Field Trip Idea:
Click Here to access the Virtual Field Trip
While there are not many opportunities to travel to the midwest, something they have in common with our local area is the Railroad system. Thanks to the Virginia Railway Express (VRE), railroads and trains are still active and useful in this area.
In order to expand upon the necessities of train and railways during the 19th century as well as today, a field trip to the Manassas Rail Station is a great local spot!
Manassas Rail Station & Museum
Contact: 703-361-6599, Doug Horhota
Availability: 7 Days a week 9am-5pm
Admission: Train Station Depot - Free, Manassas Museum - $5 adult, $4 children
**Note: If done during the Manassas Train Festival, students may actually ride a train for a fee of $8 per child
The Train Station Depot offers primary and secondary sources of the Train Station's most active times and impact on the Civil War. Actual pieces of the original railroad can be found, as well as photographs and original schedules and transcripts.
The Manassas Museum, while offering much history about the Civil War and Old Town Manassas, also has a section that focuses mainly on the railways in Manassas in the early nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Doug is a great resource who will lead a guided museum tour and focus on key topics depending on the unit of study for the class. While obviously I did not go on a field trip with a class, Doug was able to show me around the museum to specific information and exhibits on the Manassas Railroad, as well as provide me with a video on early trains in America and their functions, contributions, history and futures.
I was able to purchase a copy of the video, but it is VHS so it will most likely be donated to my school library. While no pictures were able to be taken inside, I did take photos at the Train Depot, included below and on the Virtual Website linked above.
While there are not many opportunities to travel to the midwest, something they have in common with our local area is the Railroad system. Thanks to the Virginia Railway Express (VRE), railroads and trains are still active and useful in this area.
In order to expand upon the necessities of train and railways during the 19th century as well as today, a field trip to the Manassas Rail Station is a great local spot!
Manassas Rail Station & Museum
Contact: 703-361-6599, Doug Horhota
Availability: 7 Days a week 9am-5pm
Admission: Train Station Depot - Free, Manassas Museum - $5 adult, $4 children
**Note: If done during the Manassas Train Festival, students may actually ride a train for a fee of $8 per child
The Train Station Depot offers primary and secondary sources of the Train Station's most active times and impact on the Civil War. Actual pieces of the original railroad can be found, as well as photographs and original schedules and transcripts.
The Manassas Museum, while offering much history about the Civil War and Old Town Manassas, also has a section that focuses mainly on the railways in Manassas in the early nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Doug is a great resource who will lead a guided museum tour and focus on key topics depending on the unit of study for the class. While obviously I did not go on a field trip with a class, Doug was able to show me around the museum to specific information and exhibits on the Manassas Railroad, as well as provide me with a video on early trains in America and their functions, contributions, history and futures.
I was able to purchase a copy of the video, but it is VHS so it will most likely be donated to my school library. While no pictures were able to be taken inside, I did take photos at the Train Depot, included below and on the Virtual Website linked above.