Stratford Hall, birthplace of Robert E. Lee

Our next stop after leaving George Washington's Birthplace was 10 miles further down SR-3 to Stratford Hall where Robert E. Lee was born. We stopped at the gate house and paid $18 for 2 senior tickets to tour the house.

Since it was now almost 1:00 and we hadn't eaten lunch yet, we drove out to the Dining Room for lunch and got a glimpse of Stratford Hall from the road.

From Stratford Hall

From Stratford Hall

There are several cabins and 2 guest houses located near the Dining Room provide on-site lodging. The guest houses and cabins were built in the 1930s for the personal use of Stratford Hall’s Board of Directors during its semi-annual meetings.

From Stratford Hall

There was only 1 other couple in the dining room when we got there, so we had our choice of tables. After looking over the menu we settled on the

Angus beef patty on ciabatta bread with French fries & Blenheim organic garden salad and we ordered Northern Neck Ginger Ale to drink and our lunch came to $28 including the tip.

From Stratford Hall

After lunch we stopped by the archaeologic dig that was being done where they had found foundations for a barn and a house that may have been the overseer's home.

From Stratford Hall

We got over to the Reception Center a little before 2:00 and were given directions to the Great House. Since it was so close to the house tour beginning at 2:00, the volunteer at the reception center called the tour guide to let her know we were on the way. By now it was starting to lightly rain, and we sped up since we had left our umbrellas in the car.

From Stratford Hall

We met our guide, Marilyn, and 2 other ladies taking the tour and Marilyn led us over to the basement entrance to the Great House. We entered the basement and walked up to the upper floor. I wish we had photos to show of the interior, but photography isn't allowed inside the house.

Marilyn talked about the history of the Lee family and we learned that Robert E. Lee only lived here for the first 3 years of his life. He did return to Stratford for holidays and vacations.

We looked into the parlor where extensive renovations are being done to restore the room to reflect the way it looked when the Lees lived there.

After our tour of the house that lasted about 45 minutes, we stopped by the Gift Shop and bought some souveniers and a couple bottles of local wine before walking back to the Reception Center.

From Stratford Hall

Inside the Reception Center we looked at some artifacts belonging to Robert E. Lee and some of the furnishings that belonged in the parlor that is now being restored.

From Stratford Hall

Today we learned that if it hadn't been for women organizing and getting funding to preserve these historic sites, we wouldn't have been able to visit George Washington's Birthplace and Stratford Hall today.

I had hoped to be able to have time to drive down to Montross to go to the Westmoreland Museum and Historical Library today, but it was 3:30 when we left Stratford Hall and the museum in Montross closes at 4:00. We went back to the campground and will go down to Montross tomorrow morning so I can try researching the Neale family.