Stafford Hall
VA - Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA
253 Great House Rd, Stratford, VA 22558, USA
MUSEUM
VISITOR INFORMATION
TICKET REQUIRED
Grounds are open daily, 10am-5pm; the Great House is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10am-5pm. Tickets are sold online in advance.
The grounds are open more days than the Great House itself, so you can visit the grounds even when the house isn't open.
SITE FEATURES
Surviving Structures
Peak visitation season unconfirmed. No reliable site-specific monthly attendance pattern was established.
April-May or October for a confirmed Stratford Hall Great House tour and grounds in generally milder weather. Check the current house-tour days and visitor entrance before travelling.
HISTORIC SITES NEARBY
Nearby Historic Sites
miles
Landmark
WHO WAS HERE
3
George Washington
Richard Henry Lee
Francis Lightfoot Lee
About Stafford Hall
Thomas Lee (1690–1750) was a Virginian who served as acting Governor of the colony and was a strong advocate for westward expansion. Lee purchased the land for Stratford Hall in 1717, aware of its agricultural and commercial potential as a waterfront site. Construction of the Georgian Great House did not begin until the late 1730s. Designed by an unknown architect, the brick Great House is a two-story H-shaped structure, surrounded on four corners by attending outbuildings, all of which still stand today.
The historic Stafford family residence remains as a privately maintained plantation house near the Potomac River. Its Georgian architecture, interior woodwork, dependencies, cemetery, archaeological resources, and surrounding rural landscape preserve elements of the property’s colonial appearance, although ordinary public access is limited.
History happened here at Stafford Hall
Amid this busy world, Thomas Lee and his wife Hannah Harrison Ludwell (1701–1749) raised eight children, six sons, and two daughters. His eldest son, Philip Ludwell Lee Sr., Esquire (1727–1775), inherited Stratford Hall. Richard Henry Lee (1732–1794) and Francis Lightfoot Lee (1734–1797) were delegates from Virginia to the Second Continental Congress and signers of the United States Declaration of Independence. Richard Henry was later instrumental in guiding the fledgling nation, serving as President of the Continental Congress in 1784–85. Thomas Ludwell Lee, active in local politics, served as a Virginian legislator and helped compose the Virginia Declaration of Rights. William Lee (1739–1795) and Dr. Arthur Lee (1740–1792) were diplomats to Kingdom of Great Britain during the turbulent struggle for American independence. Hannah Lee was an early proponent of women's rights, and Alice Lee married the prominent physician William Shippen Jr. (1736–1808) of Philadelphia.
PEOPLE WHO LIVED HERE
PEOPLE WHO DIED HERE
PEOPLE AT REST HERE
EXTERNAL LINKS
stratfordhall.org: https://www.stratfordhall.org/historicoutbuildings/
tickets.stratfordhall.org: https://tickets.stratfordhall.org/event/great-house-audio-tours-plmqjn
Identity and address note: the listed locality and Great House Road point to Stratford Hall, the Lee family estate, rather than a verified Stafford family residence. The operator gives its visitor address as 483 Great House Road, Stratford, VA 22558 and offers public tours. These sources do not establish a separate Stafford Hall at 253 Great House Road.
Accessed 2026-09-30