Oral History: John Hawthorne

John Hawthorne grew up in Northern Virginia and talks about childhood, development, and community action against excessive growth. He describes the early years of Ravensworth Farm.

Oral History: Dan Cragg

Dan Cragg, former Braddock District History Commissioner, traces the history of Braddock District through stories about early families--the Fitzhughs and the Lees, among them. He traces the growth of the railroads through streets now occupied with houses, parks, and shopping facilities. Through careful research, Dan Cragg determined the original location of the Ravensworth mansion, constructed on the Fitzhugh tobacco plantation in 1797.

Ravensworth Farm Development

Ravensworth Farm was among the first subdivisions to develop during the boom of the early 1960s.

The Washington Post advertisement, October 15, 1960 courtesy of Mary Lipsey

Ossian Hall

Nicholas Fitzhugh, a nephew of William of Chatham, built Ossian Hall in 1780, one of three large homes erected on Ravensworth plantation. Dr. David Stuart purchased Ossian Hall and 831 acres of land in 1804. Dr. Stuart's wife, Eleanor Calvert Custis, was the widow of Martha Washington's son, John, and the Stuarts frequently visited Mount Vernon. Washington appointed Stuart as a commissioner of Washington, D.C., when the city was established in 1791.

In 1918, Joseph L. Bristow, former U.S. Senator from Kansas (1909-1915), purchased Ossian Hall and several hundred acres and lived there until his death in 1944. Ossian Hall was abandoned, although various proposals floated to make the area and home into a state park or to create residential developments.

In 1959, upon the request of developers, the Annandale Fire Department burned the mansion in a controlled training exercise.

Photograph from Fairfax County Public Library, Virginia Room, Photographic Archive