VIRGINIA SITES
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Aldie Mill Historic Park
SH GT R
39401 John Mosby Highway
Aldie, VA 20105
(703) 327-9777
Aldie Mill was built between 1807 and 1809 and survives today as Virginia’s only known grist mill powered by twin waterwheels. For more than 150 years the mill ground for markets along the East Coast and overseas. President James Monroe was an early customer while living at nearby Oak Hill. The mill provided grain for soldiers and their horses during the Civil War. Union Soldiers hid in the wheat bins trying to escape from Confederate partisan John Singleton Mosby. Milling demonstrations when water level permits.
Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial
Ben Lomond Historic Site
P $ HA SH GT R
10321 Sudley Manor Dr.
Manassas, VA 20109
703-367-7872
http://www.pwcgov.org/benlomond
FEE for tours, park is free.
Ben Lomond and its outbuildings were constructed for Benjamin Tasker and Edmonia Carter Chinn in 1832. Confederate forces used Ben Lomond as a hospital following the 1861 Battle of First Manassas. In 1862, Federal soldiers occupying the property left messages on the house walls. Tour the house, see the soldiers’ preserved writing and enjoy the antique Rose Garden.
Park and Rose Garden open sunrise to sunset every day, Tours offered May – October, Thursday – Monday, 11am – 4pm, or by appointment.
Blenheim and the Civil War Interpretive Center
P HA SH GT R
3610 Old Lee Highway
Fairfax, VA 22003
(703) 591-0560
https://www.fairfaxva.gov/government/historic-resources/historic-blenheim
Built ca.1859 by Albert Willcoxon, the Blenheim House is significant for containing the nation’s largest collection of Civil War soldier signatures, art, games, and poetry, written on house walls by Union soldiers during their occupation of the Fairfax area. A literal “diary on walls,” the inscriptions provide amazing insight into the psyche of the common soldier during wartime. The Civil War Interpretive Center, built in 2008, interprets local Civil War history through permanent and temporary exhibits. The Center won an AIA design award and is available for rentals.
The Civil War Interpretive Center is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10am-3pm with a guided tour at 1pm; the Blenheim House is only open during the 1pm tour Tuesday-Saturday.
Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre
In 1820, the Prince William County seat was moved from Dumfries to the new town of Brentsville. The Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre features the 1822 Courthouse and Jail, an 1850’s log home, the 1874 Union Church and the 1928 One Room Schoolhouse. Visit these historic buildings, learn about the 1822 Tavern on the Archaeology Trail and discover wildlife on the one mile long Nature Trail.
Park open sunrise to sunset every day, Tours offered May – October, Thursday – Monday, 11am – 4pm, or by appointment.
Carlyle House Historic Park
The historic Carlyle House was completed in 1753 by British merchant John Carlyle for his bride, Sarah Fairfax. Their home quickly became a center of social and political life in Alexandria and gained a foothold in history when British General Braddock summoned five colonial governors to meet there to plan the early campaigns of the French and Indian War.
On the National Register of Historic Places, Carlyle House is architecturally unique in Alexandria as the only stone, 18th-century Palladian-style house. Daily tours of the house, programs for schoolchildren, special events, exhibits and lectures explore the life and times of John Carlyle in Revolutionary Alexandria.
$ SH GT R
121 N. Fairfax Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 549-2997
https://www.novaparks.com/parks/carlyle-house-historic-park
Cherry Hill Farmhouse
P HA R GT
312 Park Avenue
Falls Church, VA 22046
(703) 248-5171
http://cherryhillfallschurch.org/history/
The house is an excellent example of a mid-19th century Greek Revival farmhouse. The farmhouse is fully furnished and reflects the life of a prosperous farming family in mid-19th century Virginia.
Colvin Run Mill Historic Site
$ P HA SH GT
10017 Colvin Run Road
Great Falls, VA 22066
(703) 759-2771
www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/colvinrunmill
Completed c.1811, Colvin Run Mill is a rare surviving operational water-powered gristmill in the Washington, DC, metro area. Owned by the Fairfax County Park Authority and accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the mill is a Virginia Landmark, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its restored mechanism has been nationally recognized by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers as a significant example of automated technologies pioneered in milling and later adopted across American industry. Other buildings on the site include the c.1806 miller’s house (the oldest brick house in Great Falls, VA), an early 20th century general store moved to its present location from across the road, and an interpretive barn with adjacent blacksmith shop.
Grounds open 7 days a week, dawn-dusk; General Store open daily (closed Tuesdays) 11am-4pm; mill tours offered daily on the hour, 11am-3pm (except Tuesdays).
Grinding demonstrations 1st and 3rd Sundays, April – October; special events, tours, school and scout programs offered year-round, see website for more information.
