Carlyle House Historic Park

Carlyle House Historic Park centers on the stone home John Carlyle, a British merchant and one of Alexandria’s original founders, built between 1751 and 1753 using Aquia sandstone. Carlyle came to America as a merchant’s factor, or agent, and in Virginia he married Sarah Fairfax of the wealthy Fairfax family. As a second son he would have had difficulty becoming prosperous in England, but in the New World he quickly became a prominent landowner, merchant, and town leader. The house witnessed both domestic life and war, and its story follows Carlyle’s journey from British citizen to American patriot. Only two years after the Carlyles moved in, General Edward Braddock, sent by the King in England, used the home as his headquarters in 1755. On April 13th, five Royal Colonial Governors arrived there for what Carlyle called “the Grandest Congress...ever known on this Continent.” Braddock and the governors discussed strategy and funding for the French and Indian War, agreeing that Parliament would need to compel the colonists to pay through taxes, a decision that would one day contribute to the American Revolution.

Alexandria, Virginia · United States