Violet Bank Museum, Federal architecture house museum in Colonial Heights, Virginia.
Violet Bank Museum is a two-story house with octagonal bays and a central portico built in the Federal style. The building displays period furniture and decorative objects that show what life was like here from the early 1800s onward.
Thomas Shore bought 144 acres on Archers Hill in 1777 and completed the first house in 1778. In 1781 Lafayette used it as his headquarters, and two Revolutionary War actions were fought on the hillside, in March under von Steuben and in April under Lafayette, against British General William Phillips, whose troops lost about 200 men. The house burned in 1810 and was rebuilt between 1810 and 1815 on the surviving foundation and chimney stacks.
The house shows how wealthy families lived through furniture and everyday objects from the early 1800s. Visitors see rooms that reveal the daily habits and tastes of people who once called this place home.
The museum is located on Virginia Avenue in Colonial Heights and can be reached by car or public transport. Visitors should check opening times in advance since the museum operates on a limited schedule and offers guided tours of the rooms.
The name Violet Bank does not come from violets: the sources record no wildflower origin. Instead, the house is linked to Benjamin Latrobe, who visited Petersburg in 1796, went to the horse races with Thomas Shore on April 21 and dined with Shore's brother the next day.
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