Manor Winery, the slaves quarters, smokehouse, blacksmith shop and part of the gardens remain from the original plantation.

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The War Years: We have not found much about the history of farm during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. During the Revolutionary War the county provided a militia to the war effort. There was plenty of action in the county during the Civil War including the first battle on Virginia soil The First Battle of Manassas as well as the last battle in the county, the nearby Battle of Birstoe Station. (Now spelled Bristow). 

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Modern: Prince William continued to grow after the Civil War ... the areas destroyed by the war were rebuilt with modern facilities and area focused on commerce and education.Manassas was incorporated in 1873.

 

The rail junction at Manassas was rebuilt and expanded to the west. Rail is still a major part of the economy providing commuter service to Washington, DC on the Virginia Railway Express and Amtrak services to the west and north.

 

Education became more important. A former Union Army Officer, George Carr Round, helped to build its first public school Many schools and colleges opened in the County including the Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth and Eastern College. The Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth was founded by Jennie Dean in 1894. Eastern College attracted students from over 22 states and 2 foreign countries. Eastern was transformed into a military academy and later closed in 1935.

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Our neighbor to the east, Marine Corps Base Quantico, was initially established as a Marine Corps training base in 1917. Now about 88 square miles in size, it houses over 28,000 military, federal and contractor employees and is known as the "Crossroads of the Marine Corps".

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After passing through several owners the farm was last run as a farm by Dr. Engh, a resident of Ohio. He raised cattle on the land as well as crops.

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In 2006 Effingham Farms developed into single family homes and named Alexander Lakes. Effingham Manor was sold in December 2015 and is now the Effingham Manor and Winery. As part of the development of the land, 106 acres between the development and the Cedar Run/MCB-Quatico) were set aside as a Wetlands Mitigation Bank. Not only is it a buffer with the base it is also available to residents of the development for hiking and fishing.

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