Welcome to Happy Retreat

Happy Retreat, the stately Federal/Greek Revival style home of Charles Washington, founder of Charles Town and brother of our first President, stands on a hill overlooking Charles Town, surrounded by 12 acres of sloping lawns and woods. In 2015, the non-profit Friends of Happy Retreat (FOHR) partnered with the City of Charles Town to acquire, restore, and preserve Happy Retreat for public use. Under this innovative partnership arrangement, the City bought ten acres of the Happy Retreat property to incorporate into a grand park that will extend throughout the west end of Charles Town along scenic Evitts Run. FOHR bought the Happy Retreat mansion, out buildings and surrounding two acres of land. FOHR is restoring the house and its outbuildings to use as a center for history, heritage tourism, scholarship, culture, and other events.