Kenmore - Fredericksburg

Kenmore is located on Washington Avenue in Fredericksburg, Virginia.  It was the home of local merchant and planter Fielding Lewis, and his wife, Betty Washington Lewis, the sister of George Washington.  Built in 1776, the Georgian style brick mansion was the centerpiece of Lewis's 1300-acre plantation.  His business suffered greatly during the Revolutionary War, and at the time of his death in 1881 he was still owed money by the state of Virginia for a loan he had given to help build a gun factory in the state.  Betty's mother, Mary, lived in a home nearby, and when she died was buried on the plantation grounds.  The Mary Washington monument still stands, although not on Washington property.  Over the years the sizeable plantation has been reduced to 3 acres, with Kenmore the only original building left standing.  After Betty Washington Lewis died in 1797 the property was sold.  In 1819 it was purchased by Samuel Gordon, who named the home Kenmore, in honor of his family in Scotland.  The Gordon family burial plot is located next to Mary Washington's monument, about two blocks north of the home.  During the Civil War the house served as a hospital during the nearby battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.  In 1922 the home was purchased by the Kenmore Foundation and restored over the years.  Today it is open as a museum.  Kenmore was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register in 1968, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969, and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970.  

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