Woodlawn

Woodlawn is a 126-acre National Historic Landmark carved from George Washington’s Mount Vernon, on land taken from the Doeg, an indigenous community of Algonquins. The Federal-style mansion, designed by U.S. Capital architect William Thornton dominates the landscape. Visually exclaiming the power of America’s first ruling class, many of whose wealth, including Woodlawn owners Lawrence and Eleanor Lewis, was acquired by displacing and enslaving indigenous and African people. In 1846 the property was purchased by anti-slavery Quakers who with free Blacks demonstrated the success of free-labor and agriculture reforms on middle-class farms and made a symbolic statement by establishing the community on land once cultivated by people Washington enslaved. Preservation by individuals and organizations, including the National Trust for Historic Preservation, dominate its 20th century history. Today, Woodlawn is broadening the scope of whose history is preserved and

Woodlawn
9000 Richmond Hwy
Alexandria VA 22309
USA