Rose Hill Manor House (Site)

Here follows a history of Rose Hill Farm as written by Carl Sell, Jr. for the Rose Hill Civic Association:

Rose Hill Farm - The Early Days:

In 1723, Daniel French Sr. bought 903 acres that encompasses what today is known as Rose Hill. From the front lawn, he could see the Potomac River seven miles away and into Maryland near Indian Head. That same view exists today from the back yards of houses on the ridgeline in the vicinity of the original manor house on a high point at the end of what is now May Boulevard. Daniel French Jr. inherited the land from his father in 1736. The younger French was a contemporary of George Washington and George Mason and was involved in the construction of Pohick Church on land French sold to the church. French died at age 48, before the church was finished. George Mason oversaw completion of the building, using plans prepared by Washington.

After Daniel Jr. died, the farm went to his wife Penelope and then to their daughter, Elizabeth, who married Benjamin Dulaney of Shooter’s Hill in Alexandria. Apparently Mr. and Mrs. French were not too happy with Elizabeth’s choice because the daughter eloped with him after sneaking out a dressing room window. Historians described the union as ‘stormy’, yet it produced 12 children some of whose ancestors would figure in a Civil War raid on the property. The manor house was reached via a dirt road from what is now the intersection of Telegraph Road and Rose Hill Drive. The entrance road ran parallel to an apple orchard, which if it existed today would run along Rose Hill Drive and Apple Tree Drive. The house itself was located approximately 50 yards from the edge of the hill, looking toward the Potomac. A large sundial was purported to be on the lawn between the house and the edge of the hill.

There were large terraces of roses planted on the hillside near the house and they could be seen from what is now Telegraph Road. The property was named ‘Rose Hill Farm’ by the French family. As was the custom in those days, the Frenches were buried on the site. The remains were moved to Pohick Church after the farm was sold for development in the early 1950s. After the Dulaneys sold Rose Hill in the early 1800s, the property had numerous owners between 1810 and 1868. Many of the sales were advertised in the Alexandria Gazette including this interesting description from 1814:

"Henry Toler as for Rose Hill. 350 acres with very strong framed two story dwelling with four rooms and a passage on each floor, two rooms in the garrett, two in the cellar. Well underpinned with brick. Two brick chimneys and fireplaces…other useful houses, large garden, very good kitchen and laundry with two brick chimneys. With a remarkable healthfulness and beauty and a fine distant prospect of the Potomac, it charms all those who reside in it. Sale on Dec. 15th." Alexandria Gazette, November 23, 1814.

Records show that then Colonel John Singleton Mosby and his Confederate Partisan Rangers raided Rose Hill in 1863 and captured Col. Daniel F. Dulaney, a descendent of the original owners and an aide to Gov. Pierpoint of the ‘Preferred State Government’ by Abraham Lincoln and the Union. One of Mosby’s five rangers involved in the raid was Col. Dulaney’s son, French, apparently named for his grandfather and great grandfather. The original house burned down due to an overheated chimney in January 1895.

Birth of a Community:

In the very early 1950s, a Sunday drive out to the country from Washington, Alexandria and Arlington could include the pastoral scenes along Telegraph or Franconia Roads. From either road, you could see the cattle grazing on the 700-acre farm called Rose Hill owned by R.L. May, president of the Alexandria, Barcroft and Washington Bus Company (AB&W). Mr. May also invited his employees to the farm for an annual country picnic.

The silos that stored the grain to feed those cattle are stood until recently as part of the private school on May Boulevard. They were incorporated as showers for the Rose Hill Swimming and Tennis Club that opened in 1956. Heritage Academy later used the property until it was demolished in 2019. Those Sunday drivers must have liked what they saw "out in the country." For when May sold the property to Morrell Construction Company for development, there were a large crop of buyers. The cows remained for awhile, sometimes wandering into the yards of their new neighbors.

Morrell broke ground for the new community named Rose Hill in the spring of 1954. The first homes were occupied in time for Christmas. The model homes were on Apple Tree Drive, just off Rose Hill Drive. There were no phones, no stores, no school and Rose Hill Drive was but a dirt road, but spirits were high for the first celebration in a new home. Phone service arrived the following year with a four-digit exchange. Many of the new arrivals took advantage of the low-interest loans for veterans to exercise the American dream of home ownership. The Washington area was expanding rapidly in the wake of the end of World War II and Rose Hill was an early part of the push into the countryside. Early sales were in the $13,000 range.

