Global InformationGunston Hall information
Gunston Hall | |
U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
U.S. National Historic Landmark | |
Virginia Landmarks Register | |
 View of Gunston Hall from the northwest | |
    | |
| Nearest city | Lorton, Virginia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°39′50″N 77°9′37″W / 38.66389°N 77.16028°W |
| Area | 555.7 acres (224.9 ha) |
| Built | 1759 |
| Architect | George Mason; William Buckland |
| Architectural style | Georgian |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000832 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966[2] |
| Designated NHL | December 19, 1960[3] |
| Designated VLR | September 9, 1969, June 27, 2007[1] |
Gunston Hall is an 18th-century Georgian mansion near the Potomac River in Mason Neck, Virginia, United States.[4][5] Built between 1755[6] and 1759[7] by George Mason, a Founding Father, to be the main residence and headquarters of a 5,500-acre (22 km2) slave plantation. The home is located not far from George Washington's home.[8]
The interior of the house and its design was mostly the work of William Buckland, a carpenter/joiner and indentured servant from England. Buckland later went on to design several notable buildings in Virginia and Maryland. Both he and William Bernard Sears, another indentured servant, are believed to have created the ornate woodwork and interior carving. Gunston's interior design combines elements of rococo, chinoiserie, and Gothic styles, an unusual contrast to the tendency for simple decoration in Virginia at this time.[9] Although chinoiserie was popular in Britain, Gunston Hall is the only house known to have had this decoration in colonial America.[10]
In 1792, Thomas Jefferson visited Gunston Hall for the last time, attending George Mason's death bed.[11] After Mason's death, the house remained in use as a private residence for many years.[12] In 1868, it was purchased by noted abolitionist and civil war Colonel Edward Daniels.[13] It is now a museum owned by the Commonwealth of Virginia and open to the public.[14] The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America (NSCDA) operates the museum as a joint effort with the Commonwealth of Virginia led by a Board of Regents selected by the NSCDA.[15] The home and grounds were designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 for their association with Mason.[16]
- ^ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ "Gunston Hall". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on December 31, 2007. Retrieved June 26, 2008.
- ^ "House and Grounds". Gunston Hall Plantation official website. Archived from the original on January 15, 2010. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
- ^ "Visiting Gunston Hall". Gunston Hall Plantation official website. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
- ^ Beckerdite, Luke; et al. (1994). "Architect-Designed Furniture in Eighteenth-Century Virginia: The Work of William Buckland and William Bernard Sears". American Furniture 1994. Chipstone. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved August 31, 2006.
- ^ "George Mason Chronology". Gunston Hall Plantation official website. 1997. Archived from the original on October 27, 2005. Retrieved August 31, 2006.
- ^ "Gunston Hall Official Site". Gunston Hall Plantation official website. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ^ "Architecturally Speaking". House Tour. Gunston Hall Plantation official website. Archived from the original on June 30, 2006. Retrieved August 23, 2006.
- ^ "Parlor". House Tour. Gunston Hall Plantation official website. Archived from the original on July 13, 2006. Retrieved August 23, 2006.
- ^ Pittman, R. Carter (1953). Joel T LeFevre (ed.). "George Mason of Gunston Hall (1725 - 1792)". Rcarterpittman.org. Originally published in the Autograph Collector's Journal, Spring Convention Edition. Retrieved August 31, 2006.
- ^ "Gunston Hall's Archeology Program". House and Grounds. Gunston Hall Plantation official website. p. 2. Archived from the original on July 14, 2006. Retrieved August 31, 2006.
- ^ Robinson, Bertha Louisa, "Pilgrimages to American Landmarks - Gunston Hall", Journal of American History, 1910
- ^ "Gunston Hall Plantation official website". Retrieved August 23, 2006. Also hosted on look.net Archived 2006-08-31 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Gunston Hall (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
- ^ "NHL nomination for Gunston Hall". National Park Service. Retrieved January 26, 2016.