Woodlawn (Alexandria, Virginia)
Woodlawn Plantation | |
Location | West of junction of U.S. 1 and Rte. 235, Alexandria, Virginia |
---|---|
Coordinates | 38°43′0″N 77°8′10″W / 38.71667°N 77.13611°W |
Built | 1800–1805 |
Architect | Dr. William Thornton |
Architectural style | Federal |
NRHP reference No. | 70000792 (original) 11000836[1] (increase) |
VLR No. | 029-0056 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | February 26, 1970 |
Boundary increase | November 18, 2011 |
Designated NHL | August 6, 1998[3] |
Designated VLR | December 2, 1969, September 22, 2011[2] |
Woodlawn is a historic
History
George Washington planned the house to overlook
Construction began in 1800 and was finished in 1805.
In late 1846, Eleanor Custis Lewis sold the property to a group of Burlington County, New Jersey Quakers from outside Philadelphia led by Chalkley Gillingham (1807–1881) and Jacob Troth.[5] They harvested wood and began subdividing it into smaller farms to demonstrate that a free labor system could work at least as well as slave labor. Jacob Troth deeded the mansion to his son Paul Hillman Troth on March 25, 1850.[6] The Quakers founded a cemetery and built a meetinghouse nearby in 1851 (for the Fairfax Section of the Alexandria Friends Meeting).
In 1853, the Quakers sold Woodlawn house and some land to Baptist John Mason, who likewise refused to use slave labor. By 1859, he and his wife operated a Sunday School on the property. After the
Woodlawn's mansion house has fallen into disrepair several times, but all of its owners, recognizing its historic significance, have worked to preserve its character.
Current status
Woodlawn is owned and operated as a museum by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, part of the National Trust Community Investment Corporation. It was the National Trust's first acquisition, achieved in the late 1960s as part of a nationwide campaign that included major donations from philanthropist Paul Mellon.[7] It and the adjacent Pope-Leighey House are open to the public (admission charged) Friday through Monday from April until mid-December. The property name is Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House. It also hosts special events, particularly weddings and an annual Needlework Show, and hosts museum tours.
In 1965, construction on Interstate 66 led to that home built in 1940 by architect Frank Lloyd Wright for Loren Pope to be moved to the grounds of the Woodlawn estate . Four years later, Virginia's historic preservation office nominated Woodlawn, then Woodlawn plantation, for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, and such was approved in 1970.[8] Woodlawn plantation was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1998,[7] and the boundaries were increased slightly in 2011 by a donation of land from nearby Fort Belvoir which had been part of the Woodlawn plantation.[9] The Quaker meetinghouse once part of the plantation was added to the National Register in 2009.[10] Arcadia Farm leases land at Woodlawn to demonstrate sustainable agriculture by the Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture since 2010.[11]
A different plantation with the same name on the Rappahannock River near Port Conway on Virginia's Northern Neck is the centerpiece of the Woodlawn Historic and Archeological District, recognized in 1990.[9]
See also
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Virginia
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Fairfax County, Virginia
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
- ^ "Woodlawn". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2008.
- ^ "Woodlawn, a National Trust Historic Site". National Trust for Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on February 22, 2010.
- ISBN 978-0-7385-1601-1.
- ^ Potoman Interlude: The Story of Woodlawn Mansion and the Mount Vernon Neighborhood, by Dorothy Troth Muir, Mount Vernon Print Shop, 1943. Page 181.
- ^ a b c Craig Tuminaro and Carolyn Pitts (March 4, 1998). "National Historic Landmark Nomination Form: Woodlawn" (PDF). National Park Service. Archived from the original (pdf) on November 18, 2015.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "About Us". May 25, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
External links
- Woodlawn and Pope-Leighey House – official website
- Woodlawn, 9000 Richmond Highway, Mount Vernon, Fairfax County, VA: 22 photos, 2 color transparencies, 13 measured drawings, 5 data pages, and 3 photo caption pages at Historic American Buildings Survey
- Woodlawn, Dairy, 9000 Richmond Highway, Mount Vernon, Fairfax County, VA: 1 photo and 1 photo caption page at Historic American Buildings Survey
- Woodlawn, Smokehouse, 9000 Richmond Highway, Mount Vernon, Fairfax County, VA: 1 photo at Historic American Buildings Survey