Manassas was a sleepy railroad junction before thousands of soldiers arrived to defend the railroad and wage the first major land battle of the Civil War. Later, cheap land lured Union veterans and immigrants to Manassas, despite the scarred postwar landscape. Old and new citizens put aside regional differences to build a town, intent on establishing schools, churches, businesses, and utility services, improving the railroad, and remembering the region's role in the war. African Americans established the nationally known Manassas Industrial School, churches, social organizations, and a strong community.