Bel Air Manor is a colonial-era plantation manor located in Minnieville, Prince William County, Virginia. Built in 1740 as the Ewell family seat, the home was regularly visited by Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, who was a cousin. It later served as the home of Mason Locke Weems (1759–1825), the first biographer of George Washington and the creator of the cherry tree story ("I cannot tell a lie, I did it with my little hatchet"). Extraordinarily well preserved for its age, Bel Air was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. Today, Bel Air remains a private residence and an events venue. Bel Air is not to be confused with "Bel Aire", a similarly named house five miles to the east.

Colonial era

Construction and early history Bel Air was originally constructed as an English fort in the 1670s by order of Virginia colonial Governor William Berkeley, who occupied the fort himself in 1673. Upon the stone foundation of the old fort, Captain Charles Ewell (1713–1747) built Bel Air as a tobacco plantation and family seat in the early 1740s.Pfanz, Donald. Richard S. Ewell: A Soldier's Life. The University of North Carolina Press, 1998, pp. 2-4 As some of the first settlers in Prince William County, Charles and his brother Bertrand first came to the area from Maryland to establish an iron furnace operation on the Occoquan River.James Ewell, The Ewells in America and Some Allied Families (1635–1990), The Ewell Family National Historical and Genealogical Society, 1990. Retrieved February 13, 2014, at Bertrand Ewell organized and led a 120-man militia company to assist then-Colonel George Washington following Edward Braddock's defeat in the French and Indian War. Washington wrote: "On the Br. May 6th (1756); the Prince William Detachment consistg. of 8 officer's and 121 private men arriv'd here and abt. an hour or two later after them came Colo. Ewell." Described by Washington in his journals as a "man of affairs," Charles maintained mill interests in Occoquan together with his brother-in-law, John Balladine. Like other planters in northern Virginia, he sent his harvest to the nearby port of Dumfries to be loaded on ships for Glasgow, Scotland.Kellock, Harold. Parson Weems of the Cherry Tree. The Century Company, 1928 pp. 62-72 During this time, Dumfries was a thriving tobacco port, and it easily outstripped in population and importance the rival town of Alexandria, further up the river. As a center of culture, the great families in the area would drive into Dumfries in their chariots to attend balls and "tea drinkings". After organizing a joint stock company in 1744, Charles built a warehouse and began a successful mercantile business in Dumfries.

In 1739, Charles purchased 800 acres from Ralph Walker, on which he would construct Bel Air.Historic American Buildings Survey, Works Progress Administration of Virginia, May 31, 1937, citing Miss Maude Ewell (author and Col. Jesse Ewell descendant), Mervin Buckley (the contemporary of Bel Air), and others as information sources. Ewell purchased an additional 1184 acres just west of the town of Dumfries, Virginia from Lord Thomas Fairfax on July 10, 1741.Northern Neck Grants E, 1736–1742, pp.202–203 (Reel 291, 10J. . Retrieved January 22, 2014. The property was surveyed on May 10, 1749, by 17-year-old George Washington. On this property were the ruins of an old English fort built in 1673 at the direction of Virginia Governor William Berkeley to protect colonists from attacks by neighboring Susquehannock Indians.The Prince William/Potomac Journal, January 31, 1990, quoting William Flory. Retrieved February 14, 2014, from Prince William County RELIC Digital Library On the crest of a hill 90 feet above Neabsco Creek, the location was ideal for protection from Indian attacks as well as malaria.

Charles set about constructing Bel Air upon the stone foundation of the old fort, replacing the wooden frame with an all-brick structure. Like other affluent men in the colonies, Charles designed a refined home that imitated the georgian architecture of Great Britain. As the house was constructed before the days of saw mills, every lath was rived, and every timber, joist and even cornice was hewed out of the surrounding woods (as evidenced today by the axe marks on the reverse sides). Every nail, spike and hinge was individually hammered out. Tradition says that the bricks were imported from Scotland in the hold of tobacco ships.

Ewell Family seat In what may have shocked the community somewhat in 1736, Charles married Sarah Ball (b. 1711), the daughter of his step-father, Major James Ball (1678–1754). Through her father, Sarah was the first cousin of Mary Ball Washington, George Washington's mother.Hayden, Horace (1891), Virginia Genealogies. A Genealogy of the Glassell Family of Scotland and Virginia. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. (Major Ball was the brother of Colonel Joseph Ball, the father of Mary Ball Washington.) Charles and Sarah had four children born at Bel Air, including three who lived to adulthood: Mariamne (1740–1813), Col. Jesse Ewell (1743–1805) and Col. James "Jimmie" Ewell (1746–1809). The Ewells were staunch Episcopalians, and both Charles and Jesse would serve as vestrymen and wardens of Dettengen Parish, where they were regular communicants. Charles appears to have died suddenly in the fall of 1747.Charles Ewell died between June 8, 1747 (when he attended a Dettingen Parish vestry meeting) and May 23, 1748 (by which time his widow, Sarah Ewell, and other heirs received a deed). Given his absence at an important vestry meeting on October 9, 1747, however, it is likely that he had died by that point. Sarah died shortly thereafter, leaving the children as orphans.The Virginia Genealogist, v. 19, page 300. This volume contains transcripts of entries from the Prince William County, Virginia Order Book 1759–1761. The original entry appears on page 45 of that court order book and reads: “Jesse Ewell, orphan of Charles Ewell Gent., made choice of Thomason Mason, George Johnston and Allan Macrae, Gent., his guardians, who were at the same time appointed by the Court guardians to James Ewell, orphan of Charles Ewell, who with Foushee Tebbs Gent. Executed a bond. Present: Richard Graham, Gent.”

