Fairfax County Inventory of Historic Sites Report

Wellington / ’s River Farm

Location and Existing Information

Tax Map Numbers : :102-2((1))20

Street Address 7931 EAST BOULEVARD DR / General Location:

Acreage 25.36 Existing Use Am. Horticultural Society Zoning R-2 Comprehensive Plan NA

Supervisor District Photo: S. Hellman, 2006. Planning District Mount Vernon

Preservation Status

REGISTRATION EASEMENT OWNERSHIP ACCESSIBILITY National Register Open Space X Private Accessible, Unrestricted Register Preservation Public X Accessible, Restricted County Historic District Conservation Both Inaccessible Standing Structure Other X No easements X County Inventory Listed on Inventory 1969. 029-0157.

Historic Information Original Use dwelling Original Owner

Date Constructed 1795(Approximate)

Historic Significance Wellington was built on a portion of George Washington’s River Farm. It had formerly been attributed to William Clifton. However, recent research indicates that Clifton lived much further south, about a mile south of Collingwood (also on the Inventory) near the intersection of Waynewood Blvd and George Washington Memorial Parkway. Clifton leased land in this area to Gilbert Simpson; when Simpson died in 1773 his son, Gilbert Simpson, Jr. inherited the lease. The Simpsons lived in a dwelling a bit north of here. George Washington eventually bought out the Simpson lease from Clifton for his nephew Major George and wife, Fanny Bassett, who were living at Mount Vernon. In 1790 construction began on the dwelling that is now known as Wellington. In 1792 George Washington instructed his Mount Vernon overseer to stop carpenters from purchasing more scantling (framing lumber) for the project, as his nephew was gravely ill. The nephew died in 1793. In 1795 Fanny Bassett Washington, Charles Augustine Washington's widow, married Tobias Lear, whose wife Polly also died in 1793. Lear was Washington’s private secretary, and Washington gave the Lears a life tenancy in the old Simpson parcel. The Lears completed construction of the dwelling and moved in, naming it Walnut Tree Farm. Lear also served as Consul to Santo Domingo (Haiti) and Algiers. Later he was Accountant to the War Department. Following Lear's death on Oct 11, 1816, the property reverted to ownership. In 1859, Washington's heirs sold the property to Stacy Snowden, one of the many Quakers who had come to Virginia from PA and NJ in the mid-29th century (B-4, 53). It appears that Snowden lived at

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Wellington / Washington’s River Farm his adjacent property, Collingwood, and his brother Isaac lived at Walnut Tree Farm's Red House. Local historians credit Isaac with creating the name Wellington. The Snowdens sold Wellington in 1866 to Valentine Baker, David Frost, and Daniel Smith, aka "the Syndicate" (G-4, 506). Baker, a judge, and his wife died within a week of each other in the late 1880s; their son Oscar sold Wellington in 1890 (J-5, 56). The house passed through two more owners until it was purchased by Malcolm Matheson in 1920 (Q-8, 508). The Mathesons remodeled Wellington to its present form in 1924. Wellington remained in domestic use until 1973, when the property was purchased by the American Horticultural Society, who uses the property as its national headquarters (3782, 611). The main house was refurbished soon after the Society acquired Wellington. The front gates of Wellington were originally the front gates of the , installed in 1819 under James Monroe. They were removed in 1937 during a renovation and moved to Wellington. The building is significant for its association with George Washington. In addition, it associated with the nineteenth century Quaker influence in Fairfax County. Finally, Wellington is illustrative of a twentieth century country estate along the Potomac. [Archival research by Susan Hellman, DPZ, 2006. Much of the foregoing is also from an unpublished manuscript by Kevin Green, "Wellington: A Brief History."]

Significant People: George Washington Snowden family Significant Dates /Events: 2/1760 : George Washington purchased property. 1795 : Washington gave life tenancy to Tobias Lear, who completed house. 10/11/1816 : Tobias Lear died; property reverted to Washington family. 4/2/1859 : Washington heirs sold property to Snowden. 6/9/1920 : Malcolm Matheson purchased Wellington and renovated/enlarged. 2/21/1973 : American Horticultural Society purchased Welllington. Site / Structure Information Site Features Condition Good 6 Standing Structures Integrity Major Changes 0 Landscape Features Building Style Colonial Revival 0 Archaeological Features Architect/Builder unknown 0 Other Site Features

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Wellington / Washington’s River Farm

Site Description: Wellington sits on an open lawn that slopes down to the to the east. The view to the river is open, with a few large trees along the riverfront. It's a beautiful unobscured view. To the north of the house are landscaped gardens. There are miscellaneous outbuildings north and northwest of the main house.

Architectural Description: A 1908 photograph taken by J. Harry Shannon, "The Rambler," shows Wellington's appearance prior to its 1924 renovation and enlargement. It was a two-and-one-half story, three bay wide structure resting on a brick foundation. Two dormers punctuated the gable roof. The house had one interior brick end chimney at the western end. The shutters were closed, thus hiding the windows. There is a two-story, two-bay wide wing at the western end of the building. It is uncertain weather there was a chimney, as vegetation hides one end of the structure. The wing was attached to the house by a one-and-one-half story, two-bay hyphen with a door in the westernmost bay of the hyphen. The westernmost wing was frame; the easternmost was brick clad in stucco, as was the hyphen. By 1925, another “Rambler” photograph showed the house completely altered to its present form. The primary elevation faces south, and the entire structure is painted white. The roof is slate, and the cornice level has dentils. Most downstairs windows are nine-over-nine double-hung sash. upstairs windows appear to be 9/6; dormer windows are 6/1. The updated Wellington incorporates the original three-bay block, the hyphen, and the western two-story addition. The hyphen has been raised to equal the height of the main block. The two-bay western frame wing has been stuccoed over; it is recessed from the rest of the house. It is two-story, two- bay, with a hipped roof dormer window in the roof slope. Behind the dormer is an elaborate multi-flue chimney stack. door is in the same location, the westernmost bay of what used to be the hyphen but is now part of the main block. The entry now has a one-story, gable-roofed classical entry porch supported by Ionic columns. This main section of the house is now five-bay, with three hipped roof dormers in the roof slope. A one story portico with Ionic columns wraps around the easternmost bay of the south elevation, the east elevation, and much of the north elevation. The north elevation has a wing extending perpendicularly from the house; the portico ends here. The portico also features a roof balustrade. Appended to the northwest corner of the T wing extending from the north elevation is a two-story brick wing with a first level colonnade reminiscent of Colonial Virginia courthouses. A large patio area encompasses the space at the intersection of the T.

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