Hours: April-October, Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday 1 p.m.-5 p.m.; November-March, Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunday, 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Closed on Mondays except when it falls on a holiday.
Admission: Adults,$3.00; senior citizens, $2.00; children, 1.50 Group rates available.
Mason Locke Weems bought this home in 1798 to use as a bookstore and for lodging while he traveled the East Coast selling books for the Mathew Cary Publishing Company.
This split-level home was built at different times. The smaller section, which now houses the Weems bookstore and attic, was purchased by Weems. However, it is not clear when the second portion of the house was built.
In 1802, Weems sold this home to Benjamin Botts, one of Aaron Burr's attorneys. He and his family moved to a brick home off Route 640 in Dumfries.
The Weems-Botts Museum is thought to be the oldest structure in Dumfries. It is furnished with items representing the period of Weems' ownership. A number of Weems' works are on display, and the museum maintains sources for the Weems family genealogy.
Bookseller and Writer
Mason Locke Weems (1759-1825) had several careers; however, the one he seemed to enjoy most was that of bookseller. In 1793, at age 34, he became an agent for the publisher, Mathew Carey, selling books on commission and living the life of a traveling salesman.
As Weems traveled, promoted, and read the books that he was selling, he became inspired to write too. First he simply added his moralizing to sermons and pamphlets that were already in circulation. However, he went on to write 26 books, pamphlets, and almanacs during his lifetime.
The Life of George Washington, published in 1800, is perhaps the most memorable of Weems' works. In this volume, he created the legend of young Washington "barking" a cherry tree (cutting deeply into the tree's trunk, causing it to die). Weems wrote three more biographies:The Life of Francis Marion, The Life of Benjamin Franklin, and The Life of William Penn. None of these ever reached the popularity of the Washington biography which went through 70 editions.
Surgeon and Priest
Born in Marshes Seat, Maryland, on October 11, 1759, Weems was the youngest of 19 children. He traveled to England to study medicine and served as a surgeon for the Royal Navy during the Revolutionary War. After a brief trip to America when his father died, Weems returned to England to continue his studies, this time focusing on religion.
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