{"nrhp_refnum":"70000792","name":"Woodlawn Plantation","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"W of jct. of U.S. 1 and Rte. 235","address_restricted":false,"city":"Alexandria","county":"Fairfax (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":38.71766708350006,"lon":-77.13617904618636,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1970-02-26","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1998-08-05","areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Politics/Government","Conservation"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Woodlawn Plantation is a two-story brick mansion in the Mount Vernon area of Fairfax County, Virginia, built between 1800 and 1805 on a hill overlooking Dogue Creek. It was designed by Dr. William Thornton and sits on about 160 acres of the original 2,000-acre estate.","why_significant":"The house was a gift from George Washington to his ward Eleanor Parke Custis and her husband Major Lawrence Lewis. It was designed by Dr. William Thornton, first architect of the U.S. Capitol, and is described as a nationally famous example of Federalist architecture, despite some alterations to the wings.","narrative":"Woodlawn is a two-story brick mansion in Fairfax County, Virginia, built between 1800 and 1805 on a hill overlooking Dogue Creek. George Washington chose the site for its view of Mount Vernon and the Potomac, then gave part of his estate to his ward Eleanor Parke Custis and her husband, Major Lawrence Lewis. The gift included two thousand acres, a mill and a distillery. Dr. William Thornton, a friend of Washington and the first architect of the United States Capitol, designed the house. It follows a five-part plan, with a central block, end pavilions and connecting hyphens. Inside are a central hall with a curving stair and large rooms, some with imported marble mantels. The Lewis family kept the property until the 1840s, when Quakers from Philadelphia bought it. The National Trust for Historic Preservation acquired it in the 1950s. Some alterations to the wings have affected the building, but it remains a nationally known example of Federalist architecture, now reduced to about 160 acres.","period_of_significance":"1800-1805","architect_builder":"Dr. William Thornton","architectural_style":"Federalist","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in good condition, altered, on its original site; occupied and used as a museum and park, owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.010236-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/6/6805/41680506/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/70000792.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000792/42a1a771a1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000792/42a1a771a1-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"William Thornton","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Woodlawn_August_2003_A.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">William Thornton</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Woodlawn_August_2003_A.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680506","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodlawn_(Fairfax_County,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1583426"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/fairfax/woodlawn-plantation-70000792/"}