Huntley (plantation) facts for kids
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Huntley
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Southern face of the house from the terraced lawn in 2019
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 Location in Northern Virginia
Location in Virginia
Location in the United States
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| Location | 6918 Harrison Lane Alexandria, Virginia |
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| Area | 16 acres (6.5 ha) |
| Built | 1820–1825 |
| Architectural style | Federal Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 72001392 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | November 3, 1972 |
Huntley, also known as Historic Huntley, is an old house and farm built in the early 1800s. It's located in the Hybla Valley area of Fairfax County, Virginia. The house sits on a hill and looks over Huntley Meadows Park.
Huntley was the country home of Thomson Francis Mason (1785–1838). He was the grandson of George Mason, who owned the famous Gunston Hall nearby. Huntley is recognized as an important historical place. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Virginia Landmarks Register, and the Fairfax County Inventory of Historic Sites.
Contents
Huntley's Story
Early Days and Building Huntley
When George Mason passed away in 1792, his son Thomson inherited part of the Gunston Hall estate. Around 1817, Thomson divided his land into two farms. One farm went to his younger son, Richard Chichester Mason. The other, called Hunting Creek farm, went to Thomson Francis Mason.
After Thomson Francis Mason got married in 1817, he started building Huntley. It was meant to be a second home, built between 1820 and 1825. It sat on a hillside with views of Hybla Valley and the Potomac River. Huntley was probably named after Huntly Castle in Scotland, which was an old family home on his mother's side.
Huntley was never Thomson Francis Mason's main home. He owned other houses in Alexandria, including Colross. Huntley was easy to reach from Alexandria by a gravel road.
Changes in Ownership
Thomson Francis Mason passed away in 1838. Twenty years later, in 1859, his wife Betsey tried to sell Huntley. When she couldn't, she gave the property to her sons, John "Frank" Francis Mason and Arthur "Pen" Pendleton Mason.
The sons used Huntley as security for a loan from a family friend, Dr. Benjamin King. They borrowed $13,000, which was a lot of money back then. Frank Mason then rented Huntley to George W. Johnson starting in 1860. Johnson was a Union supporter, meaning he supported the northern states during the upcoming Civil War.
Huntley During the Civil War
During the American Civil War, from late 1861 to early 1862, soldiers from the 3rd Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment camped at Huntley. The army's quartermaster (who managed supplies) and his wife even lived in the mansion.
The Mason sons could not pay back their loan to Dr. King. So, Dr. King bought Huntley at a public sale in 1862. Even though Dr. King owned it, George W. Johnson continued to live and work on the farm until 1863. After the war, Johnson reported that the Masons had left their workers and their children in his care without pay when they went south.
Later Owners and Restoration
In 1868, Albert W. Harrison and Nathan W. Pierson from New Jersey took over Huntley. They later divided the property in 1871. Harrison got the mansion and its buildings, while Pierson got the rest of the land.
After Harrison died in 1911, Huntley went to his family. In the 1930s, a businessman named Henry Woodhouse bought parts of Huntley and other old Mason properties. He planned to build a large airport for airships, but his plans never happened.
The last of the Harrison family passed away in 1946. Huntley was then sold to August W. and Eleanor S. Nagel. They hired an architect to draw plans of the mansion. Three years later, Huntley was sold to Colonel and Mrs. Ransom G. Amlong.
Huntley was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. In 1989, the Fairfax County Park Authority bought Huntley. Because of damage from people breaking in, the house was boarded up and fenced off to protect it.
In 2010, work began to restore Huntley. The outside of the house was made to look like it did in the early 1800s. A grant from the National Park Service's Save America's Treasures program helped with the costs. The Fairfax County Park Authority also spent millions of dollars to save and improve the site. The restored Huntley officially opened to the public on May 19, 2012.
Huntley's Design
Huntley's main house and its farm buildings were built between 1820 and 1825. They are in the early Federal style.
Mansion Layout
The mansion was originally shaped like the letter "H". The middle part of the house is three stories tall on the south side and two stories tall on the north side. For some reason, the east and west sides were built first, and then the middle section was added to connect them. The bricks are laid in a common pattern.
The two side wings of the mansion are one story shorter than the central part. Each wing has two rooms. The central roof has two rectangular chimneys that run along the roofline. This central roof section also has three window openings, each with nine small glass panes.
Exterior Details
The second floor of the central section has a decorative brick border called a "mousetooth brick cornice." This used to mark the edge of the roof. The first floor of the central section has a porch with three openings that connects the two side wings.
The main front door has three-paned windows on each side, separated by thin, reeded (grooved) columns. Above the door is a fan-shaped window with wooden patterns. The two windows next to the main entrance on the porch have four-over-four sash windows (meaning each window has four panes on the top and four on the bottom). Most of the other windows on the ground and first floors have six-over-six double hung sash windows. These windows are set slightly into the brick and still have much of their original glass. They also have single panel shutters with fixed slats.
Unique Wings
The most special parts of Huntley's design are its one-bay (one window wide) side wings with triangular tops (pediments). On the south side, the wing has a simple window on the ground floor. Above it are first-floor windows set into recessed rectangular frames. The side wings are topped with pediments that have decorative moldings and louvered (slatted) half-moon shaped windows inside them. The windows on the east and west sides of the mansion's wings are not evenly spaced. On the east side, two windows light the ground floor, and three windows are on the first floor.
