At the edge of the busy commercial area of the community of McLean, hidden from the heavy traffic on Dolley Madison Boulevard by a natural screen of trees and shrubs, stands the substantial brick dwelling known as Salona. Only a portion of the original 466 acres surrounds the house; the rest of the land has been converted into church properties, shopping centers, residential subdivisions, and other appurtenances of development.

Originally, the land was part of a large grant of 2,630 acres taken out by Thomas Lee in 1719 from the Northern Neck proprietor, and later named "Langley," a name which persists in the area to the present day.

The Reverend William Maffitt of Maryland purchased the 466-acre parcel in 1812, and he may have been the builder of the brick house at Salona to which President James Madison fled when the British burned the capital in August, 1814.

After the death of Maffitt, the property went through the hands of several northerners who were part of the influx of Yankees just prior to the outbreak of the Civil War. The parcel was divided into several pieces.

Jacob G. Smoot of Georgetown, D.C., purchased 208 acres, including the house, in 1853. He and his descendants owned Salona for almost 100 years—through the Civil War when Camp Griffin troops were temporary residents in tent villages on Salona and surrounding property and in the extended period of rebuilding during the agricultural era following. They witnessed and were part of the subdivision of lands for suburban tract housing.

As a reflection of changes experienced in the Washington metropolitan area following World War II, Clive DuVal, a veteran, came from New York to accept employment with the federal government. He and his wife Susan purchased Salona with the idea of restoring it and using it for a family residence.

The DuVals entered into a period of community participation which repeatedly involved the house as a center for meetings, tours and entertainment. Because it was a sound, comfortable, gracious old house with historical associations and community significance, they decided to grant a permanent historic and scenic easement to Fairfax County in 1971, preserving the house, its brick outbuildings and eight acres of land surrounding them in perpetuity. A temporary easement for 44 additional acres of the Salona property was granted at the same time, fitting in with the county's stated purpose to shape the character, direction and timing of community development through the preservation of open space land.

Because of its historical associations, the house was placed on the Virginia State Landmarks Register and on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.