The Lee-Fendall House, located in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, is a showcase of American history. Since its construction in 1785, the house has served as home to thirty-seven members of the Lee family (1785-1903), hundreds of convalescing Union soldiers during the American Civil War (1863-1865), Alexandria’s locally prominent Downham family (1903-1937), and one of our nation’s most controversial and significant 20th century labor leaders, John L. Lewis (1937-1969). 

Built as an urban plantation house in 1785 on its extant ½ acre lot, the vernacular “telescopic style” architecture is unique to urban communities, and not typical of other styles found in northern Virginia. The house was significantly renovated in 1850, preserving its original 1785 interior and exterior architectural features, but embellishing them with Greek Revival and Italianate elements. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places (state significance) and on the Virginia Landmarks Register, it is also a documented contributing feature to the National Historic Landmark District of Alexandria, Virginia.

Today the house is owned and operated by the Virginia Trust for Historic Preservation (VTHP), a small nonprofit educational institution whose mission is to preserve the architectural and historic value of the Lee-Fendall House and gardens and to stimulate the public’s knowledge of and appreciation for the history of Virginia and the nation, while advancing the cause of historic preservation. The Lee-Fendall House is the only historic property owned and operated by VTHP.