James Monroe Family Home Site

James Monroe Family Home Site

Obelisk at the James Monroe Family Home Site, October 2010
Location 4460 James Monroe Highway, Colonial Beach, Virginia
Coordinates 38°14′31″N 76°59′27″W / 38.24194°N 76.99083°W / 38.24194; -76.99083Coordinates: 38°14′31″N 76°59′27″W / 38.24194°N 76.99083°W / 38.24194; -76.99083
Area 74.8 acres (30.3 ha)
Built 1758 (1758)
Built by Grigg, Milton
Architectural style Beaux Arts
NRHP Reference # 79003095, 08000285 (Boundary Increase)[1]
VLR # 096-0046
Significant dates
Added to NRHP July 24, 1979, April 10, 2008 (Boundary Increase)
Designated VLR December 21, 1976, December 5, 2007[2]

James Monroe Family Home Site, also known as James Monroe's Birthplace, is a historic archaeological site located near Oak Grove and Colonial Beach, Westmoreland County, Virginia. The site includes the ruins of the Monroe Family Home and birthplace of President James Monroe (1758-1831), which were uncovered in 1976, by a team from the College of William & Mary. Monroe spent his entire youth working the farm until he left for his education at the College of William & Mary. The archaeological team uncovered a house foundation measuring 20 feet by 58 feet. The known 1845 etchings of the birth home indicate a small four room, rough cut wooden farm house with few outbuildings on a 500-acre farm filled with wetlands. The archaeological study clearly indicated that James Monroe's beginnings were humble. On April 4, 2005, Westmoreland County signed a 99-year lease with the James Monroe Memorial Foundation which will allow the Foundation to restore the Birthplace farmhouse, establish an educational visitor center, and remain the faithful steward of the Birthplace farm.[3]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, with a boundary increase in 2008.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  3. "The James Monroe Memorial Foundation: James Monroe Birthplace". The James Monroe Memorial Foundation.
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