Friendship Firehouse Museum
$ HA SH GT R
107 South Alfred Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 746-3891
www.friendshipfirehouse.net
The Friendship Fire Company, established in 1774, was the first fire company in Alexandria. They built the Friendship Firehouse in 1855. Buckets, hose, axes, Friendship’s mid-19th century suction engine – elaborately decorated with the company’s clasped-hands insignia – are on view. Visitors also see the company’s ornate hose reel carriage that was made in Alexandria, and learn how the organization played a larger role in the community. In addition to fighting fires, Friendship members participated in parades and performed ceremonial duties for civic events. In the firehouse Meeting Room ceremonial artifacts are exhibited such as helmets, capes and other regalia. Special programming is offered throughout the year.
Gadsby’s Tavern Museum
Gadsby’s Tavern Museum consists of two tavern buildings constructed by John Wise in 1785 and 1792. The buildings are named for its most prominent tavernkeeper, John Gadsby. Mr. Gadsby’s establishment was a center of political, business, and social life in early Alexandria. Famous patrons include George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, James Madison and the Marquis de Lafayette. The museum offers regular tours of the site and host of children’s and interpretive programs year-round.
George C. Marshall's Dodona Manor
George C. Marshall's Dodona Manor is the restored home of General George C. Marshall, Architect of Allied Victory for World War II, Special Ambassador to China, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, and Nobel Peace Laureate. Located in historic Leesburg, The Dodona Manor was George & Katherine Marshall's residence from 1941 until the General's death in 1959. Built between 1805 and 1855, Dodona Manor has been home to over eleven owners, with the Marshalls being the most notable. While the home retains its early 19th-century architectural details, present day furnishings reflect the tastes of the 1940s and 50s when the Marshalls lived there.
George Washington’s Mount Vernon
$ HA P SH FS GT R
3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway
Mount Vernon, VA 22121
(703) 780-2000
www.mountvernon.org
Mount Vernon was the home of George and Martha Washington from the time of their marriage in 1759 until George Washington’s death in 1799. Today, 45-acres are open to the public including the Mansion, the Washingtons’ Tomb, gardens, working farm & blacksmith shop plus whiskey distillery & gristmill. In 2006, 25 theaters and galleries with interactive experiences opened to illuminate the real George Washington. The Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington opened in 2013 to serve as a center for scholarship and educational outreach, as well as the permanent home of many of Washington’s books, manuscripts, and correspondence.
Gunston Hall
Gunston Hall is an 18th-century Georgian mansion near the Potomac River in Mason Neck, Virginia, United States of America. The house was the home of the United States Founding Father George Mason.
Historic Green Spring
P HA SH FS
Green Spring Gardens
4603 Green Spring Road
Alexandria, VA 22312
703-941-7987
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/greenspring/
The historic house at Green Spring is set amid 28 acres of demonstration gardens and woodland stream valley. John Moss, gentleman freeholder, built the house in 1784 and was the first of several prominent individuals to live here up till 1970. The house was rehabilitated in the Colonial Revival style in the 1940s. It stands today as a unique example of mid-twentieth century Colonial Revival architecture.
Visitors can view changing art exhibits, enjoy a full English tea with a tour or presentation, and visit our tea-themed shop. The house is open Wednesday-Sunday, noon-4:30 p.m.
Historic Huntley
$ P HA GT R
6918 Harrison Lane
Alexandria, VA 22306
(703) 768-2525
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/historic-huntley
www.historichuntley.org
The Historic Huntley site contains a remarkable collection of buildings that are valuable both architecturally and as a relatively intact picture of local nineteenth-century plantation life. The house and its outbuildings (office, large necessary and storage building and domed ice well and cold cellar) were built ca. 1825 by Thomson Francis Mason, lawyer and mayor in Alexandria and grandson of George Mason. The complex, which once was the center of a country estate with terraced gardens sloping down to farm fields and pastures, has been called “one of Virginia’s undiscovered architectural treasures.” The grounds at Historic Huntley are open from March to November, dawn to dusk. Call for a weekend tour schedule of the building from April to October and for information about scheduled programs, themed tours for school groups and visitors of all ages, and special events.
Lee-Fendall House Museum
The Lee-Fendall House Museum interprets local and national history through the changing lives and fortunes of the people who lived and worked in the house from 1785 to 1969. The home was built for members of the Lee and Fendall families. Generations of enslaved and free African American domestic servants also resided on the property. During the Civil War, the house was converted into a Union military hospital. In the era of Prohibition, it was owned by a liquor dealer before it eventually became home to labor leader John L. Lewis.
The museum and garden are open Wednesday through Saturday from 10am-4pm and Sunday from 1-4pm. Garden admission is free.
