At the top of the King Street in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia stands the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. This prominent monument sits on Shuter’s Hill, once occupied by an eighteenth century mansion and later by a Civil War fort. City Archaeologists have been digging near the monument each summer since 1995, to locate and document these remains and other features which remain from earlier use of the site.

Shuter's Hill: A Wealth of History

The brochure, "Shuter's Hill: A Wealth of History" provides a summary of the history and archaeology of the site, based upon 10 years of research and excavation. Native American hunters were the first to use Shuter's Hill. In 1781, merchant John Mills built an elegant frame mansion on the property, along with two small outbuildings used as a laundry and garderner's house. He operated the plantation with the labor of nine enslaved African Americans. In the 1790s, the plantation was purchased by Ludwell Lee, a lawyer, politician and planter. In 1799 Benjamin Dulany, a wealthy planter who lived in town on Duke Street, purchased the property as a summer home. The wooden mansion burned in 1842 and was replaced by a large brick house in the 1850s. At the beginning of the Civil War, Fort Ellsworth was built on Shuter's Hill as part of the Union Army's Defenses of Washington, and the Dulany mansion was occupied by the military. The brick mansion burned in 1905.

Shuter's" Hill: A Wealth of History
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Visiting Shuter's Hill

Check the Alexandria Archaeology Calendar to learn about activities at Shuter's Hill.

Site Tours are held in October during Virginia Archaeology Month, and Bike Tours visit the site, usually on National Trails Day in June and again during Archaeology Month.

For a more hands-on experience, help the archaeologists at the screens during Family Dig Days , held on selected Saturdays.

College students can earn credit during a two week course in May, at the George Washington University Field School in Public and Historic Archaeology.

Local volunteers also help with excavation on selected Saturdays. An orientation is held at the beginning of the field season, and again as needed. Fill out an online Volunteer Application.