Thoroughfare Gap (Bull Run Mountain)

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Thoroughfare Gap
USA Virginia relief location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of the Gap in Virginia
Elevation 423 ft (129 m) [1]
Traversed by Virginia 55.svg Virginia Route 55
I-66.svg Interstate 66
Location Fauquier / Prince William counties, Virginia, United States
Range Bull Run Mountains Blue Ridge Mountains
Coordinates 38°49′28″N77°42′57″W / 38.824559°N 77.7158261°W / 38.824559; -77.7158261 Coordinates: 38°49′28″N77°42′57″W / 38.824559°N 77.7158261°W / 38.824559; -77.7158261

Thoroughfare Gap is a water gap in the Bull Run Mountains created by Broad Run between High Point Mountain to the north and Bisquit Mountain to the south. It is located on the border of Prince William and Fauquier counties in Virginia.

True to its name, the small gap is traversed by Interstate 66, Virginia State Route 55 and the Manassas Gap Railroad.

The ruins of historic Beverley Mill are located at the gap.

The gap was the site of the 1862 Battle of Thoroughfare Gap during the American Civil War. The Thoroughfare Gap Battlefield was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. [2]

Related Research Articles

The Battle of Thoroughfare Gap, also known as Chapman's Mill, took place on August 28, 1862, in Fauquier County and Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the Northern Virginia Campaign of the American Civil War. Confederate forces under Maj. Gen. James Longstreet successfully drove back Union forces under Brig. Gen. James B. Ricketts and Col. Percy Wyndham, allowing his corps to unite with that of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson prior to the Second Battle of Bull Run.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beverley Mill</span> United States historic place

Beverley Mill, also known as Chapman Mill, is a historic grist mill located north of Interstate 66 and Virginia State Route 55 in Thoroughfare Gap near Broad Run, Virginia, straddling the county line between Prince William and Fauquier Counties. It was built about 1759, and is a five-story, four bay by three bay, rubble stone structure. The water power was provided by Broad Run which, in its 1,300-foot (400-metre) passage through the Gap, drops 87 feet. Exterior mill machinery included a 29-foot (8.8-metre) metal waterwheel and sluice gate as well as a stone mill race. The mill continued in operation through World War II. It is included in the Thoroughfare Gap Battlefield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thoroughfare Gap Battlefield</span> American Civil War battlefield

Thoroughfare Gap Battlefield is a historic American Civil War battlefield located at Thoroughfare Gap, Broad Run, Prince William County, Virginia. It was the site of the Battle of Thoroughfare Gap. The property includes a number of resources present at the time of the battle including the separately listed Beverley Mill, a five-story, coursed-rubble stone building set into the north side of Thoroughfare Gap. Meadowlands, the Chapman's house and the second Upper Mill are clearly visible on the landscape, as well as an important ice pit and a walled cemetery associated with the Chapman family.

References

  1. "Thoroughfare Gap". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.