Mary Washington House
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Mary Washington House | |
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Mary Washington House | |
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| Location | 1200 Charles St., Fredericksburg, Virginia |
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| Coordinates | 38°18′17″N 77°27′49″W / 38.30472°N 77.46361°W |
| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Part of | Fredericksburg Historic District (#71001053) |
| NRHP Reference # | [1] |
| VLR # | 111-0110 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | June 05, 1975 |
| Designated CP | September 22, 1971 |
| Designated VLR | March 18, 1975[2] |
The Mary Washington House, at 1200 Charles Street in Fredericksburg, Virginia, is the house in which George Washington's mother, Mary Ball Washington, resided towards the end of her life. It is now operated as an 18th-century period historic house museum, one of several museums in Fredericksburg operated by Washington Heritage Museums.
History
George Washington purchased this house for his mother in 1772 for $275.[3] It was located close to her daughter Betty Washington Lewis' home, Kenmore Plantation, and close to the Rising Sun Tavern, owned by her son Charles Washington. George Washington was a frequent visitor, and came to this house to receive a blessing from his mother before his inauguration.[3] Other frequent visitors included John Marshall, George Mason, Thomas Jefferson, Marquis de Lafayette, and members of the Lee family. She lived in this home until her death in 1789. Mary's husband and George's father, Augustine Washington, had died in Fredericksburg in 1743.
The Mary Washington House is located near the college named for her, the University of Mary Washington.
Preservation
In 1891, Preservation Virginia (formerly known as the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities) acquired the house, which was scheduled to be disassembled for travel to the Chicago World's Fair for display. It was their second property acquisition, and the location where the Fredericksburg Branch was chartered.[3] The house underwent a restoration and was opened to the public for tours. Preservation Virginia has since recovered 8 objects original to the house,[3] including a mirror Mary Washington once labeled her "best dressing glass".[4] Following a statewide reorganization of Preservation Virginia in 2012, that organization signed an agreement with the newly created and Fredericksburg-based "Washington Heritage Museums" group, to cede ownership of the property to the later group by 2013. The site is a landmark in that City.[4]
References
- ↑ Staff (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
- ↑ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 Couture, Richard (1984). To Preserve and Protect. Dallas, TX: Taylor Publishing Co. p. 23. ISBN 0-917565-01-0.
- 1 2 "Mary Ball Washington House". Preservation Virginia. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
External links
- Washington Heritage Museums
- Preservation Virginia: Mary Washington House
- Mary Washington House, 1200 Charles Street, Fredericksburg, Fredericksburg, VA: 11 photos, 12 measured drawings, and 5 data pages at Historic American Buildings Survey
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