[5][6] Selma was built at the base of Catoctin Mountain overlooking a sweeping vista of lawn and pastureland between 1800 and 1810 by Armistead Thomson Mason.
[3] Upon selling Selma, Mason joined the United States Army and while serving as a captain in the Mexican–American War was mortally wounded.
White commissioned Richmond architecture firm Noland and Baskervill to design a Colonial Revival mansion, which was built between 1900 and 1902 and included part of the earlier house as a kitchen wing.
No expense was spared in achieving a level of luxury, including modern conveniences such as "speaking tubes", a form of intercom system.
After years of neglect and vandalism, Selma was purchased in March 2016 by Sharon D. Virts and Scott F. Miller, and is currently undergoing a massive restoration project as a private home.
[4][6] The dwelling also exhibits a modillion cornice with dentils, pedimented dormers, twelve-over-one double-sash windows, and tall interior end chimneys.
[4] Selma's central entrance is surmounted by a large semicircular fanlight with tracery and flanked by engaged fluted Roman Ionic columns.