For hundreds of years, Agecroft Hall was the distinguished home of England's Langley and Dauntesey families. At the end of the 19th century, however, Agecroft fell into disrepair, and in 1925 it was sold at auction. Hearing of this tremendous opportunity, Richmonder Thomas C. Williams, Jr. purchased the structure, and had it dismantled, crated, and shipped across the Atlantic,… Read More

Arlington House is the nation's memorial to Robert E. Lee. It honors him for specific reasons, including his role in promoting peace and reunion after the Civil War. In a larger sense it exists as a place of study and contemplation of the meaning of some of the most difficult aspects of American history: military service; sacrifice; citizenship; duty;… Read More

Bacon's Castle is the oldest brick dwelling in North America and was built for Arthur Allen and his family in 1665. Originally known as Allen's Brick House, it earned the moniker "Bacon's Castle" in 1676 when several of Nathaniel Bacon's men occupied the home for four months during the uprising that became known as Bacon's Rebellion. Read More

Belle Boyd Cottage has served as a tavern, private residence, military headquarters, apartment building, and store room. At the time of the Civil War, this cottage wa the residence of Belle Boyd's aunt and uncle. Belle Boyd stayed in the cottage using the opportunity to spy on Federal troops occupying the town. The cottage has been restored as a… Read More

Belle Grove is located in the northern Shenandoah Valley near Middletown, Virginia. It was the home Major Isaac Hite and his wife Nelly Madison Hite, sister of President James Madison. Major Hite, grandson of Shenandoah Valley Pioneer Jost Hite, used enslaved labor to expand his original 483 acres to a prosperous 7500 acre plantation, growing wheat, raising livestock, and… Read More

Site of the first Thanksgiving, and birthplace of President William Harrison and Declaration of Independence signer Benjamin Harrison V. Read More

Booker T. Washington was born a slave in April 1856 on the 207-acre farm of James Burroughs. After the Civil War, Washington became the first principal of Tuskegee Normal and Industrial School. Later as an adviser, author and orator, his past would influence his philosophies as the most influential African American of his era. Read More

The historic Carlyle House was completed in 1753 by British merchant John Carlyle for his bride, Sarah Fairfax of Belvoir, member of one of the most prestigious families in colonial Virginia. Their home quickly became a center of social and political life in Alexandria and gained a foothold in history when British General Braddock made the mansion his headquarters… Read More

Constructed in 1769 for the Harwood family, Historic Endview is one of the last remaining colonial buildings in Newport News. The Georgian-style house was located in close proximity to the route taken by the Continental Army and Virginia militia on their advance to the 1781 battle that ended the Revolutionary War. Dr. Humphrey Harwood Curtis, a physician and a… Read More

He was one of the most successful painters of his time, sought out by the rich and famous. She was a beautiful, young art student, and his biggest fan. They fell in love on an ocean liner and spent their lives sharing art. Read More

The guided tour of the Washington house replica explores the lives of George, his mother Mary, other Washington family members, and the enslaved community. It recounts the adversity all of these individuals faced after the death of Augustine Washington, George's father. You can walk Ferry Farm's grounds before and after your house tour. Read More

Explore the elegance of 19th century life in the grand home of General G.C. Wharton who was an avid promoter for the development of southwestern Virginia in the post-war years. The museum features historic rooms, history exhibits, an art gallery and a school house. Read More

George and Ann Mason’s stylish home showcased the Masons’ wealth and prominence. Explore the complexities of Col. Mason’s life as a family man, community leader, and founding father. Discover the lives of all the people who lived at Gunston Hall, from the framer of American rights to the hundreds of people kept in slavery there. Read More

Historic house museum was built in 1823. Home of Wytheville's first resident physician. Collection includes period furnishings, personal mementos, medical records and supplies from the 1800s, and a small museum of local artifacts. There is an herb garden with plants typically grown in the 19th. century. Read More

Built as a full English basement-style home and private residence in 1820, Hill House was home to three generations of the family.  In the 1960's, the home’s last occupant, Miss Evelyn Hill, donated property, including the house and its contents to the Portsmouth Historical Association. Read More

Historic Kenmore is a beautiful, Georgian-style brick mansion built by George Washington's sister, Betty Washington Lewis, and her husband, Fredericksburg merchant Fielding Lewis, reflecting their pre-Revolutionary War wealth and gentry status. Read More

Built on the edge of the frontier wilderness, Smithfield offered a last vestige of civilization as frontiersman traveled west. The sophistication and generous scale of the architecture recalls many of the plantation homes in Tidewater. Read More

The Hunter House Victorian Museum serves as a rich example of Victorian decorative arts and architecture. Guests are invited to meet the Hunters as they tour two floors of the home, which feature the Hunter family’s collection of furniture, books, decorative objects, and more. Read More

The 1790 residence of our fourth Supreme Court Chief Justice, his family, and 8-16 enslaved servants at any given time until 1835. Read More

Ker Place, a National and Virginia Historical Landmark built in 1799-1803 by Agnes and John Ker, is the finest example of Federal architecture on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Only two families lived in this mansion from when the Kers moved in in 1801 until it was purchased by the ESVHS in 1960. Read More

Lee Hall Mansion is an Italianate residence built in 1859 by prominent planter, Richard Decatur Lee, for his family. Only three years after the house's completion, the Lees fled their home as the Peninsula became one of the first battlegrounds of the Civil War. Read More

