Lee Chapel -

The chapel on the campus of Washington and Lee University was built under the supervision of Robert E. Lee while he was president of the school. The chapel contains the crypt where Lee and his immediate family are interred, and a museum that highlights the connection between the Lee and Washington families with the college.

George’s Things

You Can See Washington’s Pistol, Watch And Dishes And Much More At W&L

By Patricia Hobbs

You don’t need to drive far to experience history related to George Washington. It’s in your own backyard.

You can visit the Lee Chapel and Museum on the campus of Washington and Lee University to view its new exhibition, “Not Unmindful of the Future: Educating to Build and Rebuild a Nation,” which opened this past October. There, you will learn how George Washington contributed to education in America, including Lexington.

The exhibition begins with displays about Washington’s own education, his role in the Revolutionary War and his presidency. Washington was a strong advocate for expanding education in the new republic in order to create an enlightened electorate.

He supported the establishment of an academy in Alexandria and endowed a free school for children of Revolutionary soldiers. He also advocated the creation of a national university, as well as a national military academy. Although President Thomas Jefferson signed legislation in 1802, after Washington’s death, establishing the United States Military Academy at West Point, George Washington is considered to be one of its founders.

Then, there is the local connection. Near the end of his presidency, Washington prepared to divest himself of 100 shares of James River Canal stock, valued at $20,000, which he desired to give to a school in Virginia’s “upper country,” west of the Blue Ridge. Liberty Hall Academy was the recipient and was renamed Washington Academy in 1798 in his honor. Washington responded with gratitude to the trustees, stating: “To promote literature in this rising empire, and to encourage the arts, have ever been among the warmest wishes of my heart.”

You can view the last site of Washington Academy if you drive west of Lexington on U.S. 60 and turn right onto Mitchell Place (where the W&L ball fields border U.S. 60). The ruins you will see on the left of that road are what remains of the stone structure that was built as Liberty Hall Academy in 1793 and burned in 1803. The school then moved to the present location of Washington and Lee’s historic colonnade in 1804.

The exhibition at Lee Chapel also highlights objects belonging to Washington that previously were in collections storage, including his gold watch and knee buckles. You will also see a pistol Washington gave to his stepgrandson, George Washington Parke Custis, who later built Arlington House as a memorial to George Washington. Pieces of the Society of Cincinnati porcelain purchased for Washington by “Light-Horse Harry” Lee, Robert E. Lee’s father, are also on view. You can see more pieces of the set when you visit the Reeves Center on campus, which houses one of the finest collections of Chinese export porcelain in the nation.

At Lee Chapel, you can see some of the earliest and most important paintings of Washington and his family by notable early American artists, including Charles Willson Peale and Gilbert Stuart. Some are located in the new exhibition. Others recently have been installed in the entrance rooms of Washington Hall in the center of the colonnade.

Washington Hall was built in 1824 and expanded in 1844. In that year, local craftsman Matthew Kahle carved a toga-clad Washington to stand on the buildingís new cupola. Affectionately called “Old George,” the statue was removed in April 1990 and replaced with an exact replica for preservation purposes. The original statue is on display in the Boatright Room on the first floor of the Leyburn Library, adjacent to the special collections, which also exhibits historic documents, some related to Washington.

All of the exhibits, and Lee Chapel and Museum, can be seen free of charge. The winter hours of the museum are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Summer hours will start April 1, when the museum will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday.