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The Henderson House was built circa 1750 by Daniel Carrol Brent. Brent most likely hired Masterbuilder William Buckland to construct the building. The house was probably constructed with bricks brought from England as ballast. The house originally contained ten rooms and now contains twenty-one. It also has eleven fireplaces and a full basement. In the 1790, the house was rented and later purchased by Alexander and Sara Henderson. Alexander Henderson moved to Dumfries from Colchester in hopes that Dumfries would provide a better market for his stores. Alexander is known as the "Father of the Chain Store." He had stores in Colchester, Occoquan, Alexandria and Dumfries. Sara and Alexander has ten children, one of which was Archibald Henderson. Archibald because the fifth and longest-serving commandant of the Marine Corps. The "Granddaddy of the Marine Corps" served for over 38 years. Alexander lived in Dumfries until his death on November 22, 1815. The Henderson House, according to his will, was to be sold with the town lots following the death of his wife, which occurred on December 14, 1816. During the Civil War, the house was used as a hospital. Then, the upper rooms were used as large wards numbered 1 through 4. "Be quiet" was painted on the stairway. Also during the war, the coping at one corner of the house was torn away by cannon fire. In 1913, the
house was bought by Dr. D. C. Cline and his wife. Before that, the
house had been vacant and was shelter for criminals and vagrants
who vandalized. The Clines rented out extra parts of the house to
civilians and Marines. When Cline died in 1931, his wife Annie Cline
Shumate continued renting out apartments. In 1932, she married the
Rev. Albert Shumate. Now the house is owned and slowly being renovated
by Cline family members.
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