Bel Air Manor is a colonial-era plantation manor located in Minnieville, Prince William County, Virginia. Built in 1740 as the Ewell family seat, the home was regularly visited by Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, who was a cousin. It later served as the home of Mason Locke Weems (1759–1825), the first biographer of George Washington and the creator of the cherry tree story. Extraordinarily well preserved for its age, Bel Air was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. Today, Bel Air remains a private residence and a working farm. Bel Air is not to be confused with "Bel Aire", a similarly named house five miles to the east.

Mason Locke Weems, usually referred to as Parson Weems, was an American minister, evangelical bookseller and author who wrote the first biography of George Washington immediately after his death. Some popular stories about Washington thought during the 20th century to be apocryphal can be traced to Weems, including the cherry tree tale. Weems' biography of Washington was a bestseller that depicted Washington's virtues and was intended to provide morally instructive tales for the youth of the young nation. Recent examinations of Weems, particularly by James Bish, and Dr. Richard Gardiner have found that Weems' knowledge and sourcing may have been stronger than assumed by previous scholars. Weems corresponded with Washington, had family ties to Washington, and evidently relied on members of the Washington family for information.