Clarens or the Clarens Estate is a 19th-century

Federal-style Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was heavily based on the works of Andrea Palladio with several inn ...

mansion 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 ...

.Real Estate Listing
downloaded November 23, 2012. Clarens is best known as the residence of

James Murray Mason James Murray Mason (November 3, 1798April 28, 1871) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as senator from Virginia, having previously represented Frederick County, Virginia, in the Virginia House of Delegates. A grandson of George Ma ...

(November 3, 1798–April 28, 1871), a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

and

United States senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

from

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 ...

and grandson of

George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of the three delegates present who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including s ...

, a

Founding Father of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, known simply as the Founding Fathers or Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary Patriots, also known as Revolutionaries, Continentals, Rebels, or American Whigs, were t ...

. While it was located within

Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

, Virginia, Clarens is now located inside the boundaries of the

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

of Alexandria at 318 North Quaker Lane.

History

Clarens was constructed between 1814 and 1816 in what was then Fairfax County, Virginia, three miles (5 km) to the west of Alexandria. The neighborhood later became known as ''Seminary Hill'' because of the proximity to the

Virginia Theological Seminary Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally called the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, located at 3737 Seminary Road in Alexandria, Virginia is the largest and second oldest accredited Episcopal seminary in the Unit ...

. Reverend George Smith operated his prominent "Fairfax School" at Clarens. Notable Fairfax School attendees included

George Washington Custis Lee George Washington Custis Lee (September 16, 1832 – February 18, 1913), also known as Custis Lee, was the eldest son of Robert E. Lee and Mary Anna Custis Lee. His grandfather George Washington Custis was the step-grandson and adopted son of G ...

and

George M. Dallas George Mifflin Dallas (July 10, 1792 – December 31, 1864) was an American politician and diplomat who served as mayor of Philadelphia from 1828 to 1829, the 11th vice president of the United States from 1845 to 1849, and U.S. Minister to the ...

. During the

American Civil War 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 th ...

, Clarens was used as a hospital for

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

soldiers. After the war,

selected Clarens as the estate at which he planned to retire. On September 24, 1869, Mason officially took possession of Clarens. While residing at Clarens, one of Mason's chief occupations was his correspondences. Former

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

President

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...

visited Clarens in 1870 for his final meeting with Mason and Confederate Army General

Samuel Cooper Samuel or Sam Cooper may refer to: *Samuel Cooper (painter) (1609–1672), English miniature painter *Samuel Cooper (clergyman) (1725–1783), Congregationalist minister in Boston, Massachusetts * Samuel Cooper (surgeon) (1780–1848), English surge ...

. Confederate Army General

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...

also visited Mason at Clarens after the war. Mason died at Clarens on April 28, 1871. After Mason's death, Clarens subsequently became a girls school. It was later owned by William G. Thomas. Upon his sale of the property in the late 1980s, Clarens was subdivided. The mansion is currently located on approximately . Before Thomas bought Clarens it was owned by Conrad M Strong; after his death it passed to his second wife Edna Johnson Strong. Mr Strong bought it from his cousin Colonel Byrd Willis, with a contingency that his wife Ann Crenshaw Willis live in the wing until she died. This she did. Mr Strong was the great great nephew of George Washington. His mother, Mary Byrd Dallas, was the daughter of Commandore Alexander James Dallas, rother to the vice-president and Mary Byrd Willis. His first wife, Frances T. Perry was the daughter of General Edward A. Perry f civil war fameMr Strong built the guest house, the well house with bridge over a stream, bell tower, colonnade, potting house and log cabin on the crest of the hill overlooking the valley. He designed the circular drive, low walls, and laid out the extensive gardens, field of daffodils, large rose garden etc.

References

{{Fairfax County in the American Civil War Mason family residences Houses in Fairfax County, Virginia Houses completed in 1816 Federal architecture in Virginia Fairfax County in the American Civil War Houses in Alexandria, Virginia 1816 establishments in Virginia