Temple Hall
Encyclopedia
Temple Hall is an early 19th-century Federal-style
mansion and working farm near the Potomac River
north of Leesburg
in Loudoun County
, Virginia
.
(24 July 1782–1862), a son of Thomson Mason
and his second wife Elizabeth Westwood Wallace of nearby Raspberry Plain
, and nephew of George Mason
. The estate became a hub of Leesburg society and was visited by Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette during his grand tour of the United States
on 9 August 1825. Lafayette was accompanied by President
John Quincy Adams
and former President James Monroe
, who was then residing at his Oak Hill plantation
in southern Loudoun County. The three gentlemen witnessed the baptism
of Mason's two youngest daughters at Temple Hall with Lafayette serving as godfather for Mary Carroll, and Adams and Monroe serving as Maria Louisa’s godfathers. Altogether, Mason and his wife, Ann Eliza Carroll, raised ten children at Temple Hall. In addition to the Mason family, approximately twenty enslaved African-Americans resided on the property. Under Mason's management, the Temple Hall estate was a modestly successful farm. Mason cultivated orchard
s and raised corn, wheat, and livestock.
Mason retired to Washington, D.C.
in 1857 and sold his farm to Henry A. Ball. After the outbreak of the American Civil War
, Henry Ball's sons left the Temple Hall to join the Confederate States Army
. In 1862, Henry Ball was arrested for refusing to take an oath of allegiance to the Federal Government
. Ball was released after spending nearly a year in the Old Capitol Prison
. John S. Mosby
visited Temple Hall on 5 July 1864 and dined with the Ball family. While at the house, Mosby received information that led to the Action at Mount Zion Church
. Temple Hall remained in the Ball family until 1878 when it was sold at auction.
In 1940, after a succession of owners, the Temple Hall property was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. James H. Symington. The Symingtons restored the mansion and made extensive renovations. They modernized Temple Hall by adding indoor plumbing and electricity. The Symingtons planted a variety of crops and eventually began specializing in popcorn
. They became the largest suppliers in the eastern United States until the popcorn market collapsed after World War II
. Afterwards, the Symingtons turned to raising livestock
, including cattle and hogs, as well as wheat, corn, and hay for animal feed. Mrs. Symington assumed management of the farm's operations after her husband became ill in the 1970s, and continued to operate it after his death. Concerned about Loudoun County's rapid development and population growth, Mrs. Symington donated the 286 acre farm to the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority
(NVRPA) in 1985. Since then, the NVRPA has operated Temple Hall as a working farm and interpretive center. Temple Hall, along with several neighboring estates including nearby Mason family estate Raspberry Plain
, is a contributing property in the 25000 acres (10,117.2 ha) Catoctin Rural Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places
on 31 January 1989. Temple Hall was listed on the National Register on 13 February 2007.
mansion. It is a Flemish bond brick house with a five-bay facade
and is topped by a hipped roof
. A small Doric
portico
shelters the central entrance which is surmounted by a graceful semicircular fanlight
. Temple Hall also exhibits tall six-over-six double-sash windows, a frieze
encircling the building, and tall interior end chimney
s. The property also features a square brick smokehouse
and two 19th-century frame
barn
s.
Federal architecture
Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federal Period. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design...
mansion and working farm near the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
north of Leesburg
Leesburg, Virginia
Leesburg is a historic town in, and county seat of, Loudoun County, Virginia, United States of America. Leesburg is located west-northwest of Washington, D.C. along the base of the Catoctin Mountain and adjacent to the Potomac River. Its population according the 2010 Census is 42,616...
in Loudoun County
Loudoun County, Virginia
Loudoun County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and is part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the county is estimated to be home to 312,311 people, an 84 percent increase over the 2000 figure of 169,599. That increase makes the county the fourth...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
History
Temple Hall was constructed in 1810 for William Temple Thomson MasonWilliam Temple Thomson Mason
William Temple Thomson Mason was a prominent Virginia farmer and businessman.-Early life:William Temple Thomson Mason was born on 24 July 1782 at Raspberry Plain. "Temple", as he was known by his family, was Thomson Mason's third child and youngest son with his second wife Elizabeth Westwood Wallace...
(24 July 1782–1862), a son of Thomson Mason
Thomson Mason
Thomson Mason was a prominent Virginia lawyer, jurist, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Mason was a younger brother of George Mason IV, United States patriot, statesman, and delegate from Virginia to the U.S...
and his second wife Elizabeth Westwood Wallace of nearby Raspberry Plain
Raspberry Plain
Raspberry Plain is a historic property and former plantation in Loudoun County, Virginia, near Leesburg. Raspberry Plain was one of the principal Mason family estates of Northern Virginia.- History :...
, and nephew of George Mason
George Mason
George Mason IV was an American Patriot, statesman and a delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention...
. The estate became a hub of Leesburg society and was visited by Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette during his grand tour of the United States
Visit of the Marquis de Lafayette to the United States (1824-25)
From July 1824 to September 1825, the last surviving French General of the Revolutionary War, the Marquis de Lafayette, made a famous tour of the 24 states in the United States...
on 9 August 1825. Lafayette was accompanied by President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...
and former President James Monroe
James Monroe
James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...
