Carlyle House is a historic
mansion
A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...
in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, built by
Scottish merchant
John Carlyle John Carlyle may refer to:
*John Carlyle (merchant) (1720–1780), Scottish merchant in Virginia
*John Aitken Carlyle (1801–1879), Scottish doctor and brother of Thomas Carlyle
* Johnny Carlyle (1929–2017), British ice hockey player and coach
...
in 1751 to 1752 in the
Georgian style
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchs of the House of Hano ...
.
It is situated in the city's
Old Town
In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...
at 121 North Fairfax Street between Cameron and
King Street. To the west, the
Gadsby's Tavern
Gadsby's Tavern is a complex of historic buildings at 134 and 138 North Royal Street at the corner of Cameron Street in the Old Town district of Alexandria, Virginia. The complex includes a c.1785 tavern, the 1792 City Tavern and Hotel, and an 1 ...
is found one block away and
Christ Church is three blocks away. To the south, the
Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Shop
The Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Shop/Museum is a historic apothecary's shop in Alexandria, Virginia, that has been preserved as a museum. During its working life, it was owned by generations of a Quaker family. Eventually, a dramatic decline ...
is located three blocks away. To the east,
Torpedo Factory Art Center
The Torpedo Factory Art Center is the former U.S. Naval Torpedo Station, a naval munitions factory on the banks of the Potomac River in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia which was converted into an art center in 1974. The facility is located at 105 ...
and the
Alexandria Archaeology Museum
The Alexandria Archaeology Museum is an institution dedicated to preserve and study Alexandria, Virginia's archaeological heritage.
According to the National Park Service, the museum exhibits feature's 10,000 years of the human history of Alexan ...
are located two blocks away.
The house, which is architecturally unique as the only stone 18th-century
Palladian Revival style residence in Alexandria, was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1969 and was restored in 1976.
Construction
Carlyle began the construction of his house in 1751, using indentured and slave labor. Carlyle house has two sets of stairs: The main stairs (wider) are located in the center of the house, they communicate the first floor with the second floor. The servant stairs (narrow) are located in the right side of the house and connect the ground floor with the first and second floor.
The house has two
chimney
A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typic ...
s made in stone, they are the lungs of the house. The heat was obtained from the burning of
charcoal
Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...
and wood in the
fireplace
A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design.
...
s; the heat ascended from the ground fireplaces to the fireplaces in the first and second floor, releasing the smoke to the exterior of the house and exchanging it with fresh air in the top of the chimney.
The doors were 6 foot 2 inches in order to keep more heat during winter time when the door were open. The nails used to construct the house were handmade by a
blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
.
The house had space for entertaining, private, family and servant use. The house has 3
closet
A closet (especially in North American usage) is an enclosed space, with a door, used for storage, particularly that of clothes. ''Fitted closets'' are built into the walls of the house so that they take up no apparent space in the room. Closet ...
s, two in the main chamber, possibly to keep dishes locked up, and were used by servants after asking the lady of the house the menu for the day and the correct dishes to use for serving. A third closet is located in the music room. John Carlyle also built a number of outbuildings for both household and business needs.
Carlyle or someone associated with the house's construction is believed to have sealed the body of a cat within the house's foundation for good luck, a
custom
Custom, customary, or consuetudinary may refer to:
Traditions, laws, and religion
* Convention (norm), a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted rules, norms, standards or criteria, often taking the form of a custom
* Norm (social), a r ...
that was prevalent in the British Isles and northern Europe.
Style
The home was built in stone in a mid-
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
style, therefore has the following characteristics:
It is symmetrical and balanced with halls in the center of each storey, while the left and right side are copies of the other one from top to bottom; The right and left side has two windows, and two
chimney
A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typic ...
s, one in each side of the house.
It has simple and bold details around the building and doors.
The front door has arch shape with bold molding and a bold keystone.
It has
quoin
Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th century encyclopedia, t ...
s at the corner of the building.
