Ash Grove (plantation)
Encyclopedia
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
house in Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In 1790, Bryan Fairfax
Bryan Fairfax, 8th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Bryan Fairfax , 8th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, boyhood friend of George Washington, became the first American-born member of the house of Lords.-Biography:...
built Ash Grove on Leesburg Pike
Virginia State Route 7
State Route 7 is a major primary state highway and busy commuter route in Northern Virginia, United States. It travels southeast from downtown Winchester to State Route 400 in downtown Alexandria...
, 2 miles west of Tysons Corner, Virginia
Tysons Corner, Virginia
Tysons Corner is an unincorporated census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Part of the Washington Metropolitan Area located in Northern Virginia, Tysons Corner lies between the community of McLean and the town of Vienna along the Capital Beltway . The population was...
for his son, Thomas Fairfax
Thomas Fairfax, 9th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Thomas Fairfax, 9th Lord Fairfax of Cameron , son of Bryan Fairfax. Thomas Fairfax, with his father, on December 11, 1799, was among the last guests at Mount Vernon, before Washington died....
.
Ash Grove is said to have been named for an older Fairfax family house in England. In his later years, Thomas Fairfax
Thomas Fairfax, 9th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Thomas Fairfax, 9th Lord Fairfax of Cameron , son of Bryan Fairfax. Thomas Fairfax, with his father, on December 11, 1799, was among the last guests at Mount Vernon, before Washington died....
bought Vaucluse Plantation
Vaucluse (plantation)
Vaucluse was a plantation in Fairfax County, Virginia, three miles from Alexandria and from Washington, D.C., on a hill near the Virginia Theological Seminary, that was owned first by Dr. James Craik, and later by the Fairfax family, the first being Thomas Fairfax, 9th Lord Fairfax of Cameron.-...
, near Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
, and bestowed Ash Grove upon his second son, Henry. He married Caroline Herbert of Maryland, and they had several children, and operated a boarding school for young ladies.
Following Captain Henry Fairfax's death during the Mexican–American War
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S...
, at Saltillo, Mexico, on August 14, 1847, the property was purchased by James Sherman on June 20, 1851.
Descendants on occasion relate some interesting family lore of American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
events when the neighborhood was a "no man's land."
James Sherman died in Spring 1865, and left the property to his son, Franklin Sherman (February 11, 1843 - April 9, 1915), Lieutenant in the 10th Michigan Cavalry
10th Michigan Volunteer Cavalry Regiment
The 10th Regiment Michigan Volunteer Cavalry was an cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 10th Michigan Cavalry was organized at Grand Rapids, Michigan between September 18 and November 23, 1863....
. He returned after the Civil War to farm, was Sheriff, member of the Board of Supervisors, and School Board. (A Fairfax County Elementary School
Fairfax County Public Schools
The Fairfax County Public Schools system is a branch of the Fairfax County government which administers public schools in Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax...
is named for him.) The property passed to Wells Alvord Sherman, and then Wilson C Sherman.
The house was purchased from the Sherman family in 1997, and dedicated as a Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...
, park.