Introduction

In 1772, George Washington purchased a house from Michael Robinson in Fredericksburg, Virginia for his mother. Mary Ball Washington spent her last seventeen years in this comfortable home. The white frame house sits on the corner of Charles and Lewis Streets and was in walking distance to Kenmore, home of Mary's daughter Betty Fielding Lewis.

Tradition has it that, during the Revolution, General Lafayette found Mrs. Washington in her garden attending her favorite hobby. The President-to-be came to this home to receive his mother's blessing before attending his inauguration in 1789.

In 1891, the APVA acquired the house and saved it from certain destruction. The house was scheduled to be disassembled for travel to the Chicago World's Fair for display. The house underwent a restoration and was opened to the public. A mirror, Mrs. Washington called her "best dressing glass" and other possessions are on view in the house. Her sundial still tracks the time of day in the garden.