Collingwood Library and Museum. Photo by Michael Lee Pope.
The dream of a museum dedicated to Americana may be dead, and an important community center may be privatized. That’s what’s at stake for Collingwood, the picturesque riverside estate that was once home to one of George Washington’s overseers. In March the property went on the market for $5.9 million, an indication that the library and museum may soon become a private estate with a dazzling view of the Potomac River.
“I want to do anything I can do to prevent it from being sold and developed,” said Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerry Hyland. “So I’ve been talking to a number of people to see what’s possible.”
So far, that effort hasn’t worked. The Fairfax County Park Authority considered purchasing the site or creating some kind of partnership with the museum, but that didn’t succeed. This week, Hyland is scheduled to meet with officials at Mount Vernon Estate about incorporating the property into their campus — a prospect that Hyland said might be problematic considering the time and attention currently devoted to creating a new George Washington library.
“We would pull it off the market today if we could find some kind of donor who was willing to continue the mission of the museum,” said Paul Frank, executive director of the Foundation for the Collingwood Library and Museum of Americana. “And we would be happy to set up some kind of benefits package.”
THE HISTORY OF COLLINGWOOD dates back to 1760, when Washington purchased the property and built a house for Tobias Lear, his personal secretary. The property later became a dairy farm and a restaurant. During World War II, the federal government housed military personnel here and carried out covert operations of the Office of Strategic Services, the predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency. In the late 1970s, a group of retired officers purchased the property and opened a museum. Today, visitors can see a gold-plated copy of the Constitution, a replica of Paul Revere’s lantern and a chip of wood from Abraham Lincoln’s house.
“Collingwood is a real asset to the community,” said Katherine Ward, who lives in the nearby Wellington neighborhood. “The community would certainly be opposed to a developer coming in and building a new development here.”
The property has a conservation easement and a scenic easement, which would make development a challenge. The property also has a newly constructed $2 million American Legacy Center, a structure resembling a barn that the museum hoped would bring in revenue. But even when all the weddings and holiday parties were booked, the board of directors for the museum came to the conclusion that the operation was not going to be able to stay afloat.
“The revenue stream is less than we need to meet our obligations to the bank,” said Frank. “Revenue from weddings is never going to be enough.”
THE FUTURE OF COLLINGWOOD is unknown, but a number of scenarios could play out over the coming months. One is that pieces of the property could be sold to different buyers, allowing for the museum to continue in some fashion even if part of the estate is privatized. Another would be that Mount Vernon might have some kind of involvement with saving the property, an idea that Hyland says he’ll be pushing in the coming weeks. Another scenario is that a wealthy individual will purchase the entire property and transform it into a private riverside estate.
“I think the most likely scenario is that it will become the home of a very wealthy person who wants a commanding view of the Potomac River,” said businessman Kahan Dhillon. “That’s a shame because Collingwood is more than just a museum. It’s a real gathering place for this community.”