The house has a
hipped roof
A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus, ...
, specifically a
bonnet roof, also called reversed gambrel.
Storeys
The house is composed of a ground floor and two main floors. The halls are located in first and second floor, at the center of the house.
Ground floor
The kitchen, the servant stairs and the cellars are located on the right side of the ground floor or basement. The spinning room is located on the left side of the ground floor. It has a back door that connects to the gardens.
First storey
The first floor contains the main or front door that separates the yard from the main hall, which is located in the center of the house. The main stairs are located at the back area of the hall, which also has a back door that communicate with the
magnolia
''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...
terrace, the back yard and the garden of the house. The left side of the floor is the more public side of the floor, in which the music room and the dining room are located. The right side of the floor (when seen from the front of the house) is the more private side of the house, in it is located the main chamber (John Carlyle's bedroom) and in front of it, John Carlyle's studio and the servants' stairs.
The visitors that came through the front door were received by a servant (Moses) at the main hall. During celebrations the hall was used as a dance hall, currently it displays a copy of the
Fry-Jefferson map
Colonel Joshua Fry (1699–1754) was an English-born American adventurer who became a professor, then real estate investor and local official in the colony of Virginia. Although he served several terms in the House of Burgesses, he may be best kn ...
, painted by
Peter Jefferson
Peter Jefferson (February 29, 1708 – August 17, 1757) was a planter, cartographer and politician in colonial Virginia best known for being the father of the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. The "Fry-Jefferson Map", creat ...
(
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
's father) and
Joshua Fry
Colonel Joshua Fry (1699–1754) was an English-born American adventurer who became a professor, then real estate investor and local official in the colony of Virginia. Although he served several terms in the House of Burgesses, he may be best kn ...
on its wall.
The music room is located beside the main entrance, in this room Sarah Carlyle Fairfax (Sally) practiced the
spinet
A spinet is a smaller type of harpsichord or other keyboard instrument, such as a piano or organ.
Harpsichords
When the term ''spinet'' is used to designate a harpsichord, typically what is meant is the ''bentside spinet'', described in this ...
songs that she and her mother learned when they received music lessons at
Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...
(
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
's house and plantation). The portrait of John's brother, George Carlyle, is located in this room. The color of the wallpaper is green. It has a fireplace.
The dining room is located next to the music room. It is preserved in its original form and looks as it would have appeared in the 1750s, as there were not many modifications in this area. The color of the wallpaper is blue, the details of the wood were handmade and the color of the walls and room were used to welcome and impress their guests. It also has a fireplace to warm up the room in winter. The portrait of William Carlyle (John Carlyle's father) is located in this room.
The main chamber was located in the right side of the house, beside the main door. It belonged at the time to John Carlyle and his wife Sarah Fairfax. The two windows in the bedroom faced the front of the street. It has a portrait of his mother, Rachel Murray Carlyle (painted when she was in her twenties), which was located in front of their bed and above the fireplace. A replica of Sarah Carlyle's wedding dress is exhibited in the room, a
close-bodied gown
A close-bodied gown, English nightgown, or ''robe à l'anglaise'' was a women's fashion of the 18th century. Like the earlier mantua, from which it evolved, the back of the gown featured pleats from the shoulder, stitched down to mould the gown c ...
with a
petticoat
A petticoat or underskirt is an article of clothing, a type of undergarment worn under a skirt or a dress. Its precise meaning varies over centuries and between countries.
According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', in current British Engl ...
(it used a mechanism to fold it when passing through narrow doors). The wooden floor in front of the
fireplace
A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design.
...
of the bedroom has visible burn marks resulting from the explosions of the air trapped in the charcoal and wood
resin
In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on natu ...
s: at the time the
fire screen
A fire screen or fireguard began as a form of furniture that acted as a shield between the occupants of a room and the fireplace, and its primary function was to reduce the discomfort of excessive heat from a log fire. Early firescreens were gener ...
had not yet been invented. It is possible that the two lockers in the bedroom were used to lock up their cloth and or their dishes.
