Stratford Hall awarded a $500,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources to complete critical preservation work.
The Westmoreland historic site says the funds will enable Stratford Hall to preserve historic buildings, including work by master craftsmen on the site’s structures. This includes restoring the Spring House, built on a foundation that dates to the Lee Colonial era and was devastated by a storm.
Additional upgrades in lodging will improve the visitor experience onsite, while new interpretive signage will present the courageous struggles of our ancestors who built this nation and preserved Stratford Hall.
“The work will begin this month and represents our commitment to preserving the rich heritage of this 18th-century historic site, established by Thomas Lee in 1738 and built by enslaved Africans and African Americans with materials largely harvested from or made here on site,” said Stratford Hall President Karen Daly. Investment by the Commonwealth of Virginia helps ensure the voices of American history preserved here at Stratford Hall can continue to engage and inspire for generations to come.”
This grant will also allow for investment in increased, strategic marketing and promotion that will drive tourism and economic development to Stratford Hall, Westmoreland County, and the Northern Neck. This support is essential in ensuring that visitors continue to find their way to Stratford Hall and the Northern Neck of Virginia, taking inspiration from all our ancestors endured and all they accomplished.
