a place to gatheR, learn, EXPERIENCE, TOUR, CRAFT, CONNECT & explorE
We are home to two iconic properties — Woodlawn Mansion and Pope-Leighey House — set on 126 historic acres in Alexandria, Virginia. We provide programs and tours for the public that include the remarkable and diverse stories of all those who lived and worked at Woodlawn: the enslaved, site ancestors and descendants, anti-slavery activists and Quakers, indigenous peoples, and plantation owners and the impacts their decisions had on plantation lives. Visitors can explore and be inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s visionary Usonian architecture at Pope-Leighey House. Additionally, we provide experiences and activities inside and outside for public wellbeing, respite, and enjoyment of the natural environment and its history. Co-located on the site is the Arcadia Farm for Sustainable Agriculture, a non-profit that creates a more equitable and sustainable local food system in the area.
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Black Lives Matter
The National Trust for Historic Preservation and Woodlawn Pope-Leighey House assert without equivocation:
Black Lives Matter.
Black History Matters.
Historic places of all types and periods should be places of truth-telling and inclusivity.
Historic preservation must actively advance justice and equity for all people.
Historic preservation organizations have an obligation to confront and address structural racism within our own institutions.
We have much to do at the National Trust and in the preservation movement to align our work with these facts, and we must do it—and we will do it—with a sense of urgency.
Art installation: “OYA” by Njena Surae Jarvis in Woodlawn Mansion, Makers In The Mansion Exhibit: 2018
Makers in the Mansion
The Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House Historic Site presented Makers in the Mansion: A Transformed African American Community at Woodlawn Through the Artisan Eye, an installation by African American artisans throughout our museum area. Learn more about this influencial program that has inspired our current programming by clicking the link below.
Venue Tours & Rentals
Congratulations, you’re engaged! Now what? Come and take a tour of our property and see for yourself how our event spaces will match your vision. We believe that every couple can have the celebration that they want right here with us, and we are ready to help you plan something smaller for 2020 or a larger celebration in 2021 (or both!) It all starts here.
We are thankful for gracious donors, such as the Virginia Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) who supported Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House this year as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act economic stabilization plan of 2020. For more information, please visit www.VirginiaHumanities.org.