George Mason's Gunston Hall

VA - Alexandria, Virginia, USA

10709 Gunston Rd, Lorton, VA 22079, USA

MUSEUM

VISITOR INFORMATION

TICKET REQUIRED

General admission is $10; the grounds-only pass is $5.

https://gunstonhall.org/visit/guide/hours-and-admission/

FREE PUBLIC PARKING

A lower-priced grounds-only pass is available in addition to general admission. Children under 6 and active-military families are admitted free.

PUBLIC RESTROOMS

SITE FEATURES

Gardens

Surviving Structures

Peak visitation season unconfirmed. No reliable site-specific monthly attendance pattern was established.

April-May or October for a confirmed mansion visit, gardens and trails in generally milder weather. Check the Wednesday closure and actual tour departures.

HISTORIC SITES NEARBY

Nearby Historic Sites

miles

Landmark

WHO WAS HERE

2

George Washington

George Mason

About George Mason's Gunston Hall

Built between 1755 and 1759 as the main residence and headquarters of a 5,500-acre plantation, the house was the home of the United States Founding Father George Mason. The home is located not far from George Washington's home. 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.

George Mason’s original Georgian plantation house remains as a restored museum overlooking the Potomac River. The Commonwealth of Virginia and Colonial Dames preserve the furnished mansion, reconstructed outbuildings, gardens, archaeological sites, burial ground, trails, and remaining plantation landscape for public interpretation.

History happened here at George Mason's Gunston Hall

George Mason (December 11, 1725 – October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of three delegates present who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including substantial portions of the Fairfax Resolves of 1774, the Virginia Declaration of Rights of 1776, and his Objections to this Constitution of Government (1787) opposing ratification, have exercised a significant influence on American political thought and events. The Virginia Declaration of Rights, which Mason principally authored, served as a basis for the United States Bill of Rights, of which he has been deemed a father.

The Masons came from Gunstone in South Staffordshire and like many others in that area supported the Crown during the 1642-1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. After Royalist defeat at Worcester in 1651, Philip Mason I emigrated to Virginia, along with his cousin Gerard Fowke, whose family home was Gunstone Hall and which gave its name to George Mason's building.

In 1792, Thomas Jefferson visited Gunston Hall for the last time, attending George Mason's death bed. After Mason's death, the house remained in use as a private residence for many years.