Gunston Hall, Fairfax County, Virginia - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

This Georgian-style mansion was originally built by plantation owner and politician George Mason between the years 1755 and 1759. (The stamp intimates, however, that the mansion was completed in 1758.) This was George Mason IV, the one who wrote a major part of the Fairfax Resolves of 1774 and the Virginia Declaration of Rights (the forerunner of the US Bill of Rights). George Mason IV was part of a long line of George Masons: there were seven in all (George Mason VI’s son, George Thomson Mason died in the Mexican War). The name Gunston Hall derives from Gunstone, a hamlet in South Staffordshire, the Mason’s ancestral home in England.

Gunston Hall is noteworthy for having survived virtually untouched architecturally, both within and without, since colonial days. It was intended to be the Mason home for all future generations, but by 1867, it had passed out of the Mason family. After changing hands many times in the ensuing years, it was finally gifted to the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1949. In 1960, it was designated a National Historic Landmark and today is administered by The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America.

George Mason was one of Virginia’s delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia. He was one of only three delegates who refused to sign the final document citing its lack of a Bill of Rights among several other objections. (He is quoted as saying that he "would sooner chop off his right hand than put it to the Constitution as it now stands.") He was joined in dissent by fellow Virginian, Edmund Randolph, who went on to become the first Attorney General of the United States and a Secretary of State. Also refusing to sign was Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts. Besides serving as a Vice President of the United States, Gerry has two towns named for him: Elbridge, NY and Gerry, NY, as well as the satirical political animal, the “gerrymander.” George Mason eventually lent his support to the new Constitution after the Bill of Rights was appended in 1791.

Gunston Hall had a famous neighbor: George Washington, whose mansion was located just a couple of plantations up the Potomac River at Mount Vernon. The two men were well acquainted and apparently good friends for many years but had a falling out later on owing to Mason’s objections to the Constitution.

The view on the stamp shows the rear of Gunston Hall, the side facing the gardens. Also, George Mason, who has appeared by himself on another US postage stamp, is buried in the family cemetery just a short walk from the house.

Stamp Issuing Country: United States Date of Issue: 12-Jun-1958 Denomination: 3c Color: light green Stamp Type: Single Stamp Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]

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