JAMES MONROE LAW OFFICE - Fredericksburg, VA
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member vhasler
N 38° 18.148 W 077° 27.695
18S E 284755 N 4242242
President Monroe practiced law here from 1786-1790.
Waymark Code: WM9ZN3
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 10/23/2010
Published By:Groundspeak Charter Member BruceS
Views: 9

The JAMES MONROE LAW OFFICE (open 9-6 daily; adm. 25 cents, large groups 15 cents), Charles St. between George and William Sts., is a long, story-and-a-half red brick building with small, green-shuttered windows, two simple doorways, three chimneys, and three dormers along the low gabled roof. The whitewashed rear wall faces a little old-fashioned garden. Built in 1758, the building is little altered since the days of Monroe, who practiced law here from 1786 to 1790. The house contains original Monroe furniture of the Louis XVI period, purchased when he was minister to France in 1794, and later used in the White House when Monroe entered it as President in 1817, following its burning by the British in 1814. The Monroe Room in the White House is furnished with reproductions of these original Monroe pieces, copied by craftsmen under the direction of Mrs. Herbert Hoover.
In the building are the desk on which Monroe wrote his message to Congress in 1823 enunciating the principles of American foreign policy known as the Monroe Doctrine; his Revolutionary gun, dueling pistols, and sword; a portrait of him by Rembrandt Peale, a portrait by John Trumbull (painted on a wooden panel), a miniature by Seme, a bronze bust of La Fayette presented by him to Monroe; letters from La Fayette, Adams, Madison, Jefferson, and others; the dispatch box Monroe carried while negotiating the Louisiana Purchase; the court dress he wore at the court of Napoleon; and many other belongings. The collection also includes Mrs. Monroe's court dresses, jewelry, wedding slippers, dressing table, and other possessions.

---- Virginia - A Guide to the Old Dominion State, 1940.


Address is 908 Charles St. The building is now run as a museum by the University of Mary Washington. Open 10AM-5PM Mon-Sat during March to November, 1-5PM Sun. For December thru February, hours are 10AM to 4PM daily. Admission is $5 adults ($4 AAA members) and $1 children. Museum website: link

Book: Virginia

Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 221

Year Originally Published: 1940

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La de Boheme visited JAMES MONROE LAW OFFICE - Fredericksburg, VA 12/03/2011 La de Boheme visited it