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Published: January 4th 2012
Kenmore Plantation
Built by Fielding Lewis, it is one of the best examples of Georgian achitecture in VirginiaI spent today in a smallish city with a very large history:
Fredericksburg Virginia.
George Washington spent his boyhood here, and several siblings lived here their entire lives.
The city was essential to providing armaments during the Revolutionary War.
During the Civil War, the city found itself exactly half-way between enemy capitols, and
four of the most destructive battles were ultimately fought here.
These battles destroyed Fredericksburg so completely that it basically disappeared from noticeable history for the next century, until the civil rights movements of the 1960s.
Fredericksburg Area Museum
The history of the city is amply documented in a museum called the
Fredericksburg Area Museum.
It’s pretty small, but the artifacts are well selected.
The biggest emphasis is on life in the city during the Civil War and its aftermath.
Shelling by Union troops was relentless; they basically razed the city to the ground.
The soldiers had no reason to be merciful, since the entire area was populated by Southern traitors.
It’s very difficult to find anything from that era that does not have signs of war damage, and the museum has several examples.
On the home front, life was very difficult.
Women and
The Fox and the Bird
Just one sample of the amazing plasterwork throughout Kenmore Plantation. These rooms have been ranked among the most beautiful colonial rooms in the US. slaves had to keep farms running as best they could, and many cared for wounded soldiers as well.
After Grant finally conquered the city for good in 1864, he turned it into one large hospital for wounded from battles further south.
When confederate veterans finally returned after the war’s end, they discovered that 90% of their wealth was now gone, including (of course) all of their slaves.
Many had to live in the bombed out remains of their houses while rebuilding took place.
The Revolutionary War was much nicer to Fredericksburg.
It had been founded as a port for tobacco, but this was only moderately successful.
What ultimately made the fortunes of the area was the discovery of iron deposits.
Several forges were ultimately constructed, and two armaments factories.
These factories supplied half the weapons for the Continental Army.
Despite being such an obvious target for the British, they never attached the area, although residents lived in constant fear of one.
The museum has an unusual exhibit on the local Masonic lodge.
George Washington was a mason, and he was initiated in Fredericksburg.
Kenmore plasterwork
A stunning ceiling at Kenmore Plantation The exhibit is on this heritage.
At the time, it was traditional to take a lock of hair of a new initiate, and the hair is on exhibit.
Also included are glasses that he used in rituals, and other paraphernalia.
Kenmore, home of Betty Lewis
After the museum I went to
Kenmore, the former home of Betty, George Washington’s only sister.
She married the manager of the most important of the armaments factories,
Fielding Lewis.
He was an ardent patriot, and supported the Revolution every way he could.
He ultimately ran up so many debts doing this that he was forced to go bankrupt.
He built one heck of a house before then, however.
The house itself is made of wood and bricks, designed in the classic Georgian manner with everything in perfect symmetry.
Lewis built the house to last, so the walls are three inches thick.
These walls are how the house survived the shelling during the Civil War.
There is a cannon ball stuck in the front wall of the house.
It was found on the grounds in the
Kenmore lawn
A portion of the formally landscaped lawn at Kenmore Plantation 1920s, and put in an existing hole.
The home is most famous for its plasterwork.
It’s the most intricate that has survived from colonial times, and is considered among the most beautiful in the US.
George Washington recommended the artist to Betty (he also did work on Mount Vernon), and nobody knows his name.
He is listed in the records as simply “Iterant stucco man”.
He created the intricate design of flowers and leaves using wooden and beeswax molds.
The plaster was cast in pieces, and then attached to the ceiling with glue.
He also created some panels for the walls, including an intricate relief illustrating the fable of the Wolf and the Bird.
Over the centuries, owners of the house covered the plaster with coats of white paint, until it looked really dull.
The historic foundation that now owns the house required over three years to carefully remove the paint and restore the ceilings to their full glory.
The house currently has no furniture in the rooms.
While this makes it much easier to study the amazing ceilings, this is not the
Fredericksburg Slave Auction Block
This unassuming structure was the center of Fredericksburg's slave trade reason the rooms are empty.
The current furniture owned by the foundation is not accurate historically, so people felt putting it out was misleading.
They are currently trying to track down furniture appropriate to the era and area, but it’s a slow process.
Personally, I didn’t miss it too much.
Fredericksburg Slave Market
On the way back from Kenwood is a very old item on a street corner with a very dark history.
It looks like a pair of stone blocks that are heavily worn from use.
This was the location of the Fredericksburg slave market.
The auctioneer would stand on the blocks and take bids.
Such a small and seemingly insignificant place for all the human misery it caused.
The blocks are marked with a plaque.
Downtown Fredericksburg in general seems to worship the past.
Beyond the historic houses and museums, seemingly every other shop sells antiques of some sort.
Even the bookstores only deal in used books.
There are historic plaques and monuments everywhere.
The buildings which haven’t been in place for a century or more are
Downtown Fredericksburg
Downtown looks much like it did in the 1950s. all designed to look like they were.
Goolrick's Pharmacy
I ate lunch in a historic site of its own,
Goolrick’s Pharmacy.
It is a real pharmacy that fills prescriptions and sells supplies.
Like other establishments of its type, it opened a lunch counter in the 1920s.
It was segregated as required by law.
This lunch counter and others in town became the site of sit-in protests in the late 1950s by black college students.
After they were refused service, the students refused to leave.
After months of this, the establishments gave in and integrated.
All of the other lunch spots have disappeared at this point, but Goolrick’s is still in business.
They have not updated the place in fifty years, so it still looks remarkably like it did during the protests.
It’s now the oldest soda fountain in the state of Virginia.
If all that isn’t enough, their menu is pretty old-fashioned as well.
It contains items that were once popular but are rarely found now.
One old Southern treat, which I had, is called “
Chocolate Coke”.
It’s Coca-Cola with chocolate syrup added (some
Goolrick's Lunch Counter
The oldest soda fountain in Virginia, a meal here is a trip back in time. versions also include alcohol, but this one didn't), and it tastes like a fizzy egg cream.
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