Gunston Hall, located on Mason Neck in southern Fairfax County, was the home of Revolutionary patriot George Mason, author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights and much of the Constitution of Virginia. Mason’s home overlooking the Potomac River is one of the nation’s most noted examples of colonial architecture. The compact exterior was constructed ca. 1755. The extraordinarily rich interiors including a rare Chinese-style dining room, were designed by William Buckland, a skilled English architect and joiner. The masterful carving and other detailing was crafted by William Bernard Sears, one of Buckland’s artisans. The house and its extensive formal gardens present one of America’s most elegant expressions of colonial taste. The Gunston Hall property was given to the Commonwealth by Louis Hertle in 1932. Since his death in 1949, Gunston Hall has been a museum and has undergone long-term restoration under the patronage of The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America.