Of George Mason, whom Garland Hunt says is "more than any other man
entitled to be called the Father of the Declaration of Independence," whom
Judge Garland says, "Is the greatest political philosopher the Western
Hemisphere ever produced," of whose Bill of Rights, Gladstone said, "It is
the greatest document that ever emanated from the brain of man," little
can be said here. His home was at Gunston Hall, on the Potomac, but the
Rising Sun knew him well, and his feet often trod Mary Washington's garden
walks, or the floors of Kenmore, Chatham and the other residences of Old
Fredericksburg.
Mason was intimate here, and here much of his trading and shipping was
done. When he left Gunston, it was usually to come to Fredericksburg and
meet his younger conferees, who were looking up to him as the greatest
leader in America. He died and is buried at Gunston Hall. It was in
Fredericksburg that he first met young Washington, who ever afterward
looked upon "The Sage of Gunston" as his adviser and friend, and as
America's greatest man.