Huntley (plantation)
Encyclopedia
Huntley is an early 19th-century Federal-style
plantation
manor in the Hybla Valley
area of Fairfax County
, Virginia
., on a hill overlooking Huntley Meadows Park
to the south. The estate is best known as the country residence of Thomson Francis Mason
(1785–21 December 1838), grandson of George Mason
of nearby Gunston Hall
. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
(NRHP).
on 7 October 1792, his father Thomson
inherited a portion of the Gunston Hall estate. Around 1817, Mason's father Thomson divided the property into two plantations: Dogue Run farm
for Mason's younger brother Richard Chichester Mason
(1793–1869) and Hunting Creek farm adjacent to Mount Vernon
for Mason.
After Mason's marriage in 1817 to Elizabeth "Betsey" Clapham Price of Leesburg
, Virginia, he began building Huntley as a secondary home against a hillside overlooking Hybla Valley
and the Potomac River
on his Hunting Creek tract between 1820 and 1825. Consistent with its counterpart Mason residences like Gunston Hall
and Hollin Hall
, Huntley was most likely named for Huntly Castle
, an ancestral home in Scotland
from Mason's mother's side. Huntley never served as a permanent residence for Mason, who owned a number of houses in Alexandria
including Colross
, his chief homestead. Huntley was conveniently located along a gravel road from Alexandria. By 1834, Mason's brother Richard built Okeley Manor
on neighboring Dogue Run farm.
Twenty years after Mason's death, his widow Betsey attempted to sell Huntley and its accompanying Hunting Creek farm in 1859. When she was unable to sell the property, Betsey transferred ownership on 7 November 1859 to her sons John "Frank" Francis Mason and Arthur "Pen" Pendleton Mason
. Once the property was transferred to Mason's sons, Huntley was held as security on a debt to a family friend, Dr. Benjamin King. On 7 December, they obtained a $13,000 loan, due for repayment on 1 January 1862, from Dr. King. Frank Mason rented Huntley to George W. Johnson, a Union
sympathizer, for two years beginning on 1 August 1860. Under their agreement with Johnson, the Masons promised him $1,000 to put the farm in order. At the onset of the war, Pen Mason enlisted in the Confederate States Army
.
During the American Civil War from December 1861 through February 1862, the 3rd Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment
camped at Huntley, with their quartermaster
and his wife residing in the mansion. Also during the war, the Masons defaulted on their loan, and Dr. King eventually acquired Huntley at a public auction
on 12 June 1862. Despite Dr. King's ownership, Johnson continued to reside at Huntley and worked the farm until February 1863. After the American Civil War
, Johnson reported to the Southern Claims Commission that when Frank Mason and his mother Betsey traveled south before the war, the Masons left all of their servants and their servants' children in Johnson's care without compensation.
Six years after Dr. King purchased the estate, Albert W. Harrison and Nathan W. Pierson from New Jersey
assumed Huntley's title on 21 November 1868 and divided their claim in 1871. Harrison took ownership of the mansion and its supporting structures and Pierson acquired the rest. Following Harrison's death in 1911, Huntley came into the possession of his heirs. Richard Chichester Mason's descendants sold nearby Okeley Manor in 1916, ending Mason family ownership of any of the original Gunston Hall property.
During the 1930s
, Huntley's property, along with other former Mason properties, was partially reassembled by entrepreneur Henry Woodhouse
for the proposed George Washington Air Junction. The airport was intended to serve as a regional landing site for Graf Zeppelin
airship
s, but the plans never came to fruition and Woodhouse lost the land by default. The last of the Harrisons died in 1946 and Huntley's mansion was sold to August W. and Eleanor S. Nagel. During the Nagels' brief period of ownership, the couple commissioned Arlington architect Edward M. Pitt to make drawings of the mansion. Three years later, Huntley was sold to Colonel and Mrs. Ransom G. Amlong.
Huntley was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
on 3 November 1972. In 1989, Huntley was acquired by the Fairfax County Park Authority
. It is currently boarded and fenced until restoration funds are made available. As of mid-May, 2010 a contract was made for restoration and work may begin in the summer.
style. Originally built in the shape of an "H", the mansion's central section rises three stories on the south and two on the north. For unknown reasons the east and west sides were built first and later joined in the center. Its brickwork
is laid in a common bond. The mansion's flanking wings, which are one story lower than the one-room central section, each comprise of two rooms. The central gable
is crowned by two rectangular interior chimney
s which run parallel to the mansion's roofline. The central gable also contains three bays with casements of nine panes each.
