Gunston Hall

Gunston Hall
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Virginia Landmarks Register
View of Gunston Hall from the northwest
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Nearest city	Lorton, Virginia
Coordinates	38°39′50″N 77°9′37″W / 38.66389°N 77.16028°W / 38.66389; -77.16028
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]