Colross

Colross is a historic Georgian-style mansion whose significance comes from its architecture, changing uses, relocation, and association with the history of Alexandria, Virginia, and Princeton, New Jersey. The house was begun around 1799–1800 by Alexandria merchant John Potts on property that originally occupied the entire 1100 block of Oronoco Street. Potts developed the estate as a plantation based on enslaved labor and cash-crop production, but financial difficulties led him to place the unfinished mansion on the market. In 1803, Alexandria merchant and civic official Jonathan Swift acquired the property for $9,000. During Swift’s ownership, construction continued, and the estate was known variously as Belle Air and Grasshopper Hall. Swift and his family lived there as Alexandria expanded around what had initially been a rural holding. After Swift’s death in 1824, the property passed briefly to Lee Massey Alexander and his sister before being acquired by Thomson Francis Mason, a lawyer, judge, councilman, and former mayor of Alexandria. Mason made Colross his principal residence and enlarged or altered the house, adding a substantial brick perimeter wall and other improvements. The property remained connected to the Mason family for much of the nineteenth century and hosted family events, including weddings. The house was a two-story brick structure in the Georgian country-house tradition associated with Virginia and Maryland. Its plan was compared with those of Mount Vernon and Woodlawn. Architectural features included Flemish-bond brickwork, a five-bay front elevation, a Neoclassical portico with wooden Doric columns, a segmented-arch fanlight, sidelights, interior chimneys, a slate roof, dormers, and a balustraded roof deck. The original estate also included wings, gardens, service buildings, stables, a smokehouse, boundary walls, and a burial vault. During the Civil War, the property was seized by Union authorities. Local accounts describe executions near the estate wall and later stories of apparitions associated with the site, although these traditions are not equivalent to documented historical findings. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Colross passed through several owners, including lumber and coal businessman William Albert Smoot and lumber merchant William Hoge. Industrial development gradually surrounded the mansion, and it was eventually used as a storage facility within a lumber-yard complex. A 1927 tornado caused extensive damage and left the house uninhabitable. John Munn acquired the mansion in 1929 and arranged for it to be dismantled and transported brick by brick to Princeton between approximately 1929 and 1932. There it was restored and subsequently acquired by Dr. Geoffrey W. Rake. After Rake’s death, Princeton Day School purchased the property in 1958. Colross remains associated with the school and is used as an administration building, including offices connected with admissions and advancement, as well as a venue for institutional events. The original Alexandria site has also remained historically important. In 2005, an archaeological investigation conducted before a planned condominium development uncovered a domed brick cistern, the foundations of boundary walls and ancillary buildings, the original basement floor, and evidence of outbuildings used by enslaved people. The excavation helped document the plantation’s physical layout and material history, although few artifacts and no burial remains were recovered. Colross is therefore best understood not as a commercial consumer brand, but as a historic property and architectural landmark whose identity has endured through two locations and multiple phases of ownership and use.

The land on which Colross was first established formed part of the Northern Neck Proprietary, a large colonial land grant whose ownership ultimately passed to Thomas Fairfax, sixth Lord Fairfax of Cameron. By the late eighteenth century, the property had become part of the developing urban environment of Alexandria, Virginia. Alexandria merchant John Potts began constructing the brick mansion around 1799 or 1800. He developed the surrounding estate as a plantation operated through enslaved labor and devoted to cash-crop production. Potts experienced financial problems and offered the incomplete property for sale in 1801. In December 1803, merchant and civic leader Jonathan Swift bought the estate for $9,000. Swift continued construction and reportedly used the names Belle Air and Grasshopper Hall. He lived there with his wife, Anne Roberdeau, and their children while serving in Alexandria civic life, including a term as president of the city council. After Swift died in 1824, ownership passed briefly to Lee Massey Alexander and his sister, after which the estate was acquired by Thomson Francis Mason. Mason was the son of Thomson Mason and grandson of George Mason of Gunston Hall. A lawyer and public official, he served as a judge of the Criminal Court of the District of Columbia and as mayor of Alexandria from 1827 to 1830. Under Mason, Colross became the family’s principal home. He modified and expanded the mansion and surrounded the property with a brick wall reported to have been approximately ten feet high. The estate included gardens, service buildings, a carriage-related wing, a smokehouse, stables, and a burial area. Mason family weddings took place at the house, and family tradition associated the property with the deaths and burials of two children. The estate remained connected to the Mason family into the nineteenth century. Arthur Pendleton Mason, known as Pen Mason, later inherited it. Accounts from visitors described Colross as a prominent Alexandria residence known for its grounds and hospitality. During the Civil War, Union authorities seized the property. Local traditions recount executions near the perimeter wall and stories of a ghost associated with the site, but these accounts are part of local folklore rather than fully documented institutional history. William Albert Smoot, a lumber and coal businessman, acquired Colross in 1885 and lived there with his family until 1917. By this period, Alexandria’s industrial expansion had transformed the setting. Warehouses, railroad-related facilities, lumber operations, and other industrial structures increasingly surrounded the former estate. The mansion was later acquired by William Hoge and used as storage within a lumber-yard environment. A 1927 tornado substantially damaged the building and made it uninhabitable. John Munn purchased the mansion in 1929. Between roughly 1929 and 1932, the structure was dismantled, transported brick by brick to Princeton, New Jersey, and restored there. The relocation preserved much of the building while permanently separating it from its original Alexandria landscape. After Munn’s death in 1956, Dr. Geoffrey W. Rake acquired the property. Princeton Day School purchased Colross after Rake’s death in 1958 and adapted it for institutional use. The building continues to serve as a school administration facility, including admissions and advancement offices, and is also used for school events. The original Alexandria parcel remained an archaeological resource even after the mansion had been removed. In 2003, a developer acquired the site for a proposed mixed-use condominium project. Alexandria’s archaeological protection requirements led to an excavation from March through June 2005. The work identified a domed underground brick cistern, the foundations of the mansion’s walls and ancillary structures, a herringbone-pattern basement floor, portions of the estate’s perimeter wall, and evidence of a smokehouse, stables, and burial facilities. Archaeologists also found evidence that enslaved people had lived in outbuildings on the property. No human remains were recovered, and previous burials were believed to have been removed or reinterred before the excavation. The investigation delayed development and contributed to the withdrawal of prospective condominium buyers. Colross’s history consequently spans plantation-era Virginia, urban industrialization, preservation through relocation, and modern heritage interpretation.

