Ossian Hall was an 18th-century

plantation house A plantation house is the main house of a plantation, often a substantial farmhouse, which often serves as a symbol for the plantation as a whole. Plantation houses in the Southern United States and in other areas are known as quite grand and e ...

in Annandale,

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 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 ...

. Ossian Hall was one of three large residences, along with Oak Hill, and

Ravensworth Ravensworth is a village and civil parish in the Holmedale valley, within the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It is approximately north-west of Richmond and from Darlington. The parish has a population of 255, accordin ...

, owned by the Fitzhugh family in Fairfax County.

Location

Ossian Hall was located north of Braddock Road and east of the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495).

History

Ossian Hall was built on the

land grant by Nicholas Fitzhugh, son of Henry Fitzhugh. In 1804, Dr. David Stuart, a commissioner for the

Federal City The term federal city is a title for certain cities in Germany, Switzerland, and Russia. Germany In Germany, the former West German capital Bonn has been designated with the unique title of federal city (''Bundesstadt''). Since 28 April 1994, it ...

, purchased Ossian Hall and relocated there with his wife, Eleanor Calvert Custis Stuart, and their children. Francis Asbury Dickins, a Washington attorney, used the home as a summer residence until the outbreak of 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 ...

, when it became his year-round residence. All three of the Fitzhugh estates were protected by orders from both sides throughout the war.

Joseph L. Bristow Joseph Little Bristow (July 22, 1861July 14, 1944) was a Republican Party (United States), Republican politician from the American state of Kansas. Elected in 1908, Bristow served a single term in the United States Senate where he gained recognit ...

, an American politician from

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, purchased Ossian Hall in 1918 and died there on July 14, 1944. On September 3, 1959, Ossian Hall was burned as a training exercise for the Annandale Fire Department.

Image gallery

File:Ossian Hall 161290pu.JPG, Rear elevation File:Ossian Hall 161291pu.JPG, Rear elevation File:Ossian Hall 161293pu.JPG, Front elevation File:Ossian Hall 161294pu.JPG, Front elevation File:Ossian Hall 161295pu.JPG, Front entrance File:Ossian Hall 161296pu.JPG, Side elevation File:Ossian Hall 161297pu.JPG, Side elevation File:Ossian Hall 161298pu.JPG, Interior staircase File:Ossian Hall 161299pu.JPG, Interior paneling File:Ossian Hall 161300pu.JPG, Interior mantelpiece

References

External links

* * Landmarks in Virginia Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia Colonial architecture in Virginia Houses in Fairfax County, Virginia Fitzhugh family residences Custis family residences Annandale, Virginia Plantation houses in Virginia Burned houses in the United States Buildings and structures demolished in 1959 1959 disestablishments in Virginia {{Virginia-struct-stub

Location

History

Image gallery

See also

References

External links