HISTORY >> In spite of this impressive technology, perhaps the most satisfying place is the riverfront porch. “You can’t understand Washington without seeing this porch,” a guide tells us. As I sit here, visitors take time to relax in a row of Windsor chairs while gazing over the grounds. So many famous images of Washington show him standing on this very lawn. Today, a regular succession of visitors pose on the knoll and take selfies. Just before leaving, as I browse a wall of photos of famous visitors, one picture catches my eye. It is Princess Margaret, the current Queen of England’s late sister, and her husband, the Earl of Snowdon. They visited on Nov. 16, 1965, photographed smiling with that famous porch in the background. I think about how much Washington would have enjoyed that his beloved home would be such a joyous stop for redcoat royalty centuries later. And I smile, too. • HIDDEN GEMS Once you explore the area’s historic hot spots, be sure to check out these lesser-known finds. § Richard Bland Lee was Northern Virginia’s first representative to Congress when the § Located on the grounds of Woodlawn, the early 19th century estate notable for its connections § The Winery at Bull Run is a modern vineyard that sits near the historic site of the first to the Washington family, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Pope-Leighey House proves that even a person of modest means can get a house designed by a world-famous architect, if you write them a flattering letter … which is just what journalist Loren Pope did. major battle of the Civil War, where tens of thousands of Union and Confederate troops clashed. Visitors today overlook that same battlefield while enjoying award-winning wines. president at George Washington’s Distillery & Gristmill, one of the largest distilleries and gristmills in the late 1700s. Open April – October. U.S. was formed. Completed in 1799, Sully Historic Site , Lee's family home, paints a fascinating picture of the early federal era. § On your way from Mount Vernon, step into the entrepreneurial mind of our nation’s first PHOTOS (this page, clockwise) : COLD WAR EXHIBIT RENDERING (NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY); GEORGE WASHINGTON’S DISTILLERY & GRISTMILL (CAMERON DAVIDSON); THE WINERY AT BULL RUN (VISIT FAIRFAX); (opposite page): NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM (DANE PENLAND) 20 • FAIRFAX COUNTY VISITORS GUIDE
Fairfax County Official Visitors Guide Fairfax County Official Visitors Guide 2020: Page 20
