The Murray-Dick-Fawcett House is one of our community treasures and its preservation is a top priority. A historically accurate replacement of both the standing seam metal and wood shingle roofing was completed as Phase I of exterior stabilization/weatherization. This project also included wood restoration of the exterior dormer windows and repointing of the chimneys above the roof line.  Phase II restoration of the exterior doors, windows and wide-board siding is now underway and will reuse as much original material as possible.

These are the main sources of information on the history, archaeology, and preservation of 517 Prince Street.

• 1936 HABS Documentation on file in the Archives and Manuscript Collection, Alexandria Library, Special Collections. See index for more information
• Ruth Lincoln Kaye, 2000, The History of 517 Prince Street Alexandria, Virginia. Report on file with Alexandria Archaeology.
• Steven J. Shephard, 2008, Archaeological Investigations at 517 Prince Street, Alexandria, VA by Alexandria Archaeology, 2000-2004. Report on file with Alexandria Archaeology.
• National Register of History Places Alexandria Historic District (2017 Update Regarding the Murray-Dick-Fawcett House)
• Vernacular Architecture Forum, 2018, Murray-Dick-Fawcett House, 517 Prince Street, 1775, 1790s, ca. 1820 in A Shared Heritage: Urban and Rural Experience on the Banks of the Potomac, A Field Guide for Alexandria, Virginia. Thirty-ninth Annual Vernacular Architecture Forum Conference.
• Callahan, William, Edward Cook and Camille Wells, 2018, Tree-Ring Dating of the Fawcett House, Alexandria, Virginia. Report on file with the Office of Historic Alexandria.
• Mesick Cohen Wilson Baker Architects, LLP, 2018, Investigation of the Colonnade Ceiling, Fawcett House, 517 Prince Street, Alexandria, Virginia. Report on file with the Office of Historic Alexandria.
• John H. Sprinkle, Jr., 2019, Saving Spaces: Historic Land Conservation in the United States (Routledge: New York), pp. 179-180.
• Sue Kovach Shuman, 2019, The Murray-Dick-Fawcett House: A Future Alexandria Museum. In The Alexandria Chronicle (Spring), pp. 1-12.

2017 – The City of Alexandria acquires the property with the support of the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, and then owner Joe Reeder. Reeder purchased the home in 2000 and continues to live there as a life tenant.

2017 – Intensive historical documentary research project begins.

2017 – The Phase I restoration of the exterior of 517 Prince Street by Oak Grove begins and includes the historically accurate replacement of both the standing seam metal and wood shingle roofing.

2022 – Phase II restoration of the exterior doors, windows, and wide-board siding begins.

November 2020 – Exterior digital scanning of the house completed by Mesick Cohen Wilson Baker Architects, LLP.

February 2023 – The Office of Historic Alexandria initiates the Historic Structures Report study by Glave & Homes with funding from the Historic Alexandria Foundation.

• The Murray-Dick-Fawcett House at 250. Out of the Attic, Alexandria Times, May 12, 2022.

• From Shingles to Siding: The Restoration of One of Alexandria’s Oldest Homes. By Susannah More, Alexandria Living, July 22, 2022.

• Documenting Alexandria's Murray-Dick-Fawcett House . Historic Alexandria Foundation, Alexandria Gazette Packet, November 17-23, 2022.

• Alexandria completes purchase of historic 18th century home. By Patricia Sullivan, Washington Post, April 28, 2017.