Virginia: A Visitor's Guide to Gunston Hall

George Mason is one of those men who somehow history has forgotten. Not in his native Virginia but in the rest of the country. He had a very significant part in the history of the creation of the United States and yet it is one event, one choice he made, in that history that has kept him from being a household word. If this sounds intriguing, please take the time to visit Gunston Hall and get to know this very interesting man.



Gunston Hall was built in the mid-18th century in the Georgian style. It sits on a 60 foot bluff above the Potomac River and at its peak was second only to the Washington Estate at Mount Vernon. Your visit here begins with a 10-minute film to familiarize you with the man who built this home, George Mason.

A small museum is located in the visitor center that will give you some insight into life at the time of the Masons occupation and shows you some of the amazing things that they possessed. George and his first wife Ann raised a large family here and it is very much a family home.

House tours take place every half hour and when I visited in October 2014 the furniture was out of the house, photography was allowed inside. This allows you to take pictures of the fabulous carvings that were done by William Buckland and William Sears in the formal rooms of the house. Both of these men were indentured servants. The work is comparable to that of Grinling Gibbons in this writer’s opinion.



The tour is guided on the first floor and you are then allowed to view the bedrooms on the second floor. Several outbuildings including a kitchen are located close to the house and you are encouraged to walk through the massive grounds. The burying ground is open to visitors as well as a schoolhouse that was used to teach the nine surviving Mason children.

On the Potomac River side of Gunston Hall, there is a garden which now does not include flowing plants. Boxwoods and terraced grounds are impressive none the less but plans for new and extensive gardens have received funding so you may get to see them. If you want to walk down to the river, there are trails for that as well.

Special events are held on average quarterly. The weekend I visited, Halloween was being celebrated. Children could have their face painted, make a mask, paint a pumpkin and hear stories being told at the schoolhouse. Some spooky surprises were also provided. The house tour was included in the entrance and everyone seemed to be taking advantage of it.

In addition to the special events, there are many things offered at Gunston Hall including things like Hearth Cooking Classes and special architecture tours just to name two. See their website for additional dates and times.