Stratford Hall, Georgian plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia.
Stratford Hall is a Georgian-style estate in Westmoreland County, Virginia, set on a bluff overlooking the Potomac River. The two-story main residence has an H-shaped floor plan with four large chimneys at the corners and sits surrounded by outbuildings that once supported the plantation operation.
Thomas Lee began building the house in the 1730s, and it went on to shelter four generations of the Lee family. Two members of this family signed the Declaration of Independence, and the estate remained in family hands into the 19th century.
Visitors see artifacts left by European colonists, Native American inhabitants, and enslaved people who worked here. These objects show how different communities shaped the land and left traces of their daily routines.
The house opens Wednesday through Sunday and offers audio tours through the historic rooms. The grounds can be explored in daylight, and comfortable shoes help when walking the paths between buildings.
The cliffs at the edge of the property are one of only four places worldwide where certain Miocene fossils lie exposed. Researchers regularly study the fossilized remains here, which offer insight into life millions of years ago.
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