Students in the Middle Years Program (MYP) must complete a personal research project. Sophomore Drew Berdo did his research on the history of Ossian Hall Park. This is his story.
Every day, hundreds of students and faculty members of AHS see Ossian Hall Park, whether they are parked there, using it for sports or just passing by. But what was Ossian Hall? Many people do not know this, but Ossian Hall has a rich history that helped shape the AHS community into what it is today.
Ossian Hall’s history can be traced back to 1650, when the Virginia government at Jamestown granted large amounts of land to homesteaders in Northern Virginia. William Fitzhugh bought a large parcel of land from John Matthews, an original Jamestown grantee. The tract of land came to be known as Ravensworth, and it was the largest single piece of land granted in Northern Virginia. The land was surveyed by Samuel Wye, who chose it because of the easy access by road to the Accotink Drainage Basin to ensure that crops could be transported easily to main waterways.
Three huge mansions were built on Ravensworth: Oak Hill, Ossian Hall and Ravensworth. Ossian Hall was the second mansion that was built on the Ravensworth land tract. Many people believe that it was built in 1730, but since the land was leased to Daniel and William Talbot long after that date, many people believe that Nicholas Fitzhugh built Ossian hall in 1783. Ossian Hall was built with a large family in mind; Fitzhugh had 12 children. Ossian Hall faced Braddock Road where Royston Street and Rosslyn Road intersect. The mansion was built to resemble Mount Vernon and was visited by many important people in the colonial days, including George Washington, George Mason and Marquis de Lafayette.
In 1804, Ossian Hall was purchased from the Fitzhugh’s by a Scottish man named Dr. David Stewart who had previously resided in Hope Park, another plantation in the area. Stewart was the husband of Eleanor Calvert Custis Stewart, the granddaughter of Lord Baltimore, and the widow of Martha Washington’s son John Parke Custis. Stewart was one of the first commissioners of Washington DC and was highly regarded in the world of politics. He is believed to have named Ossian Hall. It was named in honor of Ossian or Oisin, a legendary poet/warrior of Irish mythology. Ossian was also the narrator of The Works of Ossian, an influential cycle of poems by James Macpherson.
During the Civil war, Ossian Hall was owned by a man named Francis Asbury Dickins. Dickins was a planter at Ossian Hall, and a lawyer in Washington DC. He was also a Confederate agent during the US Civil War. During the war, Dickins would house Confederate soldiers in the mansion.
After the death of Senator Joseph L. Bristow, who owned the tract from 1918-1944, the land was purchased for subdivision development. In the late 1950s, the land was sold to the building firm Regor Inc., who used the land to build the Bristow subdivision, which surrounds AHS today. At that time, Ossian Hall still stood. Since nobody lived in the mansion, it fell prey to thieves and vandals. In 1959, Ossian Hall was burned down by the local fire department as a training exercise and because the Fairfax County board of supervisors asked them to since they believed the house was becoming a neighborhood hazard.
Ossian Halls may not exist anymore, the Annandale community should be proud to have such a historical landmark as part of its heritage.
Kath • Oct 14, 2012 at 8:42 am
he following no longer shows up on the screen. where is it?:
10-14-2012
Additional note on this. While none of the Bristow family, technically lived on the property, three other families did, and one were caretakers of the land, for the Bristow family, and farming and livestock were still on the land. The fire department’s training exercise took place in 1959, and the logo for the Annandale Fire Department is tht of Ossion Hall.
How do I know this? Our family was one of the three families living on that land at the time, and that is also where I was born – at home – on that very land, and lived their almost two years before we had to move, due to our Dad’s passing. My other siblings also remember the wonderful days we had while living there. I wish I could remember more than I do, personally, but I was so young. I do, however, remember some of after I was born, and the room I was born in, was very beutiful, and the peacefulness of the surroundings was wonderful. I also remember leaving from there to go visit my grandmothers, though mainly from the corner of Ravensworth Road and Little River Turnpike. At this corner was a store called Kerlin’s Corner, and on the other side all the way back to the farm, was wood’s, and it was so beautiful, too. How we miss that very much. So sad that this could not be preserved as a hostorical landmark. I had learned that George Washington had also had a hand in this property begin sold to he Fitzhughs. And Ossion Hall was one of four manses on the Ravensworth Tract, the only one standing now in Annandale, is Oak Hill, originally having only four rooms, two downstairs, and two upstairs. In the early 1930s Oak Hill was refurbished to resemble in some ways, Ossion Hall. Wish we could see that inside and the grounds, too.
Kath • Oct 14, 2012 at 8:39 am
No new note for the article, just a correction for the administrators, that’s all for now.
Kath • Oct 14, 2012 at 8:01 am
10-14-2012
Additional note on this. While none of the Bristow family, technically lived on the property, three other families did, and one were caretakers of the land, for the Bristow family, and farming and livestock were still on the land. The fire department’s training exercise took place in 1959, and the logo for the Annandale Fire Department is tht of Ossion Hall.
How do I know this? Our family was one of the three families living on that land at the time, and that is also where I was born – at home – on that very land, and lived their almost two years before we had to move, due to our Dad’s passing. My other siblings also remember the wonderful days we had while living there. I wish I could remember more than I do, personally, but I was so young. I do, however, remember some of after I was born, and the room I was born in, was very beutiful, and the peacefulness of the surroundings was wonderful. I also remember leaving from there to go visit my grandmothers, though mainly from the corner of Ravensworth Road and Little River Turnpike. At this corner was a store called Kerlin’s Corner, and on the other side all the way back to the farm, was wood’s, and it was so beautiful, too. How we miss that very much. So sad that this could not be preserved as a hostorical landmark. I had learned that George Washington had also had a hand in this property begin sold to he Fitzhughs. And Ossion Hall was one of four manses on the Ravensworth Tract, the only one standing now in Annandale, is Oak Hill, originally having only four rooms, two downstairs, and two upstairs. In the early 1930s Oak Hill was refurbished to resemble in some ways, Ossion Hall. Wish we could see that inside and the grounds, too.
Gwen Levey • Mar 28, 2012 at 8:21 pm
So incredibly interesting! I would have never known this about Ossian had I not read this article!