Washington and Lee University Historic District
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The Washington and Lee University Historic District is a National Historic Landmark District encompassing the historic core elements of the campus of Washington and Lee University in
Lexington, Virginia Lexington is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines ...
. The campus's Colonnade constitutes one of the nation's finest assemblages of Classical Revival educational buildings, and includes Washington Hall, the school's oldest surviving building. The district also includes
University Chapel University Chapel (formerly Lee Chapel) of Washington and Lee University is a National Historic Landmark in Lexington, Virginia. It was constructed during 1867–68 at the request of Robert E. Lee, who was president of the school (then known as ...
, itself a National Historic Landmark. The district was listed in 1971. and  


Description and history

Washington and Lee University was founded as Augusta Academy in 1749. Washington Hall, its oldest surviving building, was built in 1824 by John Jordan, a self-taught builder. It is a three-story brick building distinguished by a six-column Doric portico and a cupola topped by a statue of
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
. Its flanking wings are also fronted by portico styling. This colonnaded Classical style set the tone for later buildings on the campus, including Newcomb Hall and Tucker Hall, which stand on either side. Newcomb, a Late Victorian building, was modified in the 1920s to conform to the Washington Building's style, and Tucker Hall was added in 1935. Flanking the three central buildings are two pairs of faculty residence halls built in 1843, each the four-column Greek Revival porticos. This row of buildings occupy the top of a roughly north-south ridge. Down the hill to the east stands Lee Chapel, named for
Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...
, who served as Washington College's president and is interred in a crypt within. After Lee's death, the school was renamed Washington and Lee to also honor his role in raising the school's status. In 1926, the poet and dramatist John Drinkwater, author of ''Robert E. Lee'' and other plays, wrote of W&L, "This Lexington university is one of the loveliest spots in the world."
Jonathan W. Daniels Jonathan Worth Daniels (April 26, 1902 – November 6, 1981) was an American writer, editor, and White House Press Secretary. He was a founding member of the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors, serving from 1940 until 1950. For most of his life, he w ...
, North Carolina author, newspaper editor and White House Press Secretary to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, wrote that it was "the South at its most beautiful: the green sloping campus to the red-brick buildings with the tall white porticoes....I wish it were the picture of the South. I wish, indeed, it were the picture of America." Washington and Lee History Professor Ted DeLaney, who was born and grew up in Lexington during
Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...
and spent more than 45 years of his 60-year career at W&L, more than a quarter-century as a professor, including serving as the first Black chair of the History Department, said in 2019, "W&L is unique because the entire campus is a Confederate monument."


See also

*
List of National Historic Landmarks in Virginia This is a list of National Historic Landmarks in Virginia. There are currently 123 National Historic Landmark, National Historic Landmarks (NHLs), and 2 former NHLs. Current landmarks The National Historic Landmarks (NHLs) are widely distributed ...
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Lexington, Virginia


References


External links


Washington and Lee University, Lexington, one photo at Virginia DHR
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Washington And Lee University Historic District National Historic Landmarks in Virginia Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia Geography of Lexington, Virginia Washington and Lee University Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Lexington, Virginia