John Chapman Hunter (1762-1849), at the age of 14 (1776), inherited this area from his older brother who died at age 22, who in turn had inherited a large amount of property in Fairfax, Fauquier and other counties. In his teen-age years he served in the Revolutionary War and, when he was 50, was an Army Officer during the War of 1812. He built the plantation home (that stood in what is today court yard eight) and called it "Contemplation" on this 323 acre site at about 1800 when he was 38. The plantation included all of Mosby's Landing, Berkley Square apartments, all the surrounding houses, and James Madison High School. There was a barn on the Oakton end of court yard nine and several out buildings were nearby as was typical of the day. Until 1997 there was a huge tree in court yard eight that was planted in their front yard by the owners prior to the Civil War. At the time, Maple Avenue stopped at Lawyers Road. Court House Road was the only road west to Fairfax until the present day course of route 123 was laid out in 1891, which was a year after Vienna was incorporated as a City in February 1890. A long narrow tree-lined lane ran along Glengyle Drive (Oakton site) all the way to Court House Road, at the present day Nottoway Park.

John Hunter served as a state Senator and in the House of Delegates between 1804-1820. By 1810 John had ten children and nine slaves at Contemplation. By 1820 he had become High Sheriff of the county. When they died, John and his wife Sarah Dade Triplett were laid to rest in the family burial grounds which were north and behind the house (behind court yard nine, at the corner of Mosby's Landing North Vienna side). By 1970 the headstones were broken and by 1981 the foot stones too were "not in evidence." John's marker is reported to have read, "Sacred to the memory of John Chapman Hunter who departed this life the 14th day of Feb, 1849, aged 87 years." The graveyard is protected as a historical land mark.

In 1860, Fairfax had a population of only about 12,000, even though a train line had been going through Vienna for many years. Many skirmishes were fought all over today's Fairfax County including very early conflicts in Vienna.

By the end of the 1800's the county's population had risen to 18,580. Between 1869 and 1922 the property was sold about a dozen times with various portions of the property being sold off as time progressed. In 1922 Allie Loving sold off lots that became Berkley Square apartments, James Madison High School and several houses nearby. Maj. General Edwin B. Winans who was the Chief of the U.S. Calvary owned Contemplation from 1933-1947. After a number of other owners, and a couple fires, Contemplation was sold in 1973 by Timberlake McCue to the developers of Mosby's Landing "Vienna Joint Venture." Beginning in 1976, Mosby's Landing was built in several stages, starting from court yard one.