Washington Heritage Museums

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

In 1890, Preservation Virginia acquired the Mary Washington House and saved it from certain destruction. The house was slated to be disassembled for travel to the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition for display. The house underwent a restoration and was opened to the public in 1931. It is currently operated by the Mary Washington Branch of Preservation Virginia.

Preservation Virginia has offered the opportunity for local ownership of its Fredericksburg sites. As of January 3, 2013, Washington Heritage Museums (formerly Mary Washington Branch Preservation Virginia) officially assumed responsibilities to continue oversight of these properties.

Visitors today can tour the house and see Mary Washington's "best dressing glass." They can explore the garden and visit the original kitchen (a rare surviving 18th-century outbuilding). They can also visit the Mary Washington House Gift Shop which features a lovely collection of gifts to celebrate tea drinking, gardening, 18th-century decorative arts, and Virginia products.