, who was then residing at his Oak Hill plantation
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...
in southern Loudoun County. The three gentlemen witnessed the baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
of Mason's two youngest daughters at Temple Hall with Lafayette serving as godfather for Mary Carroll, and Adams and Monroe serving as Maria Louisa’s godfathers. Altogether, Mason and his wife, Ann Eliza Carroll, raised ten children at Temple Hall. In addition to the Mason family, approximately twenty enslaved African-Americans resided on the property. Under Mason's management, the Temple Hall estate was a modestly successful farm. Mason cultivated orchard
Orchard
An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...
s and raised corn, wheat, and livestock.
Mason retired to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in 1857 and sold his farm to Henry A. Ball. After the outbreak of the 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...
, Henry Ball's sons left the Temple Hall to join the Confederate States Army
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
. In 1862, Henry Ball was arrested for refusing to take an oath of allegiance to the Federal Government
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
. Ball was released after spending nearly a year in the Old Capitol Prison
Old Capitol Prison
The Old Brick Capitol in Washington, D.C., served as temporary Capitol of the United States from 1815 to 1825, and became the Old Capitol Prison during the American Civil War. Razed in 1929, its site is now occupied by the U.S...
. John S. Mosby
John S. Mosby
John Singleton Mosby , nicknamed the "Gray Ghost", was a Confederate cavalry battalion commander in the American Civil War...
visited Temple Hall on 5 July 1864 and dined with the Ball family. While at the house, Mosby received information that led to the Action at Mount Zion Church
Action at Mount Zion Church
The Action at Mount Zion Church was a cavalry skirmish during the American Civil War that took place on July 6, 1864, between Union forces under Major William H. Forbes and Confederate forces under Colonel John S. Mosby near Aldie in Loudoun County, Virginia, as part of Mosby's Operations in...
. Temple Hall remained in the Ball family until 1878 when it was sold at auction.
In 1940, after a succession of owners, the Temple Hall property was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. James H. Symington. The Symingtons restored the mansion and made extensive renovations. They modernized Temple Hall by adding indoor plumbing and electricity. The Symingtons planted a variety of crops and eventually began specializing in popcorn
Popcorn
Popcorn, or popping corn, is corn which expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn is able to pop because, like sorghum, quinoa and millet, its kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy interior. This allows pressure to build inside the kernel until an explosive...
. They became the largest suppliers in the eastern United States until the popcorn market collapsed after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Afterwards, the Symingtons turned to raising livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
, including cattle and hogs, as well as wheat, corn, and hay for animal feed. Mrs. Symington assumed management of the farm's operations after her husband became ill in the 1970s, and continued to operate it after his death. Concerned about Loudoun County's rapid development and population growth, Mrs. Symington donated the 286 acre farm to the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority
Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority
The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority is an interjurisdictional organization that owns and operates more than 10,000 acres of woodlands, streams, parks, trails, nature reserves, countryside and historic sites in Northern Virginia in the United States. The Authority was organized in 1959...
(NVRPA) in 1985. Since then, the NVRPA has operated Temple Hall as a working farm and interpretive center. Temple Hall, along with several neighboring estates including nearby Mason family estate Raspberry Plain
Raspberry Plain
Raspberry Plain is a historic property and former plantation in Loudoun County, Virginia, near Leesburg. Raspberry Plain was one of the principal Mason family estates of Northern Virginia.- History :...
, is a contributing property in the 25000 acres (10,117.2 ha) Catoctin Rural Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on 31 January 1989. Temple Hall was listed on the National Register on 13 February 2007.
Architecture
Temple Hall is an early 19th-century Federal-styleFederal architecture
Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federal Period. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design...
mansion. It is a Flemish bond brick house with a five-bay facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
and is topped by a hipped roof
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
. A small Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
shelters the central entrance which is surmounted by a graceful semicircular fanlight
Fanlight
A fanlight is a window, semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan, It is placed over another window or a doorway. and is sometimes hinged to a transom. The bars in the fixed glazed window spread out in the manner a sunburst...
. Temple Hall also exhibits tall six-over-six double-sash windows, a frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
encircling the building, and tall interior end chimney
Chimney
A chimney is a structure for venting hot flue gases or smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. Chimneys are typically vertical, or as near as possible to vertical, to ensure that the gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion in what is known as the...
s. The property also features a square brick smokehouse
Smokehouse
A smokehouse is a building where meat or fish is cured with smoke. The finished product might be stored in the building, sometimes for a year or more.-History:...
and two 19th-century frame
Framing (construction)
Framing, in construction known as light-frame construction, is a building technique based around structural members, usually called studs, which provide a stable frame to which interior and exterior wall coverings are attached, and covered by a roof comprising horizontal ceiling joists and sloping...
barn
Barn
A barn is an agricultural building used for storage and as a covered workplace. It may sometimes be used to house livestock or to store farming vehicles and equipment...
s.