Belvoir Manor

Belvoir Manor was the colonial seat of the Fairfax family, one of Virginia's most powerful landowning dynasties, built around 1736 on the western bank of the Potomac River in present-day Fairfax County. The Fairfaxes maintained an exceptionally close friendship with a young George Washington, who visited frequently as a teenager — historians consider the relationship formative in shaping Washington's ambitions as a gentleman and surveyor. The main house burned in 1783 and was further destroyed during the War of 1812, leaving only ruins and the Fairfax family grave, which were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The site today falls within the restricted grounds of Fort Belvoir, making direct access limited.