Lee Corner is a historic part of Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, at the intersection of North Washington and Oronoco Street. The corner is named after the

Lee family The Lee family of the United States is a historically significant Virginia and Maryland political family, whose many prominent members are known for their accomplishments in politics and the military. The family became prominent in colonial Bri ...

, who once owned almost every property on the intersection. After the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, Alexandria, already known as "Washington's Home Town", also became known as the "Home Town of the Lees".

Lee–Fendall House

The keystone of the corner is the Lee–Fendall House at 614 Oronoco Street. The property was originally owned by Col. "Light Horse Harry" Lee, and the original 1785 home was built by Philip Richard Fendall I. The house was home to 37 members of the Lee family, including Philip R. Fendall II, Edmund Jennings Lee I, and Harriotte and Louis Cazenove. It is currently operated as an historic house museum by the Virginia Trust for Historic Preservation.

Robert E. Lee's Boyhood Home

Across Oronoco Street from the Lee–Fendall House stand twin houses: 607 and 609 Oronoco Street. 607 Oronoco Street was the last home of Light Horse Harry Lee. His son,

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

(future

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

General) spent most of his youth living at the house with his mother, Anne Hill Carter Lee (1773-1829), before he left for his education at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

in 1825. The house is known today as the Robert E. Lee Boyhood Home. 428 North Washington Street Alexandria Virginia

Next door, 609 Oronoco, stands a mirror image of Lee's Boyhood Home. The house was home to Cornelia (Lee) Hopkins (1780-1818), daughter of William Lee (1739–1795), where she lived after her marriage to John Hopkins (1795-1873) until her death in 1816.

428 North Washington Street

428 North Washington Street is the house built by Edmund Jennings Lee I (1772–1843), younger brother of Harry Lee, who lived in the house from its 1801 construction until 1837, when he moved across the street to the Lee–Fendall House. Directly south of the Lee–Fendall House, on the corner of Washington and Princess, is the house built by

U.S. Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government. The attorney general acts as the principal legal advisor to the president of the ...

Charles Lee (1758–1815), another of Harry's brothers. Charles and Edmund married a pair of Lee sisters, Anne and Sally, the daughters of

Richard Henry Lee Richard Henry Lee (January 20, 1732June 19, 1794) was an American statesman and Founding Father from Virginia, best known for the June 1776 Lee Resolution, the motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies' independence fr ...

(1732–1794), a signer of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

. The Lee–Fendall House is the only Lee family house on Historic Lee Corner that is now a museum.

References

External links

Official website of the Lee–Fendall House Museum and Garden
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee Corner Lee family residences Fendall family Houses in Alexandria, Virginia

Lee–Fendall House

Robert E. Lee's Boyhood Home

428 North Washington Street

See also

References

External links