The adopted son of President George Washington and father-in-law of Robert E. Lee, George Washington Parke Custis was raised at Mount Vernon and is best known as the builder of Arlington House, now on the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery. He was also a playwright, publishing The Indian Prophecy; or Visions of Glory (1827), and Pocahontas; or The Settlers of Virginia (1830), and writer of occasional poems. Custis carefully preserved personal items and memorabilia he inherited from his stepfather, and set up an informal museum of such items in Arlington House. His biographical essays, Recollections and Private Memoirs of Washington, were posthumously printed in 1860.
The Homes
3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Hwy, Mount Vernon, VA (Mount Vernon)
Built in a loose Palladian style, this plantation house was built in stages and consists of three buildings connected by two colonnaded loggia. The central block is topped by a cupola with a short spire, holding up a gilded weathervane shaped like the dove of peace. Although constructed of wood, the exterior has been treated to look like stone. A two-story porch creates a grand façade facing the Potomac River. The property was purchased and preserved by The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association in 1858, and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960.
321 Sherman Dr., Fort Myer, VA (Arlington House)
A Greek Revival mansion, Arlington House sits on a high ridge overlooking the Potomac River, and is notable for the eight massive columns along its imposing portico. During the Civil War, the property was occupied by Union troops; in 1864, it was seized as a military cemetery. In 1955, the US Congress designated the house as a permanent memorial to General Robert E. Lee. In 1933, the house came under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.
George Washington Parke Custis
3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Hwy
Located in Northern Virginia
George Washington Parke Custis
321 Sherman Dr., Fort Myer, VA
Located in Northern Virginia