Renovations at the Henry Hill house

[Skeet]

Does anyone know what they are doing to the Henry Hill house at Manassas? I was up there a couple of weeks ago and saw they were doing some work on it. Cpl Dan Morgan 10thVA(IVR)

[FC Barlow]

Its going to be some kind of museum, complete with displays, etc. Too bad they are not restoring it to its 1861 appearance - inside or out. Typical.

[Skeet]

Agreed! Cpl Dan Morgan 10thVA(IVR)

[Hominy]

The original Henry House was destroyed during the First Battle of Manassas and what little remained of it was supposedly burned during the second battle. No photographs are known to exist of the house (except its remains) and only one drawing is known of and it isn't exactly a highly detailed rendering. Thus, accuately re-creating it would be virtually impossible. The current "Henry" house that occupies the site was built shortly after the war (I believe in 1870). In the 1920's it was used as the first museum/visitor center for the park, thus it still has some historical significance. The United States Army and National Guard held war games all over the Manassas/Gainesville, VA area in 1904 and I personally own a number of unpublished photos that that were taken of soldiers visiting the yard of the current Henry house during that event. I've also seen photos of Civil War veterans visiting the house during the 50th anniversary of the first battle

I've attached a photo of the house after it's destruction that I found on the Library of Congress web site.

-Bill Lawson