And if you think there weren’t any traffic concerns, think again! Getting to Alexandria on Telegraph Road involved a one-lane underpass at the railroad just south of Duke Street. Seemed as if someone was always getting stuck in there! There was no Beltway, no Wilson Bridge, no Parkway, Shirley Highway hadn’t been totally completed and there were no nearby four-lane roads. Within four years, the community had a Safeway store, a new school and two swimming pools. The elementary school opened in September of 1957 at a cost of ‘only’ a half million dollars. Highland Park pool had opened a few months earlier and the Safeway was the only store in what would become the shopping center.

An issue that galvanized the community in the early years was the announcement of plans by Virginia Power to install the high poles and power lines on both sides of the school. Despite protests from the Civic Association, there was little that could be done to stop the installation because the line served a public purpose. In later years, the County was able to pass legislation that mandated a public hearing (Special Exception) and established the right to attach conditions to any approval. The substation in the bend of Roundhill Road went thought that process in the late 1980s and a number of conditions were imposed, including screening and buffering, hours of construction activity, and maintenance of the site.

The Rose Hill Civic Association was formed in 1956. The hot issue in those days was swimming and recreation. The Association supported Highland Park, which already was open, and opposed Morrell’s plans to construct what would become known as Meadowview. Morrell went ahead with his plans, but the club couldn’t make it financially and finally closed. During the design of the community, Fairfax County insisted that the right-of-way for Rose Hill Drive to be wide enough for an eventual four-lane highway that would reach from Franconia Road, through what is now Lee District Park, cross South King’s Highway and find its way to Route #1. Those plans no longer exist and that is why we enjoy a wide buffer between street and sidewalk on Rose Hill Drive. Can you imagine living on a four-lane Rose Hill Drive?

Over the years, the Rose Hill Civic Association has been extremely active in supporting efforts to provide the outstanding public facilities we enjoy today. Former Supervisor Joseph Alexander, who bought his first home in Rose Hill on Leewood Drive, was chiefly responsible for the County’s investment in Rose Hill and Franconia during his 32 years on the Board of Supervisors.


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Here follows an excerpt from an article written about Rose Hill by Sydney Holroyd on behalf of History Revealed, Inc.:

The community of Rose Hill, was once an 18th- century plantation owned by a man named Daniel French. Daniel French was a Truro Parish Vestryman who greatly contributed to the building of Pohick Church. French began constructing the church in 1769 but died before it was completed in 1774. Located in Lorton, Virginia off the Richmond Highway, the church still stands. Pohick church was often referred to as the “Mother Church of Northern Virginia.”

French’s father, also named Daniel, bought the 903 acres that eventually became Rose Hill. French Inherited his father’s land when he died in 1736. He married a woman named Penelope Manley in 1755 and together had one daughter, Elizabeth. Elizabeth would inherit Rose Hill after her mother’s death in 1799. When French died in 1771, he was buried at Rose Hill but was moved to Pohick Church in 1954 after the farm was sold for development. Elizabeth French, married Benjamin Dulaney of Shooter’s Hill, in Alexandria. Elizabeth's parents did not approve the marriage and according to the Rose Hill Civic Association, she married Dulaney by sneaking out her dressing room window. They had 12 children.

I looked through Daniel French' ledger which gave me a better understanding of how he lived. the ledger offers a glimpse into his day to day life. I observed his purchases over the span of 10 years. He opened his account on May 1st 1759, purchasing 1 silk handkerchief. On May 24th 1756 he bought a pair of kids gloves for his 8 year old daughter. Osnaburg, A course fabric was purchased in large quantities. Osnaburg was most often used as slave garments. There is evidence that French's wife also used his account based on the purchases made on Sept 14th 1765.

After The Dulaney’s sold Rose Hill in the early 1800s, the property passed through numerous owners from 1810 to 1868. The house was advertised in the Alexandria Gazette. The Alexandria Gazette provided a detailed description of the house in an advertisement published in 1814, "Henry Toler as for Rose Hill. 350 acres with very strong framed two story dwelling with four rooms and a passage on each floor, two rooms in the garrett, two in the cellar. Well underpinned with brick. Two brick chimneys and fireplaces…other useful houses, large garden, very good kitchen and laundry with two brick chimneys. With a remarkable healthfulness and beauty and a fine distant prospect of the Potomac, it charms all those who reside in it. Sale on Dec. 15th." Alexandria Gazette, November 23, 1814. In 1895, The original frame of the house was burned down by an overheated chimney. The last owner of the property was a man named Robert L. May.


