The Robertson-Towson House

Circa 1820

When Benjamin Henry Latrobe, architect of the U.S. Capitol, visited Stafford in 1806, he found on this “beautiful little knoll in the midst of the woods close to his quarry…a log house,” the home of quarryman William Robertson. Robertson’s quarry was, and had been, contributing Aquia stone, or sandstone, for construction of the United States Capitol.

After Robertson’s death in 1818, Baltimore architect and stone carver, Thomas Towson, acquired the land. Towson designed and built a unique all-sandstone house whose walls remain today. Towson continued to operate the quarry, and stone from this site was used in buildings across the mid-Atlantic.

The preservation and stabilization project of this house was completed in2002 by Richard Wolff, President and CEO of Geo. H. Rucker Realty Corporation of McLean, Virginia, and the developer of Austin Ridge. This house is a tangible reminder of a quarry and stone the materially contributed to the growth of the nation.

Marker is on Gunston Court.

Courtesy hmdb.org

Credits and Sources:

HMDB