Carlyle House
Encyclopedia
Carlyle House is a historic mansion
in Alexandria
, Virginia
, United States
, built by Scottish
merchant John Carlyle
in 1751-53. It is situated in the city’s Old Town on North Fairfax Street between Cameron and King Street
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When the lots for the new town of Alexandria were auctioned in July 1749, Carlyle purchased lots 41 and 42, situated between the Potomac River
and the town's market square, ideal for his merchant business. He began construction of a house in 1751, using indentured and slave labor. The home was built in mid-Georgian
Palladian
style with space for entertaining and private family and servant use. He also built a number of outbuildings for both household and business needs. Carlyle and his wife, Sarah née Fairfax, moved into the house on 1 August 1753, the day Sarah gave birth to Carlyle's first son, William. Carlyle is supposed to have sealed a cat within the house's walls, an old Scottish tradition to bring luck.
In 1755, the house was the initial headquarters for Major-General Edward Braddock
in the Colony of Virginia during the French and Indian War
. The Congress of Alexandria
convened in the dining room of the house and here Braddock decided to make an expedition
to Fort Duquesne
which would result in his death. He was urged not to undertake the expedition by native Virginian George Washington
who was then a volunteer aide-de-camp
to Braddock. Braddock first suggested the idea of levying additional new taxes on the colonists to help with the cost of the war at the house.
Carlyle was a slaveholder. Carlyle’s slaves lived and worked in his Alexandria home, on three plantations and in a foundry located on the same lot as the house. When he died, there were nine slaves living at Carlyle House: Moses, Nanny, Jerry, Joe, Cate, Sibreia, Cook, Charles, and Penny.
Following Carlyle's death in 1780, his son George William Carlyle inherited the house. However, he died one year after his father at the Battle of Eutaw Springs in South Carolina. The son of John Carlyle's eldest daughter Sarah Carlyle Herbert, John Carlyle Herbert, inherited the Carlyle House in 1781. The house passed from the family's possession by 1827 when Sarah Carlyle Herbert died and John Carlyle Herbert sold it to pay off an uncle's gambling debt. He himself had moved to Maryland in the first decade of the 19th century.
In the mid-19th century, the Mansion House Hotel, which became called one of the best hotels on the East Coast, was built along Fairfax Street making Carlyle House no longer visible from the street. The hotel and the house were seized by occupying Union
forces during the American Civil War
.
Significant restoration work to the house was undertaken in the early and mid 1970s and the hotel (also known as the Braddock Hotel) was torn down once again exposing Carlyle House to North Fairfax Street.
Since 1970, the Carlyle House Historic Park is owned and administered by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority
and includes the 18th century mansion and its gardens. On the National Register of Historic Places, it is architecturally unique as the only stone, 18th-century Palladian-style house in Alexandria. The "Grandest Congress" is a reenacted
celebrating Gen. Braddock's time at the house that takes place every year at the Carlyle House.
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
in Alexandria
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, built by Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
merchant John Carlyle
John Carlyle (merchant)
John Carlyle was a Scottish merchant who immigrated to British Colony of Virginia and became a leading landowner and social and political figure in Northern Virginia...
in 1751-53. It is situated in the city’s Old Town on North Fairfax Street between Cameron and King Street
King Street, Alexandria, Virginia
King Street is a major road in Alexandria, Virginia, USA and historic Old Town Alexandria. It extends westward from the Potomac River waterfront near the Torpedo Factory Art Center and nearby bustling tourist gift shops and restaurants, passing City Hall...
s.
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
and the town's market square, ideal for his merchant business. He began construction of a house in 1751, using indentured and slave labor. The home was built in mid-Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
Palladian
Palladian architecture
Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...
style with space for entertaining and private family and servant use. He also built a number of outbuildings for both household and business needs. Carlyle and his wife, Sarah née Fairfax, moved into the house on 1 August 1753, the day Sarah gave birth to Carlyle's first son, William. Carlyle is supposed to have sealed a cat within the house's walls, an old Scottish tradition to bring luck.
In 1755, the house was the initial headquarters for Major-General Edward Braddock
Edward Braddock
General Edward Braddock was a British soldier and commander-in-chief for the 13 colonies during the actions at the start of the French and Indian War...
in the Colony of Virginia during the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
. The Congress of Alexandria
Congress of Alexandria
The Congress or Council of Alexandria was a 1755 meeting of Major-General Edward Braddock, commander-in-chief of the British Army in North America and governors of five of the constituent colonies...
convened in the dining room of the house and here Braddock decided to make an expedition
Braddock expedition
The Braddock expedition, also called Braddock's campaign or, more commonly, Braddock's Defeat, was a failed British military expedition which attempted to capture the French Fort Duquesne in the summer of 1755 during the French and Indian War. It was defeated at the Battle of the Monongahela on...
to Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in what is now downtown Pittsburgh in the state of Pennsylvania....
which would result in his death. He was urged not to undertake the expedition by native Virginian George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
who was then a volunteer aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to Braddock. Braddock first suggested the idea of levying additional new taxes on the colonists to help with the cost of the war at the house.
Following Carlyle's death in 1780, his son George William Carlyle inherited the house. However, he died one year after his father at the Battle of Eutaw Springs in South Carolina. The son of John Carlyle's eldest daughter Sarah Carlyle Herbert, John Carlyle Herbert, inherited the Carlyle House in 1781. The house passed from the family's possession by 1827 when Sarah Carlyle Herbert died and John Carlyle Herbert sold it to pay off an uncle's gambling debt. He himself had moved to Maryland in the first decade of the 19th century.
In the mid-19th century, the Mansion House Hotel, which became called one of the best hotels on the East Coast, was built along Fairfax Street making Carlyle House no longer visible from the street. The hotel and the house were seized by occupying Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
forces during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Significant restoration work to the house was undertaken in the early and mid 1970s and the hotel (also known as the Braddock Hotel) was torn down once again exposing Carlyle House to North Fairfax Street.
Since 1970, the Carlyle House Historic Park is owned and administered by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority
Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority
The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority is an interjurisdictional organization that owns and operates more than 10,000 acres of woodlands, streams, parks, trails, nature reserves, countryside and historic sites in Northern Virginia in the United States. The Authority was organized in 1959...
and includes the 18th century mansion and its gardens. On the National Register of Historic Places, it is architecturally unique as the only stone, 18th-century Palladian-style house in Alexandria. The "Grandest Congress" is a reenacted
Historical reenactment
Historical reenactment is an educational activity in which participants attempt torecreate some aspects of a historical event or period. This may be as narrow as a specific moment from a battle, such as the reenactment of Pickett's Charge at the Great Reunion of 1913, or as broad as an entire...
celebrating Gen. Braddock's time at the house that takes place every year at the Carlyle House.
External links
- Carlyle House Historic Park website
- Carlyle House at Alexandria Sites on the National Register of Historic Places