Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 12/02/1969
NRHP Listing Date 02/26/1970
DHR's Virginia Board of Historic Resources easement
NRHP Reference Number 70000823
The ca. 1740 brick farmhouse of Bel Air in Prince William County was originally the home of the Ewell family. Mason Locke Weems (1759-1825), clergyman, first biographer of George Washington, and inventor of the popular Washington story of the hatchet and cherry tree, married into the Ewell family and lived at Bel Air from 1809 until his death. Parson Weems lies buried in the family cemetery here. With its robust but somewhat casual proportions, and massive chimney on the south end, the house is a provincial interpretation of the Georgian style. Its interior retains ambitious and unusual woodwork, including a removable paneled partition between the passage and drawing room. In the partition are original casement windows for lighting the passage. Other noteworthy features are the Georgian stair and the parlor chimneypiece with its crosseted overmantel. Like many colonial houses in Northern Virginia, Bel Air has a fieldstone foundation.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: February 13, 2023
