Gunston Hall, the Home of George Mason

Gunston Hall, on Mason Neck in southern Fairfax County, VA, is the home of George Mason. “George who?” you may ask. Not as well known as his neighbor, George Washington, George Mason nevertheless played an important role in American independence. He wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights in 1776, antecedent to the Bill of Rights. Documents from the Declaration of Independence to the Bill of Rights of the US Constitution to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights found inspiration in Mason’s writings.

Like most of the American Founding Fathers from Virginia, Mason was a planter. Gunston Hall was both his home and, as a working plantation, his business. A visit to Gunston Hall introduces the visitor to a Georgian house and architectural conventions, life in 18th century Virginia, and political ideas of the American Revolutionary period. The house is furnished and décor and displays reflect the Colonial American lifestyle and sensibilities. For example, in the entry hall, there is a false door, put there just to give the required balance and harmony to the other three real doors.

Outside, an extensive formal boxwood garden leads down to Gunston Cove, an inlet of the Potomac River. Visitors can walk through the gardens and down a hill to the bay. There are also preserved outbuildings in including workshops and the schoolmaster’s house. Reenactors frequent the grounds and you never know who you might meet. The visitor center contains displays on archeology at the site and on Mason's role in American independence. A visit to Gunston Hall can easily be included when visiting George Washington's home at Mount Vernon.

Camping and boating are available at nearby Pohick Bay Regional Park. A hiking trail connects the park to Gunston Hall. Mason Neck State Park is also close by, known for its hiking trails and birding trails that afford an opportunity to observe bald eagles, hawks, and waterfowl inhabiting Great Marsh.