The second story of the central section is crowned by a mousetooth brick cornice
that once marked the edge of the mansion's clipped roof. The first floor central section is sheltered by a three-bay porch addition that links the pediment
ed wings. The mansion's front entrance is framed by three-paned sidelights separated by slender reeded pilaster
s and surmounted by a fanlight
with wooden tracery. The two bays which flank this entrance on the first floor porch have a four-over-four sash. The remaining windows on the ground and first floors consist of a six-over-six double hung sash. Set slightly into the brick of the house, the windows still consist mostly of their early glass, and single panel shutters
vented by fixed louver
s.
The mansion's most notable architectural features are its one-bay pedimented wings. The wing elevation on the south includes a simple ground floor bay surmounted by the first floor windows which are set into recessed rectangular frames. The side wings are topped by pediments enhanced by a molded cornice and enclosing louvered lunette
s. Windows on the east and west sides of the mansion's wings are spaced irregularly. On the east side, two bays light the ground level and three bays break the wall of the first story.
Federal architecture
Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federal Period. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design...
plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
manor in the Hybla Valley
Hybla Valley, Virginia
Hybla Valley is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States south of Alexandria, Virginia. Nearby CDPs include Groveton, Virginia , Belle Haven, Fairfax County, Virginia , Fort Hunt, Virginia and Mount Vernon, Virginia...
area of Fairfax County
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...
, 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...
., on a hill overlooking Huntley Meadows Park
Huntley Meadows Park
Huntley Meadows Park, the largest park operated by the Fairfax County Park Authority , is located in the Hybla Valley area of Fairfax County, Virginia, south of the city of Alexandria. The park features a visitor center, a beaver-created wetland with boardwalk, wildlife observation platforms, and...
to the south. The estate is best known as the country residence of Thomson Francis Mason
Thomson Francis Mason
Thomson Francis Mason was a prominent jurist, lawyer, councilman, judge, and the mayor of Alexandria, District of Columbia between 1827 and 1830.-Early life and education:...
(1785–21 December 1838), grandson of George Mason
George Mason
George Mason IV was an American Patriot, statesman and a delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention...
of nearby Gunston Hall
Gunston Hall
Gunston Hall is an 18th-century Georgian mansion near the Potomac River in Mason Neck, Virginia, United States of America. The house was the home of the United States Founding Father George Mason. It was located at the center of a 5500 acre plantation...
. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
(NRHP).
History
Upon the death of Mason's grandfather George MasonGeorge Mason
George Mason IV was an American Patriot, statesman and a delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention...
on 7 October 1792, his father Thomson
Thomson Mason (1759–1820)
Thomson Mason was a prominent entrepreneur, planter, civil servant, and justice. Mason was the son of George Mason, an American patriot, statesman, and delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention....
inherited a portion of the Gunston Hall estate. Around 1817, Mason's father Thomson divided the property into two plantations: Dogue Run farm
Okeley Manor
Okeley Manor was an early 19th-century plantation in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Okeley, the residence of prominent Alexandria physician Richard Chichester Mason , was one of the principal Mason family estates in Northern Virginia...
for Mason's younger brother Richard Chichester Mason
Richard Chichester Mason
Richard Chichester Mason was a prominent physician practicing in Alexandria, Virginia. Mason was a grandson of George Mason and his wife Ann Eilbeck.-Early life and education:...
(1793–1869) and Hunting Creek farm adjacent to Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon
The name Mount Vernon is a dedication to the English Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon. It was first applied to Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington, the first President of the United States...
for Mason.
After Mason's marriage in 1817 to Elizabeth "Betsey" Clapham Price of Leesburg
Leesburg, Virginia
Leesburg is a historic town in, and county seat of, Loudoun County, Virginia, United States of America. Leesburg is located west-northwest of Washington, D.C. along the base of the Catoctin Mountain and adjacent to the Potomac River. Its population according the 2010 Census is 42,616...
