The White House of the Confederacy was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963. This mansion was completed in 1818 as the home of a prominent Richmond banker then sold to a local business man with improvements made a number of times.
The last owner sold it to the City of Richmond for $43,000 in 1861 to be used as the Executive Mansion by the new Confederate President, Jefferson Davis and his wife Varina and children. Sadly, one of Davis’ young children fell from the porch here and died.
The Davis family evacuated the mansion in 1865 when Richmond fell to the Union Forces, who confiscated the mansion for their headquarters. President Abraham Lincoln would visit here to meet with his Union generals. After the Civil War, the Union returned the mansion to the City of Richmond which converted it to a public school. After a series of renovations and saved from demolition, it was opened as a public museum in 1988.
Rear view, above, of the White House with an historic horse hitch out front. The admission building is located in the courtyard behind the main house.
Inside views of the foyer staircase, bedrooms, drawing room, and children’s playroom. Our guide presented us a quiz in one of the rooms. After the house was retrofitted to be heated by coal gasification, in one of the rooms there was a green tube running from the ceiling lamp down to a desk lamp. The guide asked for anyone who knew the name of this coal gas tube. No one got the answer which was an “extension cord,” which is where the name was eventually adopted for modern electrical extension cords.
This historical building is located at 1201 East Clay Streetm Richmond, VA 23219. Admission – Adults ($15), Seniors ($13), Veterans & Active Duty Military ($12), Ages 6-18 ($8), Under 6 Years (Free). Due to the historic nature of the home, the White House of the Confederacy is not physically accessible to wheelchairs and walkers of any size.
Be careful of street parking times and other restrictions. Parking at the nearby VCU Medical Center Parking Deck is free if you have your parking ticket validated by the museum. On their website you can find the tour times which has a group limit. Hours are daily 10:30 AM to 4 PM though on a few days it doesn’t open until 11 AM. Times may vary.
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