Woodlawn Plantation | |
 Woodlawn's east front | |
    | |
| Location | West of junction of U.S. 1 and Rte. 235,Alexandria, Virginia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°43′0″N77°8′10″W / 38.71667°N 77.13611°W /38.71667; -77.13611 |
| 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 historichouse located inFairfax County, Virginia. Originally a part ofMount Vernon,George Washington's historicplantation estate, it was subdivided in the 19th century by abolitionists to demonstrate the viability of a free labor system. The address is now 9000 Richmond Highway,Alexandria, Virginia, but due to expansion ofFort Belvoir and reconstruction of historicRoute 1, access is via Woodlawn Road slightly south of Jeff Todd Way/State Route 235. The house is a designatedNational Historic Landmark, primarily for its association with the Washington family, but also for the role it played in the historic preservation movement. It is now a museum property owned and managed by theNational Trust for Historic Preservation.
George Washington planned the house to overlookDogue Creek as well as be visible from (and viewing)Mount Vernon. In 1799, he gave the plantation (2,000 acres (810 ha) of land as well as gristmill and distillery) as a wedding present toEleanor ("Nelly" or "Nellie") Parke Custis (Martha Washington's granddaughter who was raised on the Mount Vernon estate), and his nephew MajorLawrence Lewis. The President asked architectDr. William Thornton, who had designed theU.S. Capitol, to design them a house.[4]
Construction began in 1800 and was finished in 1805.
In late 1846, Eleanor Custis Lewis sold the property to a group ofBurlington County, New JerseyQuakers from outside Philadelphia led byChalkley 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 theAmerican Civil War, his sonsEbenezer E. Mason andOtis T. Mason would found a Baptist church and burial ground across from the Quaker meetinghouse. Eben Mason and QuakerJohn Hawxhurst were Fairfax County's two Unionist delegates to theWheeling Convention of 1861 which established the state of West Virginia. Hawxhurst would become one of Fairfax County's delegates to theVirginia Constitutional Convention of 1868.
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.[7] Portions of the property were sold for development or merged intoFort Belvoir over the years. Progressive former U.S. SenatorOscar Underwood, one of the last Southern politicians to fight theKu Klux Klan beforeWorld War II, retired to Woodlawn, where he died in 1929. Only about 160 acres surrounded the mansion house by 1970, and about 126 acres exist today. Since 1965, as discussed below, the Woodlawn Estate property is now also the site of thePope-Leighey House, aFrank Lloyd Wright designed house.
Woodlawn is owned and operated as a museum by theNational Trust for Historic Preservation, part of theNational 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 philanthropistPaul 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 onInterstate 66 led to that home built in 1940 by architectFrank 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 theNational 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 nearbyFort 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]
In April 2024, Woodlawn unveiled two new exhibits, as part of an initiative focusing on "expanding the narrative" about the land's inhabitants. "Woodlawn: People & Perspective" describes Woodlawn's connections to African-American history. "Offerings for the Tauxenent: Acknowledging Indigenous People", curated byGabrielle Tayac, is dedicated to theDoeg people, who inhabited the site before it became a plantation. Because the Doeg left behind relatively few surviving artifacts, this exhibit features art made by contemporary native groups to commemorate the Doeg.[12]
A different plantation with the same name on theRappahannock River nearPort Conway on Virginia's Northern Neck is the centerpiece of theWoodlawn Historic and Archeological District, recognized in 1990.[9]
