History
George Mason constructed a house named Hollin Hall after a family home in Yorkshire, England for his son, Thomson. That house was destroyed by fire. In 1852, Thomson Mason's property was purchased by Edward Curtis Gibbs, a Quaker sea captain and farmer who hired both black and white farmers to demonstrate that plantations could be profitable without slave labor. The estate passed through several owners before its purchase in 1913 by Mr. and Mrs. Harley Wilson, a director of the North American Company, suppliers of locks and docks for the Panama Canal and Potomac Electric Power Company. After the Wilsons' deaths in 1934, the house and 89 acres were eventually bought by Merle Thorpe, an advisor to president Franklin Roosevelt. In 1959, Mount Vernon Unitarian Church bought Hollin Hall and 10 acres. Hollin Hall was placed on the Fairfax County Registry of Historic Sites in 1993.
Specialties
Hollin Hall and the Meeting House are located on a 7 acre campus only 4 miles south of Old Town Alexandria. They offer a unique, historic venue for weddings, receptions, parties and rehearsal dinners. Hollin Hall is a gracious Georgian manor house surrounded by mature boxwood gardens. It accommodates 80-90 seated. The Meeting House is a spacious, contemporary site for larger weddings and receptions. It accommodates 225 people standing or 150-175 people seated. A lovely slate terrace, adjoining the Meeting House and facing the walled boxwood garden, provides an outdoor cocktail space for your guests. A beautiful curved brick wall surrounds the romantic, 3-tiered boxwood garden that is the perfect site for weddings. Photographic opportunities abound. Mutually convenient hours by appointment. Handicapped accessible. Free Parking.