Mount Air Historic Site

Mount Air Historic Site. Mount Air: The Story of a Home. , Keeping it in the Family , The McCarty’s who built Mount Air, were an important Virginia family. Dennis McCarty patented the land where you stand in 1727. Dennis McCarty served as Sheriff, Justice of the Peace, a vestryman from Truro Parish and was a representative in the Virginia House of Burgesses. He married George Washington’s cousin, Sarah Ball in 1724. , By 1732, the McCarty’s had a house and garden on the property. There was also a public warehouse on his land, used to store produce that would have been shipped to England. Many generations of McCarty descendants continued to live in the house. In about 1850, the house was damaged by fire for the first time. We learned this through archaeology and historical documents. The house was rebuilt or repaired and sold out of the family in 1860., On the Verge of War , In 1860, Aristides Landstreet, his wife Mary, and his family moved into Mount Air. When the Civil War started, Aristides enlisted with the Confederate Army. For a time his family remained at Mount Air, near the shifting lines of Confederate and Union troops. Finally, the estate was occupied by Union troops, and the family relocated for the duration of the war. The house and the lands suffered greatly as a result of the war. The property value declined over the years and after Aristides died in 1910, his daughters were forced to mortgage and subsequently to sell the property in 1914., From Home to Historic Site , In 1914, George (sic) Shirley Kernan purchased Mount Air. In 1918, Mrs. Kernan made the grounds available as quarters for the Army men who were constructing a railroad to Camp Humphreys (now Fort Belvoir). Abandoned lumber from this encampment was used to panel one of the rooms in the main house and to construct a garage. In 1962, Mrs. Kernan left the estate to her daughter, Elisabeth Enochs. Although Elisabeth traveled extensively in her work for the Children’s Bureau and as a journalist, her home remained at Mount Air. Sometime in the 1960s, Elisabeth began exploring means of preserving Mount Air. In 1969 the main house was registered with the Fairfax County Historic Landmarks Survey. Several weeks after Elisabeth died in May of 1992, the main house at Mount Air was completely consumed by fire., (Sidebar):, Mount Air: A Journey Through Time , , 1727 Dennis McCarty is granted a , patent for a 522 acre tract on Accotink Creek. , 1732 Bill of lading for plants from England probably for Mount Air (but unknown). , 1758 Mount Air deeded to Daniel McCarty. , 1792 Property passes to his wife Sinah McCarty. , 1798 Property bequeathed to Daniel McCarty the younger. , c.1814 Sarah McCarty Chichester buys Mount Air. , 1826 Property bequeathed to Pitt Chichester. , 1828 Pitt Chichester deeds Mount Air to wife, Francis Chichester. , 1850? House seriously damaged by fire. , 1860 Francis Chichester sells Mount Air to Aristides Landstreet. , 1862? Mount Air occupied by Union troops; Landstreets relocate. , 1910 Mount Air bequeathed to Landstreet daughters. , 1914 Mount Air sold to Mrs. George Shirley Kernan. , 1918 304th Regiment camps at Mount Air. , 1962 Mount Air bequeathed to daughter Elisabeth Enochs. , 1984 Mount Air Historic District designated by Office of Comprehensive Planning. , 1992 Elisabeth Enochs dies; main house destroyed by fire. , 1997 Mount Air Historic Site conveyed to Fairfax County Park Authority.