Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial facts for kids
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Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial
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 Location in Washington, D.C.
Location in Virginia
Location in the United States
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| Location | Arlington, Virginia, United States |
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| Area | 28.08 acres (11.36 ha) |
| Built | 1803–18 |
| Architect | George Hadfield |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| Visitation | 576,816 (2011) |
| Website | Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000040 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Boundary increase | March 17, 2014 |
Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial is a famous mansion in Arlington, Virginia. It was once the home of Robert E. Lee, a well-known general during the American Civil War. The house is built in the Greek Revival style, which looks like ancient Greek temples.
Arlington House sits on a hill overlooking the Potomac River and Washington, D.C.. During the Civil War, the land around the mansion was chosen to become Arlington National Cemetery. This was partly to make sure General Lee could not return to his home. Today, the United States government has made the mansion a National Memorial.
While the United States Army manages Arlington National Cemetery, the National Park Service takes care of Arlington House itself.
Contents
Building Arlington House: A Grand Home
The idea for Arlington House came from George Washington Parke Custis. He was the step-grandson and adopted son of George Washington, America's first president. Custis wanted to build a home that would also be a memorial to George Washington. He also wanted a place to keep his collection of Washington's belongings.
Custis chose a high spot on his 1,100-acre estate for the house. He named the estate "Arlington" after his family's old home in Virginia. Construction began in 1803 with George Hadfield as the architect. The house was designed in the Greek Revival style, one of the first examples in America.
Building the mansion took many years. The outside of the main house was finished in 1818. The most striking parts of the house are its eight huge columns on the front porch. Each column is 5 feet wide!
Life at Arlington House
Many important people visited Arlington House, including Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette in 1824. George Washington Parke Custis also experimented with new farming methods on his large estate.
Custis and his wife, Mary Lee Fitzhugh, had one child who lived to adulthood: Mary Anna Randolph Custis. Robert E. Lee was a cousin of Mrs. Custis. He often visited Arlington House when he was young and knew Mary Anna.
Robert E. Lee married Mary Anna Custis at Arlington House on June 30, 1831. For 30 years, Arlington House was their family home. Six of their seven children were born there. The Lees often traveled for Robert's Army duties but always returned to Arlington.
The Custis family also developed the gardens around the house. There was a beautiful flower garden and a natural area with tall trees called "the Grove."
When George Washington Parke Custis passed away in 1857, he left Arlington House to his daughter, Mary Custis Lee, for her lifetime. After her, it would go to her oldest son, George Washington Custis Lee. Robert E. Lee took a break from the Army to help manage and improve the estate.
Arlington House During the Civil War
In April 1861, Virginia decided to leave the United States. Robert E. Lee resigned from the United States Army and joined the Confederate States Army. Because Arlington House was on high ground overlooking Washington, D.C., the U.S. government knew it had to take control of the mansion.
Mary Lee, Robert E. Lee's wife, was warned that federal soldiers would soon occupy their home. She left Arlington House on May 14, 1861. Union Army troops then took over the property without a fight on May 24.
In 1862, the U.S. government passed a law about property taxes in areas that had left the Union. The law said these taxes had to be paid in person. Mary Lee was behind Confederate lines and too sick to pay the tax herself. So, the government took the Arlington estate for not paying taxes. It was sold in 1864, and the U.S. government bought it.
During the war, Union soldiers cut down many trees on the estate. However, some large trees remained, especially in an area west of the house called Arlington Woods.
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By 1864, military cemeteries in Washington, D.C., were running out of space for soldiers who had died in the war. Montgomery C. Meigs, a U.S. Army general, suggested using 200 acres of the Arlington estate as a cemetery. The United States Secretary of War approved this idea, creating Arlington National Cemetery on June 15, 1864.
Meigs believed that since Lee had fought against the Union, denying him the use of his home after the war was fair. He ordered many soldiers to be buried close to Arlington House to make it difficult for the Lee family to live there again.
Arlington House After the Civil War
Robert E. Lee never tried to visit Arlington House again before he died in 1870. Mary Lee visited the house only once more before her death in 1873. She was too sad about its condition to even go inside.
In 1874, Robert E. Lee's oldest son, George Washington Custis Lee, sued the U.S. government to get his family's property back. In 1882, the Supreme Court of the United States decided that the estate had been taken illegally. They ordered it to be returned to Custis Lee.
However, Custis Lee was more interested in getting money for the property than living there. After talks, he and the government agreed on a price of $150,000. Congress approved the payment in 1883, and Custis Lee officially sold the property to the government.
In 1920, the county where Arlington House is located changed its name from Alexandria County to Arlington County. This was done to honor the famous Arlington estate.
In 1925, Congress decided to restore the Lee Mansion. The United States Department of War began this work. For a while, the house was restored to look like it did when George Washington Parke Custis lived there, before the Lees. This meant less focus on Robert E. Lee's time in the house.
In 1955, Congress officially named the mansion the "Custis-Lee Mansion" to honor Robert E. Lee. Later, in 1972, its name was changed again to "Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial." This name is still used today. The National Park Service has been in charge of the house and its gardens since 1933.
The Gray Family: Protecting History
A very important part of Arlington House's history involves the Gray family. Selina Norris Gray was born into slavery at Arlington House. In 1831, she married Thornton Gray, who was also enslaved there. They had eight children who grew up on the estate.
When the Civil War began, the Lee family had to leave their home quickly. Mrs. Lee left the house keys with Selina and asked her to protect the valuable items inside. Many of these items were family treasures that had belonged to George Washington and Martha Washington.
Soon after Union troops occupied the house, Selina noticed that some precious items were missing because soldiers were taking things. When she saw that some of George Washington's belongings had disappeared, she quickly told General Irvin McDowell what was happening. She convinced him that these items were very important.
General McDowell then secured the house to stop more theft. He had the remaining Lee family treasures sent to a safe place in Washington, D.C. Selina Gray is remembered for saving these important historical items. Later, her children helped restore the house by sharing details about its layout and stories about the Lee family.
During major restoration work on Arlington House from 1929 to 1930, four of Selina and Thornton's daughters provided key information. Their memories helped make sure the restoration was accurate. In 2014, a rare photograph of Selina Gray was found.
Recent History of Arlington House
Expanding Arlington National Cemetery
In 1995, the United States Department of the Interior and the United States Army agreed to transfer some land from Arlington House to the Army. This land, part of Arlington Woods, was meant to help the Cemetery have more space for burials.
Some people were worried that this would mean cutting down a historic group of native trees. However, Congress approved the transfer in 1996. In 2013, plans for the expansion were approved. This project involved removing many trees, including some from a 145-year-old forest.
Restoration and Repairs
From 2003 to 2007, archaeologists studied the old slave quarters at Arlington House. In 2009, reports were published about the history of these quarters and plans to restore them.
From 2007 to 2013, Arlington House had its first major renovation since 1925. The house's furniture was moved to another historic site during this time. After the renovation, the furniture was returned, and a special ceremony was held.
Arlington House was also damaged by an earthquake in Virginia in 2011. This caused parts of the house to be closed for repairs. In 2014, a generous donation of $12.5 million was given to help restore the mansion, its buildings, and the grounds to how they looked in 1860. This project will fix the earthquake damage, add new lighting, and improve the climate control system.
Replicas of Arlington House
Several buildings have been built to look like Arlington House.
- In 1919, a replica was built in Atlanta, Georgia. It is still standing and is used as a school.
- Arlington Hall, a two-thirds size replica, was built in 1939 in Dallas, Texas.
- The front of the Old Administration Building in Arlington National Cemetery also looks like Arlington House. This building is about 500 feet west of the actual house.
See Also
