Menokin resulted from a unique collaboration between John Tayloe II of nearby Mount Airy and Francis Lightfoot Lee, the husband of Tayloe's daughter Rebecca. Instead of the cash dowry he bestowed on the husbands of seven other daughters, Tayloe gave Lee a life interest in 1,000 acres of his vast Richmond County estate and agreed to build a house, domestic outbuildings, and plantation structures. Construction of the house began in 1769, and it was probably ready for occupancy in 1771. Menokin was built of iron-infused sandstone quarried only a few miles away, and its design appears to have been influenced by William Adam's Vitrivius Scoticus, a well known architectural work of the time. The house emphasizes the symmetry typical of Georgian houses of the period. Its formal entrance is on the north, or land-side, and is clearly distinguishable from the other three sides. Double belt courses, a heavy arched door opening, classically rusticated window frames, and more elaborate stone trim set this north side apart as the intended approach. The raised, decorative 18th century mortar joints required great skill and time, leading experts to conclude that the exterior walls were not originally covered in stucco, which is perhaps an early 19th century addition.