In front of the main chamber are John Carlyle's studio and the servant stairs that communicate with the ground and second floors.
John Carlyle's studio is located in front of his room. It contains his desk, a
divan
A divan or diwan ( fa, دیوان, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see ''dewan'').
Etymology
The word, recorded in English since 1586, meanin ...
and a copy of the John Carlyle portrait that was sent to his brother. On the portrait his hand is painted inside his
waistcoat
A waistcoat ( UK and Commonwealth, or ; colloquially called a weskit), or vest ( US and Canada), is a sleeveless upper-body garment. It is usually worn over a dress shirt and necktie and below a coat as a part of most men's formal wear. I ...
, this represents a painting technique that started in 1750 called
hand-in-waistcoat
The hand-in-waistcoat (also referred to as hand-inside-vest, hand-in-jacket, hand-held-in, or hidden hand) is a gesture commonly found in portraiture during the 18th and 19th centuries. The pose appeared by the 1750s to indicate leadership in a ...
. The style was used to indicate leadership in a calm and firm manner, and at the same time it was easier to paint. The room was also was used as dinner table for the family in order to spare the main dining room. The floor was made with silk and it had
rhomboid
Traditionally, in two-dimensional geometry, a rhomboid is a parallelogram in which adjacent sides are of unequal lengths and angles are non-right angled.
A parallelogram with sides of equal length (equilateral) is a rhombus but not a rhomboid.
...
patterns. At the time, ships arriving to the dock could be seen through the studio windows. The room also contains a fireplace.
Second storey
John Carlyle's children's bedrooms were located on the second floor. The second floor hall is located at the center of the house and above the main floor hall and is accessible to the first floor both through the main stairs and through the servant stairs.
In the hall many books are displayed, among them an 8th edition of ''
The Gardeners Dictionary
''The Gardeners Dictionary'' was a widely cited reference series, written by Philip Miller (1691–1771), which tended to focus on plants cultivated in England. Eight editions of the series were published in his lifetime. After his death, it was ...
'' by
Philip Miller
Philip Miller FRS (1691 – 18 December 1771) was an English botanist and gardener of Scottish descent. Miller was chief gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden for nearly 50 years from 1722, and wrote the highly popular ''The Gardeners Dictio ...
(1768), the 16th edition of ''The Gardeners Kalendar'', also by Philip Miller, and Volumes II and III of ''The Poets of Great Britain'' by
John Bell that collect the works of
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...
.
George William Carlyle's room was located on the left side of the floor.
Sarah Carlyle Fairfax and Anne Carlyle's room was located in front of their brother's. In this bedroom, there is a copy of Sarah Carlyle Fairfax's wedding dress on display. It is probable that Penelope (Penny) took care of Sally and Anne and slept with them during winter time to share body heat, or slept in front or their bed or in the aisle between the bedrooms.
On the right side of the second floor is located a room showing the way the house was originally constructed, which also has a fireplace. In front of it are located the servant stairs and another room.
Front yard
At the time a regulation stipulated that no house would use a front yard to maximize the use of space. To solve the obstacle Carlyle bought 2 lots, lot 41 and lot 42, and it became the only house with a wide front yard in the area. At the time, Carlyle was a member of the board of
trustee
Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...
s that regulated the use of the land in the city.
Back yard
![2021 Carlyle House Historic Park garden 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/2021_Carlyle_House_Historic_Park_garden_1.jpg)
In the 1700s the back yard was located in front of the river, but during the following decades the land was expanded filling the area with old boats and other materials, today is located in front of N. Lee Street and at two blocks of distance from the
Potomac river
The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...
.
History
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
, a native Virginian who studied mathematics, trigonometry, and
land surveying
Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...
in
Lower Church
Lower Church is a historic Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church (building), church located near Hartfield, Virginia, Hartfield, Middlesex County, Virginia. It was constructed in 1717, and is a one-story, rectangular brick building ...
