Marmion was the King George County seat of the Fitzhughs, a leading colonial landed family. A dendrochronological study at the beginning of the 21st century established that the present house was built in 1758. Although it appears plain and unrefined, its paneled parlor, now displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is one of America’s most elegant colonial rooms. The remaining interiors are simpler and more typical of the period. The stack of the south chimney boasts Virginia’s only known example of all glazed header brickwork. The original outbuildings, forming a quadrangle around the house, include a kitchen, office/plantation store, dairy, and smokehouse. Marmion was sold by the Fitzhughs ca. 1785 to George Lewis, son of Fielding Lewis of Kenmore in the city of Fredericksburg. Marmion was owned by Lewis descendants until 1977 and has since undergone careful restoration.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia