Town of Warrenton, Va.

The Seal of the Town of Warrenton, Virginia

The site of the county seat of Fauquier County from the 1750s, when that county was formed from Prince William, the Town of Warrenton remains the largest town and center of Fauquier County.


Location of the Town of Warrenton within Virginia.

The town is located on a naturally high piece of ground that sits on the boundary between the watershed of the Potomac and the Rappahannock Rivers.  It was an important crossroads in the colonial era, with the intersection of the Winchester-Falmouth (now US Route 17) and Alexandria-Culpeper (now US Route 29) roads.  It was initially known as Red Store, then Fauquier Court House with the formation of that county in 1759, and finally, with incorporation in 1810AD, Warrenton.  The town received its name in honor of Joseph Warren, the Massachusetts Revolutionary killed at Bunker Hill.  The town already had an academy named for Warren (who is the namesake of Warren County, the location of Front Royal, Virginia, as well), so it was natural to name the town in his honor.

Map of the Wards of the Town of Warrenton, Virginia.

Famously, Warrenton was the hometown of the tremendously significant Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Marshall, who was the architect of the Marbury v. Madison case and the notion of judicial review.


Fauquier County Courthouse in downtown Warrenton, Virginia.

Today, the population of Warrenton is just shy of 10,000 in its 4 square miles, and it boasts a picturesque Old Town centered on the old courthouse.  Warrenton, though not near an interstate, remains a bit of a crossroads, with US Routes 15, 17, 29, and 211 all converging on the town.

You might note the official website of the Town of Warrenton:
http://www.warrentonva.gov/

Live well!