Revolutionary War hero, Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee, father of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, purchased several lots on North Washington Street in Alexandria soon after the War for Independence. He later sold the lot at the corner of Oronoco Street to his cousin Philip Richard Fendall, who built this wood frame house in 1785. Read More

The circa 1811 historic house, horse retirement farm and scenic open spaces allow us to promote education and environmental preservation and to host community and private events. And our scenic Sheila McQueen Gardens are the perfect location for weddings and private events. Read More

Maggie Walker devoted her life to civil rights advancement, economic empowerment, and educational opportunities for Jim Crow-era African Americans and women. As a bank president, newspaper editor, and fraternal leader, Walker served as an inspiration of pride and progress. Today, Walker's home is preserved as a tribute to her enduring legacy of vision, courage, and determination. Read More

In 1772, George Washington purchased a house from Michael Robinson in Fredericksburg, Virginia for his mother. Mary Ball Washington spent her last seventeen years in this comfortable home. The white frame house sits on the corner of Charles and Lewis Streets and was in walking distance to Kenmore, home of Mary's daughter Betty Fielding Lewis. Read More

Maymont is a 100-acre historic estate and park, located in Richmond, Virginia, with many unique experiences for all to enjoy. Stroll through the gardens and arboretum, see native wildlife habitats, feed friendly goats, explore The Robins Nature Center and visit the Mansion. Read More

Monticello is the autobiographical masterpiece of Thomas Jefferson, designed and redesigned and built and rebuilt for more than forty years. Read More

Montpelier is a 2,750-acre estate that includes farmland, racecourses, a terraced two-acre formal garden, a panoramic landscape, a National Landmark Forest, active archaeological sites, and more than 130 buildings, including the main house. Read More

A National Register Historic Property, Morven Park was for 40 years the home of Virginia Gov. Westmoreland Davis. More than 100,000 people visit Morven Park each year, enjoying entertaining and educational programming at its three museums and multifaceted equestrian center, and experiencing its beautiful scenery, historic gardens, sports fields, and hiking trails, all within its 1,200-plus acres. Read More

Mount Vernon was the beloved home of George and Martha Washington from the time of their marriage in 1759 until General Washington's death in 1799. He worked tirelessly to expand his plantation from 2,000 acres to 8,000 and the mansion house from six rooms to twenty one. Read More

The Newsome House Museum and Cultural Center is the restored 1899 residence of prominent African-American attorney J. Thomas Newsome and his wife Mary Winfield Newsome. At the turn of the 20th century, Mr. Newsome moved his family to Newport News, Virginia, where he prospered as part of the postwar South's new urban, African-American middle class. Read More

It was 1804 when George Carter, great grandson of colonial Virginia’s renowned Robert "King" Carter, began building his Oatlands estate: the mansion, greenhouse, dairy, smoke house, bank barn and gardens. In the 1820s, he remodeled his federal mansion to its current Greek Revival style. Carter died in 1846, and his widow, Elizabeth Grayson Carter, remained at Oatlands with their… Read More

Patrick Henry's Red Hill, in Brookneal, Virginia, is the final home and burial place of Founding Father Patrick Henry, the fiery legislator and orator of the American Revolution. Henry bought Red Hill at his retirement in 1794 and occupied it until 1799, the year of his death. In addition to the main house, Henry used another building as his law office.… Read More

The house, at 93 feet (28 m) by 35 feet (11 m), is one of the largest 18th-century homes to survive in the Americas. In its present configuration, it has eight substantial rooms on the first floor surrounding a central passage, with a full attic above and English basement with windows below. Read More

Poplar Forest is a plantation and plantation house in Forest, Bedford County, Virginia. Founding Father and third U.S. president Thomas Jefferson designed the plantation, and used the property as both a private retreat and a revenue-generating plantation. Jefferson inherited the property in 1773 and began designing and working on the plantation in 1806. Read More

Built in 1843, the two-story brick home has been restored to its nineteenth century state and includes many of the original family furnishings. The grounds include the original brick kitchen, a brick milk house, a log icehouse and a log granary. The family cemetery is located near the house and across a field is the slave cemetery. The house… Read More

This most impressive structure on Main Street in Suffolk features striking architectural details. The five frieze band windows across the front of the house are rarely seen in eastern Virginia. The front of the mansion is bricked in Flemish bond, and double chimneys rise from both ends of the stately historic landmark. Slender columns of the Greek Revival period… Read More

Shirley, settled in 1613, is the oldest plantation in Virginia and the oldest family-owned business in North America, dating back to 1638. Read More

The only home that the famous Confederate General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson ever owned. Read More

A National Historic Landmark, Stratford Hall preserves the legacy of the Lee family and its surrounding community, inspires an appreciation of America's past, and encourages commitment to the ideals of leadership, honor, independent thought, and civic responsibility. Established by Thomas Lee in the 1730s, Stratford Hall is one of the great houses of American history. Read More

The Wickham House is a spectacular example of 19th century Federal architecture and displays some of the country's finest examples of interior decorative painting. Listed as a National Historic Landmark, the Wickham House, built by John Wickham, illustrates the lives of one of Richmond's most prominent families. The Wickham House was purchased by Mann Valentine Jr. and in 1898… Read More

For more than 100 years, members of the Randolph family called Wilton home. Built c. 1753 for William Randolph III, Wilton was the centerpiece of a 2,000 acre tobacco plantation and at one point was home to the largest enslaved population in Henrico. It was here that the Randolph family entertained some of colonial Virginia's most elite social and… Read More