, prepared two maps of what later became the city of Alexandria. The first map was the "Plat of the Land" drawn in 1748: it was a copy of a prior map.
When the lots for the new town of Alexandria were auctioned in July 1749, John Carlyle purchased the lots 41 and 42, situated between the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...
and the town's market square, ideal for his merchant business.
Congress of Alexandria
King
George II George II or 2 may refer to:
People
* George II of Antioch (seventh century AD)
* George II of Armenia (late ninth century)
* George II of Abkhazia (916–960)
* Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051)
* George II of Georgia (1072–1089)
* ...
sent
Edward Braddock
Major-General Edward Braddock (January 1695 – 13 July 1755) was a British officer and commander-in-chief for the Thirteen Colonies during the start of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the North American front of what is known in Europe ...
with two regiments of British regulars (2500 troops) to America to fight in the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
that started in 1754, they arrived on 20 February 1755 in
Hampton
Hampton may refer to:
Places Australia
*Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia
*Hampton, New South Wales
*Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region
* Hampton, Victoria
Canada
* Hampton, New Brunswick
*Ha ...
, in the
colony of Virginia
The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...
.
In April 1755 they came to Carlyle house, and it became the initial headquarters for Major-General
Edward Braddock
Major-General Edward Braddock (January 1695 – 13 July 1755) was a British officer and commander-in-chief for the Thirteen Colonies during the start of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the North American front of what is known in Europe ...
in the
Colony of Virginia
The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...
. On April 15, 1755, was held the
Congress of Alexandria
The Congress or Council of Alexandria was a 1755 meeting of Major-General Edward Braddock, commander-in-chief of the British Army in North America and governors of five of the constituent colonies. These were Robert Dinwiddie of Virginia, Horati ...
in which Braddock met with five colonial governors,
Horatio Sharpe
Horatio Sharpe (1718 – November 9, 1790) was the 22nd proprietary governor of Maryland from 1753 to 1768 under the restored proprietary government of Maryland.
Early life
Horatio Sharpe was born in Hull, Yorkshire, England in 1718 to ...
(Maryland's governor ),
Robert Dinwiddie
Robert Dinwiddie (1692 – 27 July 1770) was a British colonial administrator who served as lieutenant governor of colonial Virginia from 1751 to 1758, first under Governor Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle, and then, from July 1756 ...
(Virginia's governor),
James De Lancey
James De Lancey (November 27, 1703 – July 30, 1760) served as chief justice, lieutenant governor, and acting colonial governor of the Province of New York.
Early life and education
De Lancey was born in New York City on November 27, 170 ...
(New York's governor),
William Shirley
William Shirley (2 December 1694 – 24 March 1771) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of the British American colonies of Massachusetts Bay and the Bahamas. He is best known for his role in organi ...
(Massachusetts' governor), and
Robert Hunter Morris
Robert Hunter Morris ( – 27 January 1764), was a prominent governmental figure in Colonial Pennsylvania, serving as governor of Pennsylvania and Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court.
Early life and education
Morris was born in ...
(Pennsylvania's governor).
They convened in the dining room of the house and here Braddock first suggested the idea of levying additional new taxes on the colonists to help with the cost of the war, and also decided to make an
expedition to
Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne (, ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed a ...
during the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
.
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
, who was appointed as major in the provincial militia in February 1753 by
Robert Dinwiddie
Robert Dinwiddie (1692 – 27 July 1770) was a British colonial administrator who served as lieutenant governor of colonial Virginia from 1751 to 1758, first under Governor Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle, and then, from July 1756 ...
(Virginia's Royal Governor), urged Braddock not to undertake the expedition and became a volunteer ''
aide-de-camp'' to Braddock. Nevertheless, Braddock decided to undertake the expedition, resulting in the death or injury of two thirds of Braddock's troops and also in Braddock's own death.