, Virginia, he began building Huntley as a secondary home against a hillside overlooking Hybla Valley
Hybla Valley, Virginia
Hybla Valley is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States south of Alexandria, Virginia. Nearby CDPs include Groveton, Virginia , Belle Haven, Fairfax County, Virginia , Fort Hunt, Virginia and Mount Vernon, Virginia...
and the Potomac River
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...
on his Hunting Creek tract between 1820 and 1825. Consistent with its counterpart Mason residences like Gunston Hall
Gunston Hall
Gunston Hall is an 18th-century Georgian mansion near the Potomac River in Mason Neck, Virginia, United States of America. The house was the home of the United States Founding Father George Mason. It was located at the center of a 5500 acre plantation...
and Hollin Hall
Hollin Hall
Hollin Hall is an 18th century plantation home on Little Hunting Creek three miles southwest of Alexandria in Fairfax County, Virginia. George Mason, a United States founding father, gave Hollin Hall to his third son, Thomson Mason, through deeds of gift in 1781 and 1786. The land, as given,...
, Huntley was most likely named for Huntly Castle
Huntly Castle
Huntly Castle is a ruined castle in Huntly in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was the ancestral home of the chief of Clan Gordon, Earl of Huntly.-History:...
, an ancestral home in Scotland
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...
from Mason's mother's side. Huntley never served as a permanent residence for Mason, who owned a number of houses 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...
including Colross
Colross
Colross was an early 19th-century Mason family estate on Oronoco Street in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. Colross was the Alexandria residence of Thomson Francis Mason , a grandson of George Mason...
, his chief homestead. Huntley was conveniently located along a gravel road from Alexandria. By 1834, Mason's brother Richard built Okeley Manor
Okeley Manor
Okeley Manor was an early 19th-century plantation in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Okeley, the residence of prominent Alexandria physician Richard Chichester Mason , was one of the principal Mason family estates in Northern Virginia...
on neighboring Dogue Run farm.
Twenty years after Mason's death, his widow Betsey attempted to sell Huntley and its accompanying Hunting Creek farm in 1859. When she was unable to sell the property, Betsey transferred ownership on 7 November 1859 to her sons John "Frank" Francis Mason and Arthur "Pen" Pendleton Mason
Arthur Pendleton Mason
Arthur "Pen" Pendleton Mason was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Confederate States Army serving during the American Civil War. Mason was a scion of the prominent Mason political family of Virginia.-Early life and education:...
. Once the property was transferred to Mason's sons, Huntley was held as security on a debt to a family friend, Dr. Benjamin King. On 7 December, they obtained a $13,000 loan, due for repayment on 1 January 1862, from Dr. King. Frank Mason rented Huntley to George W. Johnson, a 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...
sympathizer, for two years beginning on 1 August 1860. Under their agreement with Johnson, the Masons promised him $1,000 to put the farm in order. At the onset of the war, Pen Mason enlisted in the Confederate States Army
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
.
During the American Civil War from December 1861 through February 1862, the 3rd Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment
3rd Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The 3rd Regiment Michigan Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:At 8:30 on the morning of Thursday, June 13, 1861, ten companies of the Third Michigan infantry, led by its regimental band and the field and staff officers,...
camped at Huntley, with their quartermaster
Quartermaster
Quartermaster refers to two different military occupations depending on if the assigned unit is land based or naval.In land armies, especially US units, it is a term referring to either an individual soldier or a unit who specializes in distributing supplies and provisions to troops. The senior...
and his wife residing in the mansion. Also during the war, the Masons defaulted on their loan, and Dr. King eventually acquired Huntley at a public auction
Auction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
on 12 June 1862. Despite Dr. King's ownership, Johnson continued to reside at Huntley and worked the farm until February 1863. After 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...
, Johnson reported to the Southern Claims Commission that when Frank Mason and his mother Betsey traveled south before the war, the Masons left all of their servants and their servants' children in Johnson's care without compensation.
Six years after Dr. King purchased the estate, Albert W. Harrison and Nathan W. Pierson from New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
assumed Huntley's title on 21 November 1868 and divided their claim in 1871. Harrison took ownership of the mansion and its supporting structures and Pierson acquired the rest. Following Harrison's death in 1911, Huntley came into the possession of his heirs. Richard Chichester Mason's descendants sold nearby Okeley Manor in 1916, ending Mason family ownership of any of the original Gunston Hall property.
