John Dogan Farmstead: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Manassas National Battlefield Park

Weldon, Daniel; Higgs, Gabriel

The John Dogan Farmstead (also known as Rosefield) is a component of the Manassas National Battlefield Park parent cultural landscape, hereafter referred to as MANA. The larger battlefield cultural landscape was administratively listed to the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district in 1966, with a formal nomination signed by the Keeper in 1981. In 2006, a revised nomination (boundary increase) was completed; however, the John Dogan Farmstead cultural landscape and its associated features were not adequately documented in the revised nomination. The John Dogan Farmstead cultural landscape is situated in the northwest quadrant of the park formed by the Lee Highway and Sudley Road intersection. The 435.5-acre cultural landscape is located approximately one mile north of Interstate 66 in Prince William County, Virginia and is generally defined by Sudley Road to the east, Lee Highway to the south, modern day Featherbed Lane and woodlots to the west and additional woodlots to the north. A portion of the cultural landscape, which includes lands composed of fields and riparian forest, is located south of Lee Highway, extending approximately half a mile west from the intersection of Sudley Road and is bordered to the south by Young’s Branch. The study area is considered a vernacular landscape consisting of elements pertaining to different eras of ownership and occupation. Examples of character-defining features include the Rosefield II farmhouse, the intact historic field and boundary patterns, woodlots, legacy vegetation, remnant fence lines, surviving orchard specimens, bridle trails, and views to nearby cultural landscapes located within the park boundary. Updated site plans and a location map were created in November 2023 and have been included as separate pdfs. Historical Overview The John Dogan Farmstead cultural landscape is significant for the periods of 1729-1940, 1861-1865, and 1904-1940 representing its involvement with Piedmont Virginia agriculture, the First and Second Battles of Manassas and early battlefield commemoration and preservation efforts. In 1729, Robert “King” Carter patented the property as a part of the Middle Bull Run Tract. In the following decades, subsequent Georgian (or Colonial) Era descendants of his organized and maintained the property in accordance with many of the prevailing practices of the landed gentry; who prospered by cultivating tobacco as a cash crop and enslaving Black people as their primary labor source. By 1843, tobacco had long since fallen out of favor as the staple crop of Virginia, replaced by wheat and corn. At that time, the property left Carter family ownership when John Dogan acquired the Rosefield farm. Dogan would own the property through the course of the Civil War. Following the Civil War, in 1882, John Cross purchased the property and further subdivided and sold lands to African American families such as James Peters, William Jordan, and James and Mahalia Dean. The cultural landscape study area continued to be used for agricultural purposes, with the National Park Service acquiring parcels associated with the cultural landscape as early as the mid-1930s.

John Dogan Farmstead: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Manassas National Battlefield Park

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