Morven Park
In its 240-year history, Morven Park’s mansion transformed from a modest fieldstone house into the impressive Greek Revival building we see today. From 1903-1942, the mansion was home to Virginia Governor Westmoreland Davis and his wife Marguerite. The Davis furnishings, which include ancient and unique treasures acquired during their world travels, are on display throughout the mansion. Guided tours lead visitors through the mansion while sharing stories of the Davises, their employees and early 20th century Virginia. Included in your ticket is a visit to the Winmill Carriage Museum, featuring a unique collection of antique carriages, coaches, sleds and carts ranging from utilitarian to regal.
Oatlands
A stately mansion, beautiful rolling farmland, exquisite gardens, a repository of more than 200 years of American history and culture – all of these can be found at Oatlands Historic House and Gardens near Leesburg, Virginia.
Ratcliffe-Allison House & Kitty Pozer Garden
HA GT
10386 Main Street
Fairfax, VA 22030
(703) 385-8414
https://www.fairfaxva.gov/government/historic-resources/ratcliffe-allison-pozer-house
Built in 1812, the small brick house with 1824 and 1927 additions, is the oldest house in downtown Fairfax. Discover the architectural changes and the lives of its owners and renters—from shoemaker Henry Logan to Washington Post garden writer Kitty Barrett Pozer. Free docent-led tours, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., Saturdays, April – October. Group tours ($25.00) may be arranged in advance at other times by calling 703-385-8414.
Rippon Lodge Historic Site
P $ HA SH GT R
15520 Blackburn Rd.
Woodbridge, VA 22191
703-499-9812
http://www.pwcgov.org/ripponlodge
Rippon Lodge was built ca. 1747 by Richard Blackburn, an immigrant from Ripon, England. His son, Lt. Col. Thomas Blackburn, enlarged the house in 1800. Wade Ellis expanded Rippon Lodge to its current size during the early 1920’s. Tour the restored house, stroll across the vast lawns, visit the 18th century cemetery and admire the view of historic Neabsco Creek and Potomac River.
Tours offered May – October, Thursday – Monday, 11am – 4pm, or by appointment. Tour fee.
Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum
$ SH GT R
105-107 South Fairfax Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
(703) 746-3852
www.apothecarymuseum.org
The Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum, was a family business founded in 1792 by Edward Stabler which operated from 1796 until 1933. It represents one of Alexandria’s oldest continuously run businesses that combined retailing, wholesaling, and manufacturing. As a museum today, the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary offers a look at this unique family enterprise and the life of the Apothecary’s employees and customers.
Sully Historic Site
Built in 1794, Sully was the home of northern Virginia’s first congressman, Richard Bland Lee and his family, enslaved African Americans, and indentured servants. In addition to the main house, the site is complemented by the original 18th century kitchen-laundry, smokehouse and stone dairy, and representative gardens and slave quarter.
Weems-Botts Museum
The original structure of the Weems Botts Museum house was constructed in 1749 for the purpose of a vestry house. It would be known as the Dettingen Vestry and Poor House until 1798 when Parson Mason Locke Weems purchased it for the purpose of a book shop. Weems was made famous by his creation of the Cherry Tree Story and the penning of the first biography of George Washington. Weems would sell the house to Benjamin Gaines Botts in 1802 and Botts would use the house as a law office until 1811. Botts was well known as the fifth and youngest lawyer hired to defend Arron Burr during the Burr treason trial of 1807. This trial was considered the trial of the century and brought Benjamin Botts notoriety as a successful attorney. In touring our small museum our guests learn about the larger than life history that took place in Dumfries and how our little house was at the center of significant historical events. Hours of Operation - May-October: 11-4, November-April: By appointment only
Woodlawn – Frank Lloyd Wright’s Pope-Leighey House
$ P HA SH R GT
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Pope-Leighey House is located on the grounds of Woodlawn
9000 Richmond Highway (U.S. Route 1)
Alexandria, Virginia 22309
http://woodlawnpopeleighey.org
Woodlawn overlooks the Potomac River on lands first inhabited by the Doeg people. The land was later part of George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Built in 1805, the Federal-style mansion was designed by William Thornton, an architect of the U.S. Capitol, for Eleanor and Lawrence Lewis. It displays the power and prosperity of a family whose wealth was based on enslaving people of African descent. Anti-slavery Quakers and local free Black farmers transformed Woodlawn in the 1840s, demonstrating that agriculture could be successful with free labor.
The Pope-Leighey House was designed in 1940 by architect Frank Lloyd Wright as a home for the Pope family. The house artfully blends into the landscape and is an expression of Wright’s innovative Usonian vision for beautiful and more affordable middle-class housing. To save it from demolition, the home was moved to Woodlawn in 1965 by its second owner, Marjorie Leighey. It is the only Wright house in Virginia open to the public.