Gunston Hall to Host Directory

Gunston Hall Plantation, the home of George Mason, will host the 2009 Directory of Traditional American Crafts. Many of the works selected by our jurors for this year's Directory will be photographed in the manor house, outbuildings, or on the grounds of this elegant colonial-era mansion, which celebrates the 250th anniversary of its construction this year. One of the most beautiful plantations preserved in Virginia, Gunston Hall overlooks the Potomac River not far from George Washington's Mount Vernon.

Mason was among America's greatest patriots. He is best known for penning the Virginia Declaration of Rights, a document that on June 12, 1776, proclaimed Virginia to be independent from Great Britain. Mason's declaration not only pre-dated the American Declaration of Independence but also it was a major influence on the American Declaration. Many of the words and ideas in Mason's Virginia document echo in the national Declaration.

George Mason's home, constructed circa 1755-1760, is an outstanding example of colonial Georgian architecture with its elaborate interior carvings and elegant design. The house incorporates a number of fashionable and even innovative design elements. The ground floor features two imposing public rooms which were separate from a private bedchamber and a family parlor/dining room. The second floor, with seven bedrooms and a stroage room, is surprisingly spacious.

The architectural design is thought to be primarily the work of a young indentured servant from England, carpenter/joiner William Buckland, who later went on to design a number of distinguished buildings in Virginia and Maryland. He and carver William Bernard Sears, another indentured servant, were responsible for elaborate interior carving and woodwork. These decorative embellishments, combining rococo, chinoiserie, and Gothic elements, are extraordinary for the region because they far exceed the typical colonial Virginian style of “neat and plain.”

Surrounding the home are a variety of outbuilding and gardens totaling 550 acres. The plantation is a National Historic Landmark. The learn more about Gunston Hall Plantation, click here.

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