Mariamne married James Craik at Bel Air on November 13, 1760. Craik would become the Continental Army's chief physician and surgeon, but he is best remembered for being the close friend and personal physician of George Washington. Craik was the first of three physicians called to Washington's deathbed.

As the eldest son, Jesse Ewell inherited Bel Air and its slaves. In 1760, he enrolled in the College of William & Mary, where he befriended Thomas Jefferson, a classmate. During his fifty years as master, Ewell—who was sometimes referred to as "Ole Marster" or "Ole Colonel of all"—created a fortune. Described as an eccentric "man of distinction and liberal fortune," Ewell was said to ride to Dumfries to tend to his business affairs on his "fiery black steed." He also served as the County Sheriff.Acts of the Commonwealth of Virginia, January 16, 1798 Although Ewell was known for his keen mental abilities and literary talent, he was apparently indolent and slow in movement, and even Thomas Jefferson needled him for not exercising his talents.

In 1767, Ewell married his cousin, Charlotte Ewell "Madame Charlotte" (1750–1823), and they had 18 children. Two of the sons, James (1773–1832) and Thomas "Tommy" (1785–1826), would become physicians under the tutelage of Craik, thus beginning an Ewell family dynasty of physicians. Ewell borrowed money and sold land in order to send Thomas to Philadelphia to study medicine under the renowned Benjamin Rush. Thomas had already been apprenticed to a Virginia doctor before his university studies.

By all accounts, Ewell's children held him in high regard. In a letter to his father in December 1802, Thomas Ewell wrote: "[My] intention in coming to [Bel Air] was not to dance—but to add to your pleasure and happiness—which is among the first wishes of my heart." Ten years after Ewell's death, his daughter Charlotte (not to be confused with her mother of the same name) authored an elegy in memory of her father: Early he woo'd fair virtue for his guide, And rarely wander'd from her guardian side, By him the needy never were denied, He sooth'd their sorrows, and their wants supplied. He mourn'd the contests of the neighbouring poor, And open'd wide his peace-restoring door; Where soon his wisdom taught their strifes to cease, Reviv'd their loves, and sent them home in peace. ... As friend—as father—who his praise can tell ? Where first begin, or with due raptures swell? To check our wrong, his frowns, were ever light, And sweet his smiles when'er we chose the right.Ewell, James A Concise and Impartial History of the Capture of Washington, and the Diseases which Sprung from that most Deplorable Disaster. Anderson and Meehan. 1816. p. 345. The remainder of the poem reads as follows: "And when at length the awful hour drew nigh, To waft his spirit to its native sky, Such in that moment as in all the past, 'Oh bless my children, Heav'n !' was still his last. Now scap'd from earth, with God he dwells above, And shares with angels in their feasts of love. Then come, blest faith, come hasten to my aid, test grief profane disturb his happy shade; Teach me to bow submissive — and adore Th' unerring counsels of eternal power. Which gives in love, or still in love denies, And makes e'en 'crosses, blessings in disguise,' And thou, fond memory, still my sire recall, Record his virtues, imitate them all — That joys like his my mortal life may prove, And peace eternal crown my state above."

Guests at Bel Air

As a wealthy family of substance and culture, the Ewells hosted many extravagant balls, christenings, and other grand events at Bel Air. Guests would arrive by carriage via the mile-long plantation road, catching glimpses of the mansion through the rows of flowering catalpa trees. Upon their arrival, guests, dressed in the latest fashion, were escorted to the reception room. For large events, the partition wall between the drawing room and central hall was removed, making a huge combined space for "merry-making and match-making in full swing." The wine flowed, and roasted meats and fowl were served to guests on fine porcelain, as evidenced by the plentiful shards of delftware and wine bottles later unearthed in archaeological digs. The dancing on these occasions was probably kept up a week, and there is record of one christening that lasted from Thursday through Sunday.Manassas Journal Messenger, Centennial Edition, 1969. Retrieved February 10, 2014, from Prince William County RELIC Digital Library It is said that the crowds were so great at Mariamne and James Craik's wedding reception that the drawing room floors had to be propped up by big cedar posts in the basement as the guests engaged in a rousing Virginia reel.Woodbridge-Dale City Mirror, September 13, 1972, p.7, retrieved March 6, 2014, from Prince William County Library RELIC Digital Library

George and Martha Washington George and Martha spent the night as newlyweds at Bel Air on April 5, 1759, on their honeymoon journey to Mount Vernon from Williamsburg, where Washington had just started his first term in the House of Burgesses.Thane, Elswyth. Potomac Squire(1963)p.41. See also, email from Don Wilson, Prince William County Library RELIC Numerous sources indicate that Washington was regularly entertained at Bel Air. Even after Washington's death, the Ewells apparently kept touch with Martha Washington, as indicated by a December 1802 letter from Thomas Ewell to Jesse in which he notes his intention to call upon "Mrs. Washington" to pay his respects.

Thomas Jefferson