Carlyle House

Friday, July 14th Dan and I took a break from the regular day routines to be tourists in Alexandria, Va.

Here is one of the spots we stopped by to see.

Carlyle House Historic Park at 121 North Fairfax Street.

The museum here is owned by Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority

John Carlyle, a second son, made his living as a merchant.  He came to the colonies and did very well, marrying Sarah Fairfax who came from a very wealthy family.  The house was completed in 1753 on the banks of the Potomac River.  Now its several blocks from the river's edge.

The main bedroom is on the first floor. No flash photography was allowed so I apologize for some of the dark pictures.

The dining room of the house which hosted British General Edward Braddock in 1755 as he prepared for early campaigns in the French and Indian War.

The small parlor had this spinet, a plucked instrument predecessor to the piano.

In the mid 1800s in the front yard of the Carlyle House a hotel was built which then served as a hospital in the Civil War. 

Two of the upstairs bedrooms were set up as though they were in that Civil War time period.

Another bedroom showed the restoration work.

The upstairs hall featured re-creations of Sarah Fairfax's wedding dress (left) and how it was modified by her daughter for a ball (right).  Carlyle descendants had in their possession a sleeve cut from the silk wedding gown so the fabric could be copied.

A view of the garden which would have bordered the Potomac but many years ago the water there was backfilled with soil taken from the bluffs to level the city out.