Gunston Hall, Va. –– Following questions in recent weeks, officials at Gunston Hall will hold a press conference to address the educational mission of the estate that once was home to George Mason.
Members of the public and the press have been invited to the event that will start at 6 p.m.
The conference comes after the firing of a 20-year-employee who served as the estate’s education coordinator.
Officials at the mansion say a $5,000 state budget reduction was the impetus for cutting the position.
But others have cried foul, saying it is the organization’s primary mission to educate the public about 18th century life on a plantation that owned by one of the men present as the nation’s constitutional convention.
Mason, a supporter of a national bill of rights, authored an original draft of Virginia’s first bill of rights.
He was raised, and later lived on the Fairfax County plantation.
The mansion and grounds are open for school field trips, visitors and scouting programs.