During the 1930s
1930s
File:1930s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Thompson show the effects of the Great Depression; Due to the economic collapse, the farms become dry and the Dust Bowl spreads through America; The Battle of Wuhan during the Second Sino-Japanese...
, Huntley's property, along with other former Mason properties, was partially reassembled by entrepreneur Henry Woodhouse
Henry Woodhouse
Henry Woodhouse was an Italian-born US aviation enthusiast, magazine publisher, speculator and forger of historical documents.-Earlier life:...
for the proposed George Washington Air Junction. The airport was intended to serve as a regional landing site for Graf Zeppelin
Graf Zeppelin
Graf Zeppelin may refer to:*Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin , German officer and engineer, founder of the Zeppelin airship company *LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin, the first airship named after Count Zeppelin...
airship
Airship
An airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
s, but the plans never came to fruition and Woodhouse lost the land by default. The last of the Harrisons died in 1946 and Huntley's mansion was sold to August W. and Eleanor S. Nagel. During the Nagels' brief period of ownership, the couple commissioned Arlington architect Edward M. Pitt to make drawings of the mansion. Three years later, Huntley was sold to Colonel and Mrs. Ransom G. Amlong.
Huntley was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on 3 November 1972. In 1989, Huntley was acquired by the Fairfax County Park Authority
Fairfax County Park Authority
The Fairfax County Park Authority is a department of the Fairfax County, Virginia county government responsible for developing and maintaining the various parks, historical sites, and recreational areas owned or administered by Fairfax County...
. It is currently boarded and fenced until restoration funds are made available. As of mid-May, 2010 a contract was made for restoration and work may begin in the summer.
Architecture
Huntley's mansion and its surrounding farm complex were constructed between 1820 and 1825 in the early FederalFederal architecture
Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federal Period. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design...
style. Originally built in the shape of an "H", the mansion's central section rises three stories on the south and two on the north. For unknown reasons the east and west sides were built first and later joined in the center. Its brickwork
Brickwork
Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar to build up brick structures such as walls. Brickwork is also used to finish corners, door, and window openings, etc...
is laid in a common bond. The mansion's flanking wings, which are one story lower than the one-room central section, each comprise of two rooms. The central gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
is crowned by two rectangular interior chimney
Chimney
A chimney is a structure for venting hot flue gases or smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. Chimneys are typically vertical, or as near as possible to vertical, to ensure that the gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion in what is known as the...
s which run parallel to the mansion's roofline. The central gable also contains three bays with casements of nine panes each.
The second story of the central section is crowned by a mousetooth brick cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
that once marked the edge of the mansion's clipped roof. The first floor central section is sheltered by a three-bay porch addition that links the pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
ed wings. The mansion's front entrance is framed by three-paned sidelights separated by slender reeded pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s and surmounted by a fanlight
Fanlight
A fanlight is a window, semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan, It is placed over another window or a doorway. and is sometimes hinged to a transom. The bars in the fixed glazed window spread out in the manner a sunburst...
with wooden tracery. The two bays which flank this entrance on the first floor porch have a four-over-four sash. The remaining windows on the ground and first floors consist of a six-over-six double hung sash. Set slightly into the brick of the house, the windows still consist mostly of their early glass, and single panel shutters
Window shutter
A window shutter is a solid and stable window covering usually consisting of a frame of vertical stiles and horizontal rails...
vented by fixed louver
Louver
A louver or louvre , from the French l'ouvert; "the open one") is a window, blind or shutter with horizontal slats that are angled to admit light and air, but to keep out rain, direct sunshine, and noise...
s.
The mansion's most notable architectural features are its one-bay pedimented wings. The wing elevation on the south includes a simple ground floor bay surmounted by the first floor windows which are set into recessed rectangular frames. The side wings are topped by pediments enhanced by a molded cornice and enclosing louvered lunette
Lunette
In architecture, a lunette is a half-moon shaped space, either filled with recessed masonry or void. A lunette is formed when a horizontal cornice transects a round-headed arch at the level of the imposts, where the arch springs. If a door is set within a round-headed arch, the space within the...
s. Windows on the east and west sides of the mansion's wings are spaced irregularly. On the east side, two bays light the ground level and three bays break the wall of the first story.