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Here follows an excerpt about the house from Donald Hakenson's "This Forgotten Land" tour guide:

The original silos from the Rose Hill Farm barn were attached to a community clubhouse. The community clubhouse and silos were destroyed to build new houses.

The entrance to the Rose Hill Farm was from Telegraph Road, where Rose Hill Drive intersects, as we know it today. The dirt road ran parallel to an apple orchard and when it reached the area of the Apple Tree Drive of today, it made a 90-degree turn to the left and proceeded to the rear of the farm house, which was located approximately where the house at 6412 May Boulevard is currently located. At that time, there was no entrance road from Franconia Road.

The farmhouse faced north-south, with the rear of the house to the south. The hallway from the rear door ran through the entire middle of the house to the front door. Many people thought the rear of the house was the front because both sides were almost identical and the road ended in a circle at the back door. The house was built by Daniel French on the top of a hill that overlooked Telegraph Road, and from the front porch you could see distant points such as Indian Head, Maryland.

The front of the house was approximately fifty yards from the edge of the hill and there was a large sundial about half-way between these points. Apparently, roses were planted around the front of the house and eventually, the entire top of the hillside was covered with roses and since they were visible to passers-by below on Telegraph Road, the area was dubbed "Rose Hill Farm." The Rose Hill house was destroyed in the late 1950's and the land was sold to a developer who created the current Rose Hill subdivision. Also, the table tombstone of Daniel French, the original owner, which was formerly on the lawn, was loved to Pohick Church.

Mosby's Raid at the Rose Hill House:

The Rose Hill Raid Civil War Trails sign is located with the Fairfax County Rose Hill marker in front of the John Marshall library.

On September 27, 1863, Major John S. Mosby with right men, left Fauquier County and made a reconnaissance in the vicinity of Alexandria. Mosby's intention was to capture the provisional governor of the restored government of Virginia, Francis Pierpont. While on his way to Alexandria, Mosby passed within half a mile of a detached camp of the Second Massachusetts Cavalry, whose headquarters were at Centreville. Near Springfield Station, they captured two teams, consisting of four mules each. From Springfield Station they traveled toward Alexandria by unfrequented roads, but following the direction of the Little River Turnpike. Mosby and his men finally stopped and slept in the pines somewhere outside Alexandria. Afterward they penetrated the enemy's line to the very gates of Alexandria.

On reaching the City Hotel, in Alexandria, where Mosby expected to find the governor, he learned Pierpont had left that evening for Washington City. The next day Mosby attempted to burn a railroad bridge across Cameron Run, a quarter of a mile from Fort Ellsworth and Fort Lyon, and directly in the range of their two batteries, near George D. Fowle's Burgundy Farm. It was at the Fowle farm and some neighboring houses that Mosby obtained turpentine that he used to set fire to the bridge, but fearing Fort Ellsworth would open upon them they withdrew, and unfortunately for Mosby the fire failed to ignite. So the bridge was not damaged. Mosby then captured a half dozen stragglers that were sent off under guard late in the afternoon reducing his party to five rangers. Two farmers, William Reid and Lewis Tresler were eventually released, minus their valuable possessions. Tresler claimed the Confederates took some $200 in gold and approximately $40 in Treasury greenbacks. However, Reid was known to pass information to the Confederacy and was a friend of the South. Reid's farm was located on the Old Fairfax Road and was adjoining the Rose Hill plantation. So it is possible that Reid led Mosby's small band across his land towards Maynadier Mason's Rose Hill farm to surprise Colonel Daniel F. Dulaney, who was residing there. It is also feasible that Reid and Fowle were Confederate agents who assisted men like Mosby, Stringfellow and other Southern spies to enter and exit Alexandria. Mosby, on entering the Rose Hill mansion, was met at the door by the colonel. Dulany expressed delight "at meeting with Jesse scouts" [Union troopers dressed as Confederate cavalrymen], and invited Mosby in, and asked him his business, when to his amazement, French Dulany, Colonel Dulany's own son, who rode with Mosby, stepped in and invited his father to get on his horse and accompany them to Fauquier County.

Anne S. Frobel wrote in her diary, "One night a party of Mosby's boys came very unexpectedly to Rose Hill, and took off Colonel Dulaney [Dulany]. One of them was his own son. I was very much amused when I heard the story, and the whole scene narrated. This boy's first greeting to his father when he rushed into the room where his father was in bed. In his gruff boyish voice, "How do Pa-I'm very glad to see you," and the father's answer sitting up in bed, with proper dignity, "Well sir, I'm d-sorry to see you." But they took him down to Richmond nevertheless."

