Modeled after a Georgian manor house, this freestanding stone construction was built by John Carlyle, one of the Scottish entrepreneurs instrumental in founding Alexandria. The mansion's hour of glory came in April 1755, when the British general Edward Braddock, en route to his ill-fated campaign against the French and Indians, headquartered himself here. During his stay he commissioned George Washington to serve with him in the campaign, and he held the historic Governors' Council. In 1970 the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority purchased Carlyle House and began a six-year renovation to restore it to its colonial appearance.