Gunston Hall (State Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this roadside historical marker:

Gunston Hall
Gunston Hall, four miles to the east, is one of the most noted colonial places in Virginia. The land was patented in 1651 by Richard Turney, who was hanged for taking part in Bacon's Rebellion in 1676. In 1696 the second George Mason acquired it. The house was built in 1755–1758 by the fourth George Mason, revolutionary leader and author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the first constitution of Virginia.

Erected 1968 by Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission. (Marker Number E-65.)

More about this marker:
This marker was originally erected at Richmond Highway (Route 1) at the intersection with Gunston Road. It was moved here when Route 1 was widened.


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Here follows an excerpt from the 1970 Fairfax County Master Inventory of Historic Sites which contained entries from the Historic American Buildings Survey Inventory:

Gunston Hall:
Gunston Hall was the home of George Mason, the author of the Fairfax Resolves, the first Constitution of Virginia, and the Virginia "Declaration of Rights." The house is a simple one and a half story brick structure, rectangular in shape with massive chimneys at each end, entrance porches in both the front and rear, and dormer windows. The interior, considered one of the most impressive of the Colonial period, is largely the work of William Buckland. Buckland had just been brought from England on an indenture when he worked on Gunston Hall, and he had brought with him books of sketches of the work of the contemporary British architects. He was responsible for the Chinese Chippendale carving in the dining room, probably the earliest example of such carving in this country. The Palladian drawing room, also splendidly carved, is his work as well.

According to Kenneth P. Neill, a former director of Gunston Hall, great care was taken in the restoration of the structure. The painted walls were scraped and the samples analyzed so that the rooms are now shown in their original colors. Very little interior work was needed, though the mantels in both the Chippendale and the Palladian rooms needed to be replaced.

The extensive gardens of Gunston Hall, restored by the Garden Club of Virginia, are spectacular. Neill believed that Mason himself planted the boxwood. There is a well-marked nature trail on the property. Outbuildings include gazebos in the garden and a school building. The old school building, built c. 1760, had long since burned, and in 1955 a similar structure of the same period was brought from Charlotte County and placed on the old foundations.

Gunston Hall is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is administered by the National Society of Colonial Dames of America, whose headquarters is at Dunbarton House in Georgetown.