Stratford Hall

Stratford, VA  22558

804-493-8038

Thomas Lee built Stratford with it complex of outbuildings and dependences in the 1730s. It became the boyhood home of Richard Henry Lee and Thomas Lightfoot Lee, the only two brothers to sign the Declaration of Independence, and, a generation later, the birthplace of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. In 1822, the Lee family ownership came to an end. Just over a century later, in 1929, the Robert E. Lee Memorial Association, Inc. was founded to acquire and preserve Stratford Hall. In 1930, The Garden Club of Virginia was asked to restore the East Garden. Archaeological research uncovered remnants of terraces and the foundation of a wall, as well as traces of a ha-ha (a landscape device to keep livestock out of the garden without blocking the view) at the foot of the garden. In traditional 18th century fashion, the garden featured a long central walk with secondary perpendicular walks. The basic shape and patterns remain clear and distinct. It is a green garden of lawn and trees and billowy boxwoods surrounded by a brick wall that is punctuated with wooden gates.