Gunston Hall

George Mason (December 11, 1725 [O.S. November 30, 1725] – October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of three delegates present who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including substantial portions of the Fairfax Resolves of 1774, the Virginia Declaration of Rights of 1776, and his Objections to this Constitution of Government (1787) opposing ratification, have exercised a significant influence on American political thought and events. The Virginia Declaration of Rights, which Mason principally authored, served as a basis for the United States Bill of Rights, of which he has been deemed a father. Mason was born in 1725, most likely in what is now Fairfax County, Virginia. His father died when he was young, and his mother managed the family estates until he came of age. He married in 1750, built Gunston Hall, and lived the life of a country squire, supervising his lands, family and slaves. He briefly served in the House of Burgesses and involved himself in community affairs, sometimes serving with his neighbor George Washington. As tensions grew between Great Britain and the North American colonies, Mason came to support the colonial side, using his knowledge and experience to help the revolutionary cause, finding ways to work around the Stamp Act of 1765 and serving in the pro-independence Fourth Virginia Convention in 1775 and the Fifth Virginia Convention in 1776. Mason prepared the first draft of the Virginia Declaration of Rights in 1776, and his words formed much of the text adopted by the final Revolutionary Virginia Convention. He also wrote a constitution for the state; Thomas Jefferson and others sought to have the convention adopt their ideas, but they found that Mason's version could not be stopped. During the American Revolutionary War, Mason was a member of the powerful House of Delegates of the Virginia General Assembly, but to the irritation of Washington and others, he refused to serve in the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, citing health and family commitments. In 1787, Mason was named one of his state's delegates to the Constitutional Convention and traveled to Philadelphia, his only lengthy trip outside Virginia. Many clauses in the Constitution bear his stamp, as he was active in the convention for months before deciding that he could not sign it. He cited the lack of a bill of rights most prominently in his Objections. He also wanted an immediate end to the slave trade and a supermajority requirement for navigation acts, fearing that restrictions on shipping might harm Virginia. He failed to attain these objectives, and again at the Virginia Ratifying Convention of 1788, but his prominent fight for a bill of rights led fellow Virginian James Madison to introduce the same during the First Congress in 1789; these amendments were ratified in 1791, a year before Mason died. Obscure after his death, Mason has come to be recognized in the 20th and 21st centuries for his contributions to the early United States and to Virginia.

Gunston Cove is an inlet of the Potomac River, at the confluence of Accotink Creek and Pohick Creek in Northern Virginia. The Cove forms the northern boundary of Mason Neck, once home to the revolutionary hero George Mason and now site of several regional parks and the Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge. George Mason University's notable multi-decadal study of water quality and aquatic habitat in Gunston Cove and the adjacent Potomac River has illustrated how a tidal freshwater ecosystem can gradually recover from human-induced eutrophication following management of upstream nutrient pollution.

Pohick Bay Regional Park is a regional park on Pohick Bay of the Potomac River, in Fairfax County, northern Virginia.

Mason Neck is a peninsula jutting into the Potomac River to the south of Washington, D.C., in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is surrounded by Belmont Bay to the west, the Potomac River to the south and east, Gunston Cove to the northeast, and Pohick Bay to the north-northeast. The census-designated place (CDP) of Mason Neck forms the southernmost section of Fairfax County, in northern Virginia, and comprises an area of 20.0 square miles (51.8 km2), two-thirds of which is preserved as parkland by regional, state, and national authorities. The population of the Mason Neck CDP was 2,005 as of the 2010 census.

Elizabeth Hartwell Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States located in Virginia. It is part of the Potomac River National Wildlife Refuge Complex. It is on Mason Neck, a peninsula in the Potomac River that forms part of the shoreline of Belmont Bay. The refuge is adjacent to Mason Neck State Park. Established in 1969 and managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, it was the first federal refuge created specifically for the protection of the bald eagle. It is 2,277 acres (9.21 km2) in size, with 4.4 miles (7.1 km) of shoreline. It is covered with oak and hickory forest and it includes the largest freshwater marsh in northern Virginia. Since its founding, the refuge has been renamed for Elizabeth S. Hartwell, a local activist who fought to keep Mason Neck free of development.

Mason Neck State Park is located in Fairfax County, Virginia. The park is on a peninsula formed by Pohick Bay on the north, Belmont Bay on the south and the Potomac River to the east. The park has an area of 1,814 acres (7.34 km2) and is home to bald eagles, great blue herons, ospreys, and many other types of wildlife. The park also contains white-tailed deer and many species of lichen. Mason Neck State Park is one of the best locations to view bald eagles in northern Virginia. Sightings are most common in the mornings and evenings. The park is day-use only. Park hours are 8 a.m. to dusk. The park administration office is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., closed state holidays. Mason Neck State Park has cultural significance with two sites on the state and National Register of Historic Places and approximately thirty other identified archaeological sites. The Taft archaeological site was listed in 2004 and the Lexington site was listed in 2013.

Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge is a nature preserve on the grounds of Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Several other parks, including Mason Neck State Park, Pohick Bay Regional Park, and the Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge are located nearby. The refuge was established in 1979 to protect sensitive wetlands and wildlife habitats associated with Accotink Bay and to provide opportunities for environmental education and low-intensity recreation. The refuge offers more than eight miles of hiking trails, including a short paved trail for handicapped access. Species native to the preserve include: Foxes Deer American toads Raccoons Black rat snakes Eastern box turtles Various millipedes, including Narceus americanus Various salamanders, including spotted salamanders and red back salamanders Various spiders, including Lycosa aspersaThe Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge Environmental Education Center is located at the entrance to the refuge. The center features exhibits, videos and trail guides about the refuge and offers nature education programs.A small parking area with space for six cars (two reserved for handicapped) is located just outside the Tulley Gate entrance off Route 1.

Pohick Creek is a 14.0-mile-long (22.5 km) tributary stream of the Potomac River in Fairfax County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It takes its name from the Pohick Native American tribe once prevalent in the area. Pohick Creek forms in the vicinity of Burke and flows southeast past the western edge of Fort Belvoir to empty into the tidal Pohick Bay, which itself empties, along with Accotink Bay, into Gunston Cove, an embayment of the tidal Potomac River. Pohick Creek is a popular stream for whitewater kayaking, rafting, and paddling, providing Class II and III rapids along a 5.5-mile (8.9 km) stretch between Hooes Road (Virginia Secondary Route 636) and the Richmond Highway (U.S. Route 1) at Lorton. Several tributaries of the Pohick Creek are impounded by dams constructed under the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to prevent soil erosion and flooding. Originally eight dams were planned, but from 1970 to 1985, only six were actually built. Lake Braddock (Pohick #7) was the first dam built in 1970, and impounds the Pohick Creek in Burke. Huntsman Lake (Pohick #8) was built in 1973, and impounds the Middle Run in Springfield. Lake Royal (Pohick #4) was completed in 1977, and impounds the Rabbit Branch in Burke above its confluence with the Sideburn Branch, where it forms Pohick Creek. Lake Barton (Pohick #2) completed in 1978, impounds a tributary of the Sideburn Branch in Burke. Woodglen Lake (Pohick #3), which impounds the Sideburn Branch in Fairfax, was completed in 1981. Lake Mercer (Pohick #1) became in 1985 the final dam completed, impounding the South Run in Springfield.

Belvoir was the plantation and estate of colonial Virginia's prominent William Fairfax family. Operated with the forced labor of enslaved people, it sat on the west bank of the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia, at the present site of Fort Belvoir. The main house — called Belvoir Manor or Belvoir Mansion — burned in 1783 and was destroyed during the War of 1812. The site has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1973 as "Belvoir Mansion Ruins and the Fairfax Grave."

Taft Archeological Site No. 029-5411 is a historic archaeological site located at Lorton, Fairfax County, Virginia. The site includes a multi-component, stratified, upland, prehistoric and possibly proto-historic (Dogue), American Indian camp covering a 50x80-meter area and dating to between ca. 2000 B.C. (based on Savannah River point) and A.D. 1560. The site was excavated in three stages in May through August 1987. The site is located in Mason Neck State Park.It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

The Institute of Heraldry, officially The Institute of Heraldry, Department of the Army, is an activity of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army solely responsible for furnishing heraldic services to the President of the United States and all Federal Government agencies. Title 18 of the United States Code, Chapter 33, Section 704 and Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 507 permit the institute to issue directives on how military insignia are displayed, the criteria for issuance, and how insignia will be worn on military uniforms. The activities of The Institute of Heraldry encompass research, design, development, standardization, quality control, and other services relating to official symbolic items—seals, decorations, medals, insignia, badges, flags, and other items awarded to or authorized for official wear or display by federal government personnel and agencies. Limited research and information services concerning official symbolic items are also provided to the general public. The Institute of Heraldry is located at 9325 Gunston Road, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, a military installation in the U.S. Army Military District of Washington. The institute employs 22 Department of the Army civilians.

Humphreys National Forest was established in Virginia by the U.S. Forest Service on April 10, 1925 with 3,184 acres (12.89 km2) from part of the Humphreys Military Reservation, now Fort Belvoir. On April 11, 1928 the executive order for its creation was rescinded and the forest was abolished.