Bailey’s Crossroads (as in Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus)
In 1837, Hachaliah Bailey purchased 526 acres in Fairfax County, Virginia, where he built his home, Moray, which was destroyed by fire in 1942. His son, Lewis Bailey, introduced the canvas circus tent and owned a traveling circus before settling on this land. During the Civil War, Union officers and their families boarded at Moray. A historical marker, erected in 2000, commemorates this site.
So much interesting history in Nova that the more obscure stuff often goes unnoticed.
Bailey’s Crossroads is named after Hachaliah Bailey, who established the area as a winter headquarters for his traveling circus in 1837. Bailey, who previously brought one of America’s first elephants, "Old Bet," to the region, operated a menagerie and circus that later merged with P.T. Barnum to become the legendary Barnum and Bailey Circus. .
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