Broad Run, Virginia

Broad Run is a small, unincorporated community in Fauquier County, Virginia. It is on Bust Head Road just north of Interstate 66 and State Route 55, near the Prince William County line. Broad Run is named after the river that flows through the town. It has its own ZIP Code of 20137 and its own post office, although the post office, while having the Broad Run name, serves a much larger area. The town of Broad Run was a thriving community in the late 19 century and early 20 century. The decline of the railroads spelled the demise of the town, and all that is left of the town proper is less than five homes from that period, and a few stone foundations and chimneys for buildings that no longer exist. A ramp for loading freight trains still exists on the still active Norfolk-Southern freight line, but is covered with weeds and in such disrepair as to be no longer useful. The most notable historical site in Broad Run is Chapman’s Mill, aka Beverley’s Mill, which can be found two-thirds of a mile ESE from the center of the town of Broad Run. The Battle of Thoroughfare Gap, a seemingly inconsequential but eventually very important battle of the American Civil War, was fought at Chapman's Mill. The Broad Run zip code is an almost exclusively residential zip code which is mostly in Fauquier County VA, with the northeast section in Prince William County. The few businesses that can be found in the Broad Run zip code are generally home businesses or agricultural businesses. Notably, Sharkawi Farms grows a wide variety of spices that are sold locally and Meriwether Vineyard is home to Pearmund Cellars Winery. The Broad Run zip code, at its southern edge, also contains what was historically the town of New Baltimore. Much of what is currently considered the modern-day New Baltimore is not in the Broad Run zip code. Several old building foundations and graveyards may be found in the large wooded areas in the Broad Run zip code, some dating back over 200 years.