Ranger Mosby penned a letter to his wife shortly after the raid and wrote: "... It was quite an amusing scene, between Colonel Dulaney [Dulany] and his son. Just as we were about leaving the Colonel sarcastically remarked to his son that he had an old pair of shoes he had better take, as he reckoned they were darned scarce in the Confederacy, whereupon the son holding up his leg which was encased in a fine pair of cavalry boots just captured from a sutler, asked the old man what he thought of that."

Anne Frobel continued to write in her diary, "I laughed although I always liked Colonel Dulaney [Dulany] and think it was well for us to have such a person in the neighborhood, he is kind hearted and inoffensive, and could do, and did do many things for the people around that they could not have gotten done otherwise."

Colonel Dulany, even though he was a "Yankee," was well respected by the Southerners in the Franconia area.

Unfortunately, there is a sad end to this tale that must be communicated to the reader. Colonel Dulany would be sent to Libby Prison, in Richmond, would be exchanged and returned to Fairfax County before the war ended. The Second Massachusetts Cavalry would kill young French Dulany almost one year later in a raid near Herndon. Colonel Dulany would survive the war but nobody knows where he is buried today. Additionally, the real tragedy is that no one today knows where young French Dulany was put to rest either. There is no tombstone recorded in Fairfax County identifying these two men. We can only hope that someone in the Dulaney family knows the final resting places of these two Virginians.

Mosby Visits the Marshall House in Alexandria:

In an article in the Philadelphia Press, a correspondent stated that on October 22, 1863, while riding horseback between Alexandria to Bull Run, he had the misfortune to run into Major John S. Mosby, but was not captured. The correspondent was gaily galloping along the turnpike thinking of the Grey Ghost when Mosby himself soon appeared. But Mosby did not see him. As the newspaperman was leaving the Bull Run area he observed on a newly whitewashed wall of a building a notice written in great scrambling letters, similar to what a boy would compare to an autograph. Written on the parlor wall of a plundered mansion was, "I had this day dined in the Marshall House." On the same line, clearly written was a date, "September 30, 1863."

It was only a few days before on September 27th and 28th, 1863, when Mosby had raided the Rose Hill Mansion house, located near today's Franconia Road and had captured Colonel Daniel F. Dulany, the military aide to Francis Pierpont, the Union Provisional Governor of Virginia. As you can clearly see Mosby was definitely in the neighborhood of Alexandria during that time period.

Units Known to be at Rose Hill:

Anne Frobel wrote that Rose Hill was literally covered with Sherman's Army, as it camped there prior to the Grand Review in May 1865.

Mosby's Second Attempt to Capture Francis H. Pierpont:

On June 8, 1864, Ranger John S. Mosby gathered about forty men at Rectortown and started toward Alexandria where Governor Pierpont resided. At The Plains, Captain Julian Lee, Stenny Mason, Bush Underwood and five other Rangers joined them. The enlarged party continued to Fairfax County, where two men were sent ahead to procure a wagon and meet the others on Telegraph Road, not far from Alexandria. The group would then proceed toward Alexandria, with some of the men concealed in a wagon. When they approached a picket post, the wagon would roll forward as if it were a supply wagon. When it reached the post, the men inside would capture the sentries, then continue to Alexandria. Once in the town, the detachment would split into three groups. One, led by Mosby, would capture Pierpont. The second, commanded by Dolly Richards, would seek out Brigadier General John P. Slough, the military governor of Alexandria. Sam Chapman and the remainder of the men would collect as many prisoners and horses as possible.

Unfortunately, their guide became lost and the raiders did not arrive at the rendezvous point until late that night. Mosby believed that to be successful, they would have to complete their mission and depart the heavily fortified town while there were still several hours of darkness left to conceal their movement. With dawn quickly approaching, there was not enough time to complete their objectives that night, so Mosby hid the Rangers in some nearby woods to wait.

Major John Scott in his history of Mosby's Command wrote that the men whiled away the hours by anticipating what they would do with their share of the captured property:

"Bush Underwood and another had a high dispute over who should get the governor's watch, some selected his horse, some his boots, and some his coat; George Turberville was moderate enough to say that he would be satisfied with his excellency's greenbacks."

As the Rangers waited, a local resident revealed their location and plans to the Union garrison, which prepared to receive the raiders. A second citizen, who was returning from Alexandria, informed Mosby of the Federal plans. The partisan leader opted to forego the raid and return to Fauquier County.