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BRYANS ROAD, Md. - The view across the Potomac from George Washington's Mount Vernon estate will remain pristine, as it was more than 200 years ago, thanks in part to a purchase of 25 hectares by the National Park Service on the banks of the river.

The purchase conserves the last major block of shoreline on the Maryland side of the river that can be seen from Mount Vernon, which sits in Virginia just a few kilometres south of the U.S. capital.

The complicated transaction began in 2005, when a private landowner listed 30 hectares for sale in Charles County, on the southern Maryland shore across from the estate.

Mount Vernon wanted to ensure that the land was not turned into housing developments, and inquired to see if the National Park Service would be interested in purchasing the land and annexing it to Piscataway Park, an existing national park that protects more than 2,000 hectares along the shore.

The park service was interested, but could not put a deal together quickly enough. So Mount Vernon bought the land to protect it while a final deal could be put into place.

However, the park service was not interested in maintaining a restored 18th-century farmhouse on the land, so private homeowners were found who bought a portion of the land on the condition of forgoing the development rights.