Ravensworth was an 18th-century

plantation house A plantation house is the main house of a plantation, often a substantial farmhouse, which often serves as a symbol for the plantation as a whole. Plantation houses in the Southern United States and in other areas are known as quite grand and e ...

near Annandale in

Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

. Ravensworth was the

Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...

residence of

William Fitzhugh William Fitzhugh (August 24, 1741June 6, 1809) was an American planter, legislator and patriot during the American Revolutionary War who served as a delegate to the Continental Congress for Virginia in 1779, as well as many terms in the House o ...

William Henry Fitzhugh William Henry Fitzhugh (March 9, 1792 – May 21, 1830) was Virginia planter and politician who served in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly, as well as in the Virginia constitutional convention of 1829–1830 and as an officer of the A ...

Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis Mary Lee "Molly" Fitzhugh Custis (April 22, 1788 – April 23, 1853) was an Episcopal lay leader in Alexandria County (now Arlington County, Virginia, United States). She was the mother of Mary Anna Randolph Custis who was the wife of Robert E. ...

William Henry Fitzhugh Lee William Henry Fitzhugh Lee (May 31, 1837 – October 15, 1891), known as Rooney Lee (often spelled "Roony" among friends and family) or W. H. F. Lee, was the second son of General Robert E. Lee and Mary Anna Custis. He was a planter, a Confed ...

and

George Washington Custis Lee George Washington Custis Lee (September 16, 1832 – February 18, 1913), also known as Custis Lee, was the eldest son of Robert E. Lee and Mary Anna Custis Lee. His grandfather George Washington Custis was the step-grandson and adopted son of ...

. It was built in 1796.

Location

Ravensworth was located near Annandale, Virginia, south of Braddock Road, west of the

Capital Beltway The Capital Beltway is a Interstate Highway in the Washington metropolitan area that surrounds Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and its inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. It is the basis of the phrase " inside ...

(Interstate 495).

History

Ravensworth was one of three mansions built on the large Ravensworth land grant; the other two were

Ossian Hall Ossian Hall was an 18th-century plantation house in Annandale, Fairfax County, Virginia. Ossian Hall was one of three large residences, along with Oak Hill, and Ravensworth, owned by the Fitzhugh family in Fairfax County. Location Ossian Hall ...

and Oak Hill.

, who owned significant estates in northern Virginia and also served in the Continental Congress and both houses of the Virginia General Assembly, was buried there in 1809. William Fitzhugh also had a townhouse in Alexandria at 607 Oronoco Street in 1799, which his family – in 1818 – lent to their cousin, Anne Hill Carter Lee, widow of Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee, and her eleven-year-old son, Robert Edward. Eleven years later, on 26 July 1829, Anne Hill Carter Lee died at Ravensworth. Ravensworth then passed to Fitzhugh's son

, who died in 1830. William Henry Fitzhugh's childless widow, Anna Maria Sarah Goldsborough Fitzhugh, ran the estate until her death in 1874. William Fitzhugh and Ann Bolling Randolph's daughter Mary Lee Fitzhugh married

George Washington Parke Custis George Washington Parke Custis (April 30, 1781 – October 10, 1857) was an American plantation owner, antiquarian, author, and playwright. His father John Parke Custis was the stepson of George Washington. He and his sister Eleanor grew ...

(Martha Washington's grandson) and became the mistress of Arlington House. Their grandson, Confederate general William Henry Fitzhugh "Rooney" Lee, inherited Ravensworth after the death of his great-aunt and lived there from 1874 until his death in 1891. In 1897

moved to Ravensworth after resigning as president of

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexing ...

and lived there until his death in 1913. When Mary Anna Custis Lee fled Arlington House in May 1861 after the outbreak of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

, she stayed at Ravensworth briefly, but then moved further south for fear of inviting damage to the home. Both Union and Confederate forces took advantage of resources and location at Ravensworth; during 1863, in addition to Union forces foraging hay, partisan forces commanded by John S. Mosby once slept in a haystack there and at daybreak discovered they were in full view of a Union encampment. All three of the Fitzhugh estates were protected by orders from both sides throughout the war. The house mysteriously burned on 1 August 1926. In 1957, Dr. George Bolling Lee's widow sold the estate for development. That same year the remains from the Fitzhugh family cemetery, including those of William Fitzhugh and his wife, were removed and reinterred at the cemetery of

Pohick Church Pohick Church, previously known as Pohick Episcopal Church, is an Episcopal church in the community of Lorton in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Often called the "Mother Church of Northern Virginia," the church is notable for its as ...

in Lorton. The grounds later became the Ravensworth Farm subdivision, which today is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, su ...

also called Ravensworth. The locality's population as of the 2010 census was 2,466.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ravensworth (Plantation) 1796 establishments in Virginia 1926 disestablishments in Virginia 1926 fires in the United States Annandale, Virginia Buildings and structures demolished in 1926 Burned houses in the United States Colonial architecture in Virginia Custis family residences Fitzhugh family residences History of Virginia Houses completed in 1796 Houses in Fairfax County, Virginia Landmarks in Virginia Lee family residences Plantation houses in Virginia

Location

History

See also

References