Slavery
British colonists used slave force before the colonization, and that increased with the
Atlantic slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and i ...
. John Carlyle was a slaveholder, most of them were probably fluent in English and were able to receive instructions and to communicate in English. Carlyle could have inherited them, bought them in Europe, in the market or in a nearby plantation in America.
Many of John Carlyle's
slave
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
s lived and worked in his properties; The Carlyle House, in a foundry located on the same lot as the house and in his three plantations.
When John Carlyle died in 1780, there were nine slaves living at Carlyle House: Moses, Nanny, Jerry, Joe, Cate, Sibreia, Cook, Charles and Penny. In the colonial period, as many as twenty-five slaves might have lived and worked within its walls and in the various outbuildings, the jobs they could have done were:
* Blacksmith (probably joe, since he had a 35
pounds value)
* Cook:
Ze probably worked and slept in the kitchen.
* A nanny that took care of the children (Probably penny)
* Slaves to take do the laundry.
* Slaves to wait on table for instructions.
* A slave to hold water from the well to the rooms when needed.
* A slave to take water up and downstairs (probably Kate)
* A slave to care of John Carlyle needs (Moses)
Slaves in Alexandria were able to learn new skills and jobs and living in a community with free African Americans, this allowed them to run away from slavery and got freedom and live with their friends in nearby towns.
American Revolution
The ideological and political
revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
in
British America
British America comprised the colonial territories of the English Empire, which became the British Empire after the 1707 union of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, in the Americas from 16 ...
that started in 1765 originated by
tax imposition by the British Parliament, a body in which Americans had no direct representation, which was seen as a violation of their
Rights of Englishmen
The "rights of Englishmen" are the traditional rights of English subjects and later English-speaking subjects of the British Crown. In the 18th century, some of the colonists who objected to British rule in the thirteen British North American ...
. This led to the signing of the
United States Declaration of Independence
The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ...
on July 4, 1776, during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
that started on April 19, 1775, and finished on September 3, 1783.
John Carlyle died in 1780, during the time of the Revolutionary War. His son, George William Carlyle, inherited the house in 1780, but died in combat at the
Battle of Eutaw Springs
The Battle of Eutaw Springs was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, and was the last major engagement of the war in the Carolinas. Both sides claimed victory.
Background
In early 1781, Major General Nathanael Greene, commander of the ...
in South Carolina one year later.
John Carlyle Herbert
John Carlyle Herbert (August 16, 1775 – September 1, 1846) was an American lawyer, planter, military officer in the War of 1812 and politician. He served as a legislator in both Virginia and Maryland, as well as a U.S. Congressman represent ...
inherited the Carlyle House in 1781. The house passed from the family's possession by 1827 when Sarah Carlyle died. John Carlyle Herbert sold it to pay off an uncle's gambling debt, while he himself had moved to Maryland in the first decade of the 19th century.
A wealthy Alexandria merchant, John Lloyd, owned extensive tracts of real estate both in and outside of town, and ended up acquiring possession of the Carlyle House. Not successful in selling the property, Lloyd offered the structure as a possible site for the new city and county courthouse to be constructed in Alexandria in 1838. This proposal was rejected and Lloyd continued to lease the premises to a number of renters until it was sold in 1848 to James Green, the owner of Green and Brother Furniture Factory, a noted Alexandria furniture manufacturer.
Civil War
By 1860 Carlyle House owner James Green completed many major renovations to the Carlyle House. He also created a hotel in front of the house known as the
Mansion House Hotel, which was known as one of the best hotels on the East Coast. With the building of the hotel fronting Fairfax Street, the Carlyle House was no longer visible from the street.
At the onset of the Civil War, Union troops occupied the city of Alexandria, including the Mansion House Hotel, in November 1860 Green received notice to vacate in December since the Mansion Hotel was going to be confiscated. The troops converted it to a hospital for Union soldiers, after the
Battle of Bull Run. It had a capacity to treat more than 700 wound soldiers, nurses were mostly female, but at the time there were not many female medical doctors in the country.