• 2005

  Archaeological excavation at the original site

  [1]Colrossen.wikipedia.org

  An excavation of the former Alexandria property documented the mansion’s foundations, a brick cistern, ancillary structures, burial-related features, and evidence of enslaved labor.

• 1958

  Princeton Day School acquires Colross

  [1]Colrossen.wikipedia.org

  Following the death of Dr. Geoffrey W. Rake, Princeton Day School purchased the mansion and adapted it for administrative use.

• 1932

  Brick-by-brick reconstruction is completed

  [1]Colrossen.wikipedia.org

  The mansion had been transported and restored in Princeton by approximately 1932.

• 1929

  Relocation to Princeton begins

  [1]Colrossen.wikipedia.org

  John Munn acquired the structure and initiated its dismantling and relocation to Princeton, New Jersey.

• 1927

  Tornado damages the mansion

  [1]Colrossen.wikipedia.org

  A tornado substantially damaged Colross while it was surrounded by industrial and lumber-yard facilities, leaving the mansion uninhabitable.

• 1885

  The Smoot family acquires Colross

  [1]Colrossen.wikipedia.org

  Lumber and coal businessman William Albert Smoot purchased the property and occupied it with his family during a period of increasing industrialization around the estate.

• 1824

  Mason family era begins

  [1]Colrossen.wikipedia.org

  After Swift’s death, the property was acquired by Thomson Francis Mason, who made it his chief residence and substantially modified the mansion.

• 1803

  Jonathan Swift purchases the estate

  [1]Colrossen.wikipedia.org

  Merchant Jonathan Swift acquired the unfinished property and continued construction. The estate was associated during his ownership with the names Belle Air and Grasshopper Hall.

• 1799

  Construction begins in Alexandria

  [1]Colrossen.wikipedia.org

  John Potts began building the brick Georgian mansion on the Alexandria property around 1799–1800.

A preserved historic house and architectural landmark representing Georgian domestic architecture, the plantation-era history of Alexandria, and the adaptive reuse of a relocated historic structure.

• 2005

  Archaeological investigation before redevelopmentOther

  Background

  A developer proposed a mixed-use condominium project on the former Alexandria estate site, which was subject to the city’s archaeological protection requirements.

  Action taken

  The city required an excavation before construction proceeded. Archaeologists examined the site from March through June 2005.

  Aftermath

  The investigation identified significant structural and archaeological remains, including evidence of enslaved people’s outbuildings. The development schedule was delayed, and reported condominium buyer withdrawals followed.

  Source

• 1929

  Relocation and restoration of the mansionStrategy

  Background

  Industrial development, prior use as a storage facility, and severe tornado damage had left the Alexandria mansion in poor condition.

  Action taken

  John Munn dismantled Colross and transported its components brick by brick to Princeton, New Jersey, where the structure was restored.

  Aftermath

  The relocation preserved the mansion as a recognizable Georgian structure but removed it from its original estate landscape. It later became part of Princeton Day School.

  Source

1. 1Colrossen.wikipedia.org