Driven out by mosquitoes..............well, well, well..............................i bet that was it...................



When Mason’s bank collapsed in 1833, he was forced to give up the property to cover his debts (although society people politely said the family was driven out by mosquitoes).  The mansion was abandoned as a family home, and over the years the island was used as a Civil War encampment, a boating club, a jousting ring, a dancing saloon, a pavilion to watch balloon launches from and a picnic spot.  In 1869, a fire devastated the interior of the Mason house and the island was slowly left to nature.  One reporter for the Washington Times commented in 1902 that “the interior aspect of Analostan is desolate in the extreme,” with the ruins of the Mason house “hidden in the dense growth of trees which has overrun the island”