Carlyle House Historic Park

VA - Alexandria, Virginia, USA

121 N Fairfax St, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA

PARK

VISITOR INFORMATION

TICKET REQUIRED

Open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday to Saturday 10am-4pm, and Sunday 12pm-4pm (closed Wednesdays and major holidays), with the last tour at 3pm. Admission is $8 for adults, $3 for ages 6-17, and free under 5.

https://www.novaparks.com/parks/carlyle-house-historic-park

There is no dedicated on-site public parking; use street or public parking in Old Town Alexandria. Tours run hourly.

SITE FEATURES

Surviving Structures

Spring-autumn outings, holiday weekends and advertised programmes may add demand (Virginia regional inference). Site-specific peak months unconfirmed.

April-May or October for a confirmed house tour and garden visit in milder weather. Check the public-tour calendar and any restoration-related changes for the intended year.

HISTORIC SITES NEARBY

Nearby Historic Sites

miles

Landmark

WHO WAS HERE

4

George Washington

William Fairfax

Bryan Fairfax

George William Fairfax

About Carlyle House Historic Park

Carlyle began the construction of his house in 1751, using indentured and slave labor. Carlyle house has two sets of stairs: The main stairs (wider) are located in the center of the house, they communicate the first floor with the second floor. The servant stairs (narrow) are located in the right side of the house and connect from the ground floor with the first and second floors. The house has two chimneys made of stone.

John Carlyle’s original 1750s stone mansion survives as a restored historic house museum in Old Town Alexandria. Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority protects furnished rooms, architectural fabric, gardens, archaeological resources, exhibits, and grounds amid later urban development and an adjoining modern hotel complex.

History happened here at Carlyle House Historic Park

When the lots for the new town of Alexandria were auctioned in July 1749, John Carlyle purchased the lots 41 and 42, situated between the Potomac River and the town's market square, ideal for his merchant business.

King George II sent Edward Braddock with two regiments of British regulars (2500 troops) to America to fight in the French and Indian Warthat started in 1754, they arrived on 20 February 1755 in Hampton, in the colony of Virginia. In April 1755 they came to Carlyle house, and it became the initial headquarters for Major-General Edward Braddock in the Colony of Virginia. On April 15, 1755, was held the Congress of Alexandria in which Braddock met with five colonial governors, Horatio Sharpe (Maryland's governor ), Robert Dinwiddie (Virginia's governor), James De Lancey (New York's governor), William Shirley (Massachusetts' governor), and Robert Hunter Morris (Pennsylvania's governor).

They convened in the dining room of the house and here Braddock first suggested the idea of levying additional new taxes on the colonists to help with the cost of the war, and also decided to make an expedition to Fort Duquesne during the French and Indian War. George Washington, who was appointed as major in the provincial militia in February 1753 by Robert Dinwiddie (Virginia's Royal Governor), urged Braddock not to undertake the expedition and became a volunteer aide-de-camp to Braddock. Nevertheless, Braddock decided to undertake the expedition, resulting in the death or injury of two-thirdsrds of Braddock's troops and also in Braddock's own death.