This Federal period villa was built for Thomson Francis Mason in 1825 as a summer retreat.
The 19th century architectural gem is located near the main entrance to Huntley Meadows Park. Historic Huntley is on the National Register of Historic Places, the Virginia Landmarks Register and the Fairfax County Inventory of Historic Sites. Over the years, Historic Huntley was used as a summer retreat, a grain farm, encampment for Civil War troops of the 3rd Michigan Infantry, and eventually was converted to a dairy farm. Ownership changed several times, and in later years, after being abandoned, the house endured considerable vandalism.
The Park Authority obtained the house and its surrounding 2.5 acres in 1989, and for the next two decades it was open only during semiannual events and for school and scout tours. A renovation of the manor house was completed in 2012. The buildings now are open for scheduled programs and tours as well as Saturday tours from late April through October.
The renovation got a boost from a $100,000 grant from the National Park Service's Save America's Treasures program, which was created by NPS to preserve significant historic properties and collections. The grant helped fund the site's extensive structural restoration work. The Park Authority provided several million dollars towards preservation and redevelopment of the site through two Park Bond programs. In 2017, the Tenant House on the site was renovated to serve as a small visitor center. This allowed for expanded historic and cultural programming.