During the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, this house and the city of Alexandria itself, that once used slave force, became one of the principal centers that supported the fight against slavery and hold a key role in the
abolition of slavery in the United States
From the late 18th to the mid-19th century, various states of the United States of America allowed the enslavement of human beings, mostly of African Americans, Africans who had been transported from Africa during the Atlantic slave trade. The ...
in the
19th century
The 19th (nineteenth) century began on 1 January 1801 ( MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 ( MCM). The 19th century was the ninth century of the 2nd millennium.
The 19th century was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was abolis ...
.
World War I and World War II
During the
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
the house became a museum, and was located two blocks from the
U.S. Naval Torpedo Station in Alexandria. By the mid-twentieth century the building was in a state of great disrepair due to lack of proper maintenance.
House owners
In 1749 half-acre (lots 41 and 42) were auctioned in
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...
, John Carlyle bought them and completed the house in 1753, he was the owner until 1780, when he was killed during American Revolution.
John Carlyle's son, George William Carlyle, became the owner of the house in 1780 after his father's death, but he died the following year in the
Battle of Eutaw Springs
The Battle of Eutaw Springs was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, and was the last major engagement of the war in the Carolinas. Both sides claimed victory.
Background
In early 1781, Major General Nathanael Greene, commander of the ...
during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
.
In 1781
John Carlyle Herbert
John Carlyle Herbert (August 16, 1775 – September 1, 1846) was an American lawyer, planter, military officer in the War of 1812 and politician. He served as a legislator in both Virginia and Maryland, as well as a U.S. Congressman represent ...
(John Carlyle's grandson) inherited Carlyle House in 1781, since his mother Sarah Carlyle Fairfax (John Carlyle's daughter) was a woman, and women were not allowed to own land in the United States at the time (
until it was allowed by law in 1839). She died in 1827, and the house was sold to John Lloyd in 1827 by
John Carlyle Herbert
John Carlyle Herbert (August 16, 1775 – September 1, 1846) was an American lawyer, planter, military officer in the War of 1812 and politician. He served as a legislator in both Virginia and Maryland, as well as a U.S. Congressman represent ...
to pay off one of his uncle's gambling debt.
John Lloyd rented the area until it was sold in 1848 to James Green and part of the area became the Green Hotel for a decade until i was
confiscated
Confiscation (from the Latin ''confiscatio'' "to consign to the ''fiscus'', i.e. transfer to the treasury") is a legal form of seizure by a government or other public authority. The word is also used, popularly, of spoliation under legal forms, ...
for a year by the
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
and it was converted into a Hospital during the
Civil War in the United States
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
, in 1965 it was returned to James Green, it became an apartment building in the early 20th century.
In 1865 the hotel was returned to the Green family. After Green's death in 1880, the hotel and the Carlyle House along with it, changed hands frequently and was acquired by new proprietors and renamed as Braddock House. It was not until 1906, when the buildings were bought by Earnest Wagar, that a major restoration of the house as an historic site was commenced.
NOVA Parks
NOVA Parks (formerly named Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority) is an inter-jurisdictional organization that owns and operates more than 10,000 acres of woodlands, streams, parks, trails, nature reserves, countryside and historic sites ...
acquired the house and apartments in 1970 and fully restored the house in 1976 as part of
United States Bicentennial
The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States of America as an independent republic. It was a central event ...
celebration.
Carlyle House Historic Park
Carlyle House was renamed to Carlyle House Historic Park, and is owned, protected, and operated by the
NOVA Parks
NOVA Parks (formerly named Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority) is an inter-jurisdictional organization that owns and operates more than 10,000 acres of woodlands, streams, parks, trails, nature reserves, countryside and historic sites ...
agency of
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...
.
