Red Hill Patrick Henry National Memorial

Red Hill Patrick Henry National Memorial
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)

Red Hill Plantation, circa 1907
Map showing the location of Red Hill Patrick Henry National Memorial
Location Charlotte County, Virginia, United States
Nearest city Lynchburg, Virginia
Coordinates 37°1′56″N 78°53′53″W / 37.03222°N 78.89806°W / 37.03222; -78.89806Coordinates: 37°1′56″N 78°53′53″W / 37.03222°N 78.89806°W / 37.03222; -78.89806
Area 117 acres (0.47 km2)
Established May 13, 1986
Governing body

Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation

Red Hill
Nearest city Brookneal, Virginia
Area 117.3 acres (47.5 ha)
Architect Johnson, Stanhope
NRHP Reference # 78003012[1]
VLR # 019-0027
Significant dates
Added to NRHP February 14, 1978
Designated VLR September 18, 1983[2]

Red Hill Patrick Henry National Memorial, in Charlotte County, Virginia near the Town of Brookneal, honors Patrick Henry, the fiery legislator and orator of the American Revolution. Henry bought Red Hill Plantation at his retirement in 1794 and occupied it until 1799, the year of his death. In addition to the main house, Henry used another building as his law office. There were also dependencies and slave quarters on the working 520-acre tobacco plantation.[3] The plantation was located on the Staunton River for transportation.

Congress authorized the establishment of "Patrick Henry National Monument" on August 15, 1935 (49 Stat. 652) pending the acquisition of the property by the Secretary of the Interior. The purchase never occurred, and the enabling legislation was repealed on December 21, 1944 (58 Stat. 852).

The site was taken over by the Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation, which in the 1950s and 1960s restored Henry's law office and preserved his grave onsite. It also reconstructed his last home and several dependencies. A new museum was built to provide for interpretation of his life and place.

Red Hill Plantation was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 14, 1978. The national memorial was authorized by the United States Congress on May 13, 1986. Owned by the Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation, Red Hill is operated as a house museum and is an affiliated area of the National Park Service, meaning that the Foundation can request certain assistance from the NPS in preserving and interpreting the site.

Planning in the 2000s for the site includes a master plan to guide improvements. The first project, supported by 2006 grant money, will be improvements and additions of walking trails to help visitors understand transportation and plantation agriculture. It will relate the site to 18th century bateaux trade and transportation along the river, its ferry site, and the later addition of a 19th-century "former railroad whistle stop".[3] It will restore plantation roads to the plantation distillery, laundry and graveyard of enslaved African Americans.[3]

References

  1. ↑ 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. 1 2 3 "Patrick Henry 'Trail through History' Receives Transportation Enhancement Grant", News from Red Hill, Fall 2006, accessed 20 April 2012
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