If you have the time to visit some of
the other historic houses near Mount Vernon, one place that deserves a visit
along with Woodlawn and the Pope-Leighey House is Gunston Hall. It’s the home
of one of the lesser known Founding Fathers, George Mason.
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| Gunston Hall |
He served in the Virginia House of Burgesses
and House of Delegates through the 1760’s and 70’s. He wrote drafts for the Virginia Declaration
of Rights and the Virginia Constitution, both adopted in 1776, which were the
first such documents in the colonies. He
was also a delegate to the Federal Convention at Philadelphia in 1787 that
created the Constitution, and was one of its most frequent speakers. But in the
end he refused to support the Constitution when it was adopted, in part because
it didn’t include a “Declaration of Rights”. The Bill of Rights adopted by the
first Congress in 1791 is based on Mason’s Virginia Declaration of Rights.
In 1755 at age 30, Mason decided to
build a house for his growing family. To help create something special, he
brought two craftsmen, who were indentured servants, from England, William
Buckland and William Bernard Sears. As architect and master carver they brought
knowledge of the latest styles from London and created something unique in the
design of Gunston Hall.
When you first arrive at the property
there is a good sized visitor center where you can watch a short film about
George Mason and see some exhibits about Mason’s career and his life at Gunston
Hall. Then it’s a short walk to do the tour at the house. From the outside the
house has a relatively simple design, but it’s when you get inside that you
realize it’s a special place.
The tour begins at the large twelve
foot-wide Central Passage, which links the land side door to the door that opens
to the riverfront. Conservators have used a bright yellow and gray period wallpaper
design with a Roman-like architectural design that shows the early American’s
interest in classical design. The tour
then goes into the rooms that would have been used as the parlor and formal
dining room. The “Palladian” room has a rich red wallpaper and intricate
woodcarving around the built-in wall cabinets and fireplace. The “Chinese” room
has a kind of Asian motif in the carving on the far wall and is thought to be
unique in Colonial houses in America. The walls and trim are painted in a rich
yellow color. On the other side of the Central Passage are the Little Parlor,
used by the family and by Mason himself as an office. And next to it is the
Chamber, the bedroom used by George and his wife. Upstairs there are six good-sized bed chambers and two smaller rooms that would have been used by his children
and any guests.
On the river side of the house is a
boxwood alley, running along the path that leads out towards the Potomac. These
were planted during Mason’s life and aren’t trimmed much for fear of damaging
these very old plants.
There are also a number of recreated
outbuildings including a kitchen, dairy, smokehouse, laundry and schoolhouse. And
there is also information about the slaves that would have worked on the
plantation; by 1780 Mason owned nearly 100 slaves working on four nearby farms.
There are numerous public programs held throughout
the year which can be found at the Gunston Hall information-rich website.
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