The park was created by the demolition of two-thirds of the dilapidated
Mansion House Hospital (1840, expanded 1855) that was located in front of the house, leaving behind the original
Bank of Alexandria building (1807), still extant at 133 North Fairfax Street.
Carlyle House restoration
In 1969, the decision was made by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority to acquire and restore the property as a public national historic site. A survey of the site and existing buildings was initiated in October, 1970. On July 17, 1970, the Authority acquired the Carlyle Apartments for $305,000. The house itself was purchased for $193,000 in 1971 and the remaining portion of the land for $210,000 the following year. Significant restoration work to the house was undertaken in the early and mid 1970s.
The house was planned to be turn down and reconstruct, but a technique to support the building was chosen instead in order to preserve all the details. The cat's remains were discovered during restoration work in the 1970s and the remains were put back in their original place at the basement of the house.
The restoration of the house and gardens was then directed by Beth R. Sundquist, project director, under the supervision of the Authority's executive director, William M. Lightsey.
The project involved tearing down the apartments (also known as the Braddock Hotel), once again exposing Carlyle House to North Fairfax Street, and then turning the mansion itself into an 18th-century museum. This meant not only rehabilitating the structure as authentically as possible, but also tracking down and purchasing original fixtures and furniture, where possible, or acquiring equivalent examples from the period. About a dozen pieces believed to have been in the house during the Carlyle family's occupancy were recovered by the time the house was opened to the public on January 23, 1976.
The park, which opened in January 1976, includes the 18th-century Carlyle House mansion and its gardens, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Events
The "Grandest Congress" is a
reenactment celebrating General Braddock's time at the house that takes place on April 15 of every year at the Carlyle House.
"Yoga on the Magnolia Terrace" are Yoga Classes hold at the Magnolia Terrace every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 6 P.M. starting in April and ending in October of each year.
In popular culture
James Phinney Munroe edited and published in 1904 the book
Adventures of an Army Nurse in Two Wars based in the diaries and correspondence of
Mary Phinney von Olnhausen. The first part of the book talks about the lives of the people that worked in the
Mansion House Hospital in Alexandria during the Civil War. The second part about her work also as a nurse in 1870 in the
Franco-Prussian War.
Mercy Street (TV series)
''Mercy Street'' was an American period medical drama television series created by Lisa Wolfinger and David Zabel. The series is based on the memoir, ''Adventures of an Army Nurse in Two Wars'', by Mary Phinney von Olnhausen. It is set during th ...
was a fictional medical drama based in the book
Adventures of an Army Nurse in Two Wars and produced by
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
in 2016 and 2017, it had 2 seasons with 6 episodes in each one.
''Paper & Stone: The hidden history of John Carlyle'', is a 30 minutes DVD-Documentary about the life, history and recent discoveries of John Carlyle family. It was produced in 2005 by Robert Cole films & The Carlyle House Historic Park. The DVD has also a 10 minutes video called "Don't get weary" that talks and is about the life of the slaves that worked in the house and in the area.
See also
List of museums in Virginia
This list of museums in Virginia, United States, contains museums which are defined for this context as institutions (including nonprofit organizations, government entities, and private businesses) that collect and care for objects of cultural, a ...
References
External links
NOVA Parks.org: Carlyle House Historic Park website
*
ttp://www.aaheritageva.org/search/sites.asp?MailingListID=427 Virginia African Heritage Program.org: Information on the Carlyle Housebr>
LOC.gov: John Carlyle House, 123 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, Independent City, VA—
Historic American Buildings Survey
Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...
(HABS) digital photo archives of Carlyle House''.
{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia, state=collapsed
Houses in Alexandria, Virginia
Historic house museums in Virginia
Museums in Alexandria, Virginia
NOVA Parks
Houses completed in 1753
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
National Register of Historic Places in Alexandria, Virginia
Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
1753 establishments in Virginia
Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums
Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia
Georgian architecture in Virginia
Palladian Revival architecture in Virginia