Referred to as one of the grande dames of Alexandria real estate, the home sitting at the corner of Oronoco and Washington streets has been owned by at least six members of the Lee family and holds a rumor that changed the face of America.
Hard decisions are often made in the comforts of home. Robert E. Lee, then in command of the 2nd U.S. Cavalry Regiment, was asked to head up the Union Army on April 18, 1860, six days after shots were fired at Fort Sumter, but he declined, choosing to remain loyal to his state rather than the union. A day later he resigned his post and within a month joined the Confederate Army. According to selling agent Ann McClure, family records indicate that Lee’s announcement of his decision occurred in the drawing room of the family home, then owned by his cousin Cassius Lee. It is said it is here Robert E. Lee made his choice as to which side he would fight for.
History of the House
In 1784 Henry Lee Sr. of Leesylvania purchased seven lots in Alexandria, one of which was the country setting of 428 N. Washington St., where the home now sits. Seven years later he sold it to his wife’s uncle, Arthur Lee, who in turn leased it to Beale Howard, who began construction on the home. While the lease was still in effect, the property went through the ownership of his daughter Hannah Lee, who was married to a Washington, and then Charles Lee, Henry Lee’s eldest son. It was with Charles that the lease with Beale Howard ended. In 1801, Charles sold the property to his brother, and uncle of Robert E. Lee, Edmund Jennings Lee, who finished the construction of the home. Later, in 1838, Cassius Lee, son of Edmund Jennings Lee and rumored to be a Confederate spy, purchased the home.
Today’s Offerings
The home, an example of Georgian architecture, holds a host of historical 18th-century touches including: original hardwood floors; brass lock plates; an original hand-blown and hand-etched bell jar light fixture; a hand-plastered tobacco leaf medallion; original fireplace mantels; recessed china cabinets from the Baltimore house of Jerome Bonaparte, Napoleon’s brother; and two pairs of Argand sconces reproduced from ones Marquis de Lafayette gave to George Washington.
The main level’s design provides a flow that is perfect for entertaining, with rooms opening from one to another and incorporating the outside with easy access points. The famed foyer, adjacent to the drawing room where Robert E. Lee is said to have announced his decision to join the Confederate Army, has views that look out to the veranda and opens to a grand salon. The formal dining room with the Bonaparte china cabinets is a grand 22-by-18-foot space with a fireplace that accesses the modern kitchen through a butler’s pantry. The kitchen, with its glass-paneled inset custom cabinetry and center island, is in part of an addition to the home that opens to the large 18-by-17-foot family room. Palladian windows place the focal point on the manicured garden and brick courtyard with an in-ground pool surrounded by mature boxwoods, a gazebo and a wisteria-covered pergola.
The upper levels hold the sleeping quarters, which consist of a top level space with two bedrooms and a level with a library, an original master bedroom and a master suite with an enclosed and skylighted sleeping porch overlooking the garden courtyard and pool and his and her separate master baths.
The lower level of the home, thought to be the portion built by Beale Howard, is a cellar-style space with stone walls and terra cotta tile floors with beamed ceilings. The space also includes a lounge area and storage and laundry facilities.
Address: 428 N. Washington St., Alexandria, VA 22314
Built: Circa 1801 (construction began 1791)
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 6 full, one half-bath
Square Footage: 6,963
Lot Size: .18 acres
Amenities: Pool, colonnade/gallery, pergola
Price: $3.5 million
Agents: Ann McClure and Shirley Mattam-Male at McEnearney Associates
