Stratford Hall Plantation
Stratford Hall is one of the great houses of American history. Its magnificent setting on a high bluff above the Potomac River and its bold architectural style set it apart from other colonial houses, but its highest distinction is the family of patriots who lived there alongside the Potomac.
Thomas Lee purchased the land for Stratford Hall Plantation in 1717 and built the brick Georgian Great House in the 1730s. At the Stratford Landing on the Potomac River, he built a wharf and grist mill. A successful tobacco planter and land speculator, he owned more than 16,000 acres in Virginia and Maryland. Lee's sons were signers of the Declaration of independence, and in 1807 Robert E. Lee, the future confederate general, was born at Stratford.
Today, the Plantation is still managed as a farm on 1,670 of its original acres. Visitors can tour the Great House, outbuildings and the Plantation grounds and gardens.
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Nearby Places
At the Site
Activities to do
Facilities/Amenities available
Hours
Stratford Hall is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. From the Visitor Center, which opens at 9:30 a.m., visitors can take Great House tours (on the hour) from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and enjoy museum exhibits. The Gift Shop is open daily from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Dining Room Hours as of August 14, 2017:
Lunch Service:
Closed Mondays and Tuesdays
Wednesday and Thursday 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
Friday through Sunday 11:30 am – 3:00 pm
Dinner Service: beginning August 25, 2017
Friday and Saturday, from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
The gristmill is scheduled to be open on the 2nd Saturday of each month, April through October, from 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m. Please call Stratford Hall's Visitor Center to confirm whether or not the mill will be open. The plantation's nature trails are open during normal visitor hours. The Jessie Ball duPont Memorial Library is open to researchers (by appointment only) on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
(Note: Many places fill to capacity on busy, nice weather days, especially holiday weekends. Please call ahead or visit the official website to get the most up-to-date information before visiting.)
Fees
Admission (effective August 1, 2017)
Adults (12 yrs. and up): $14.00
Adults (Groups of 20 or more, age 12 and up): $13.00
Seniors (60 and up), AAA members: $13.00
Seniors (Groups of 20 or more, age 60 and up): $12.00
National Trust for Historic Preservation members: $11.00
Children 6-11: $9.00
Children (groups of 20 or more): $8.00
Children 5 and under: Free
Military/Veterans: $13.00
Active Duty Service Members: Stratford has joined the Blue Star Museum Program that allows free admission from Memorial Day to Labor Day for active duty service personnel with ID (or spouse if deployed) and up to five family members. For more information on the program, visit Blue Star Museums
Note: discounts cannot be combined
A Grounds Pass can be purchased which entitles the purchaser to access the hiking trails, public beach area, gardens, public grounds, Visitor Center, Dining Room and Gift Shop. The pass does not include admission to the Great House and other historic buildings. The cost is $8 for adults and $5 for children. The Grounds Pass will be valid only for the day it is purchased.
Activities
Tour the Great House, gardens and numerous outbuildings, including reconstructed slave quarters and the Stratford Mill.
History
The Stratford Hall plantation house was built by Thomas Lee in the late 1730s. It is furnished with an outstanding collection of predominantly 18th-century American and English decorative arts.
Weather
