It started as a wheat farm, but expanded to include other grains, sheep, a gristmill and a saw mill, and a vineyard.

In 1861, fearing that a battle between Union and Confederate forces was imminent nearby, Elizabeth Carter fled to another of her properties, Bellefield.

In 1897 the Carter family sold the mansion with 60 acres (24.3 ha) for $10,000 (~$315,129 in 2023) to Stilson Hutchins, founder of The Washington Post newspaper, who never lived on the property.

Today her plantings include mature specimens of Buxus sempervirens `Arborescens’ and `Suffruticosa’, Larix decidua, and Quercus robur.

Due to their prominent political stance in Washington, D.C., the Eustises had many famous friends including General George C. Marshall, Henry Cabot Lodge, President Harry S. Truman and Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.