The Carlyle House Historic Park, located in the heart of Alexandria’s Old Town, was created to commemorate one of the city’s oldest and most historically significant buildings. The original mansion of John Carlyle, one of Alexandria’s first trustees, has been preserved onsite for the public to enjoy as part of Alexandria’s colonial heritage.

Carlyle’s stately residence was completed in 1753, standing then as it does now as the only example of 18th century Georgian stone architecture in Alexandria. The grand design of the house was a testament to the Scottish merchant’s ambition and success, which he earned through trade with the colonies as a member of William Hicks’ mercantile house in the coastal English town of Whitehaven. It was common in Carlyle’s day for men like himself to seek their fortune in the burgeoning colonies of the New World, and a young Carlyle quickly established himself as a sharp businessman, counting among his contacts a young George Washington.

Upon its completion, the Carlyle House quickly became a preeminent destination for social gatherings hosted by Carlyle and his wife, Sarah Fairfax, herself a scion of one of the most influential families in Virginia. It is worth noting that Lady Fairfax’s background has been the subject of some intrigue; sources describe her as “dark-skinned” and indicate that her mother may have been either a slave or a free woman of color. If such was the case, the residency of the Carlyle House was indeed a remarkable example of upward mobility in a nascent America. 

In April 1755, Major-General Edward Braddock, then commander-in-chief of the British Army in North America, arrived in Alexandria to commence a meeting with five colonial governors. The meeting, known in history as the Congress of Alexandria, was hosted at the Carlyle House. Over the course of two days, the assembled leaders (Braddock, Robert Dinwiddie of Virginia, Horatio Sharpe of Maryland, Robert Hunter Morris of Pennsylvania, James DeLancey of New York, and William Shirley of Massachusetts) discussed the Crown’s military strategy for that year’s campaign in the French and Indian War. Braddock called the Carlyle House meeting the “Grandest Congress” that had yet been assembled in North America. Despite the auspicious words from Braddock, the campaign ended in failure that summer. The result of the war itself helped set a series of events in motion that led to the American Revolution – notably, it was at the Carlyle House that the idea was first conceived to tax the colonies to raise funds for the war.

The estate remained within the possession of Carlyle’s descendants until 1827, when John Carlyle Herbert sold it to pay off an uncle’s gambling debt. In 1848, Alexandria furniture maker James Green completed numerous renovations and added the Mansion House Hotel at the front of the property. During the Civil War, the house served as a hospital for Union soldiers. Earnest Wagar purchased the house in 1906 and completed its first major modern restoration. In 1970, the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority took ownership of the property and converted the grounds into the historical site which stands today. Modern-day visitors can embark on daily tours and attend special exhibits, open-houses, and lectures on life in John Carlyle’s colonial Alexandria