From the Constitutional Convention to the Nixon Administration
Spring feels like it’s come early this year, and it makes a terrific time to visit history, especially the March events at Old Town North’s own Lee-Fendall House Museum at 614 Oronoco Street. The known history of this property stretches from the calling of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia to the first term of President Richard Nixon.
Built by Philip Fendall, a local businessman and member of the Lee family, in 1785, this house was home to seven generations of the Lee family, housing thirty-seven members of the family from 1785 to 1903. It was confiscated during the Civil War and was used as a hospital for hundreds of convalescing Union soldiers from 1863 to 1865. By 1903, the liquor purveyor Robert Downham had purchased the home for his family, but in 1937 financial difficulties brought on by Prohibition forced him to sell. The final residential purchaser of the home was labor leader John L. Lewis, president of the United Mine Workers of America and founder of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO).
After Lewis’ death in 1969, the future of the house was uncertain until it was purchased by the Virginia Trust for Historic Preservation (VTHP). It opened as a house museum in 1974 and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979.
VTHP undertook to reverse decades of deferred maintenance, including conducting a major structural restoration in 2005. Today, the home is a place to learn about architecture, furnishings, archeology, gardens, and the lives of its residents.
Several fascinating trips through history are planned in March:
Beyond the Battlefield: A Civil War Walking Tour of Alexandria: 10:00 AM March 25; $15 per person
Civil War Hospital Tour: 2:00 PM March 4 & 25; $10 per person
The American Civil War's Impact on Modern Medicine: 6:00 PM March 10; $10 per person
Historic Cemetery Tours: 1:00 PM & 3:00 PM March 11; $20 per person
"This Tide of Wounded:" Lee-Fendall as a Civil War Hospital: 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM (timed entries) March 18; $10 per person ($5 under 18)
Researching the Grosvenor Branch Hospital: 6:00 PM March 31; $10 per person
If you can act quickly, you may be able to attend the remaining February events:
Alexandria? Which Alexandria?: 6:00 PM February 24; $10 per person
Stories in the Architecture: 2:00 PM February 25; $10 per person
Tickets are free or discounted for members of the Lee-Fendall House, but reservations are required for everyone. Save your spot by emailing contact@leefendallhouse.org or calling 703-548-1789.