¡ ¢ £ ¤ ¥ ¦ § ¨ © United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Arlington House Historic District [2013 Arlington County, VA Boundary Increase & Additional Documentation] Name of Property County and State Site Structure Object Number of Resources within Property (Do not include previously listed resources in the count) Contributing Noncontributing ____5_____ ____2_______ buildings ____6________ ____0________ sites ____3________ ____1________ structures ____41_______ ____0________ objects ____18_______ ____3_________ Total Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register (1980 Listing): 3 contributing buildings 1 The objects consist of individual monuments located in the immediate vicinity of Arlington House. Two memorialize two highly esteemed Union generals and one a U.S. Admiral. These stand at the east front of the house on cemetery-owned land, along with a monument marking the grave of esteemed city planner Pierre L’Enfant. Sections 1-6 page 3 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Arlington House Historic District [2013 Arlington County, VA Boundary Increase & Additional Documentation] Name of Property County and State 6. Function or Use Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) INDUSTRY/EXTRACTION/Extractive Facility – Quarry DOMESTIC/Single dwelling DOMESTIC/Multiple Dwelling/Slave Quarters DOMESTIC/Secondary Structure/Smokehouse, Summer kitchen, Storehouse LANDSCAPE/Garden, Forest DEFENSE/Military Post DOMESTIC/Institutional Housing – Military/Staff Housing FUNERARY/Cemetery - Graves/Burials GOVERNMENT/Government Office – Administration Building AGRICULTURE/Horticultural Facility – Potting Shed RECREATION & CULTURE/Museum, Monument/Marker Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) RECREATION & CULTURE/Museum LANDSCAPE/Park FUNERARY/Cemetery LANDSCAPE/Garden, Forest Sections 1-6 page 4 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Arlington House Historic District [2013 Arlington County, VA Boundary Increase & Additional Documentation] Name of Property County and State _____________________________________________________________________________ 7. Description Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions.) EARLY REPUBLIC/ Classical Revival – Greek Revival LATE VICTORIAN/ Italianate LATE 19th & 20th CENTURY REVIVALS/ Classical/Colonial Revival Materials: (enter categories from instructions.) Principal exterior materials of the property: Brick, Stucco, Stone, Slate, Wood, Marble & Granite (grave markers) Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current physical appearance and condition of the property. Describe contributing and noncontributing resources if applicable. Begin with a summary paragraph that briefly describes the general characteristics of the property, such as its location, type, style, method of construction, setting, size, and significant features. Indicate whether the property has historic integrity.) ______________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION First established as a historic site dedicated to the memory of General Robert E. Lee in 1925 by Congress, control of Arlington House passed from the War Department to the Department of the Interior’s National Park Service (NPS) in 1933. Since taking over management of the Arlington House property, the NPS has acquired additional land surrounding the mansion and has completed several restoration efforts. In 1955, Congress officially designated the property a permanent memorial dedicated to Civil War general Robert E. Lee.2 Administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966 when Congress enacted the National Historic Preservation Act, the first nomination form for Arlington House was submitted and accepted by the Keeper of the National Register in 1980. Since that time, registration requirements have changed; the park boundary of “Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial” has changed; and voluminous additional research and documentation has been completed. 2 Senate Joint Resolution 62, Public Law 107, Chapter 223 (June 29, 1955). The language included in the 1955 resolution recognized Lee’s military prowess (both as a U.S. Army officer and as commander of the Confederate forces), and his post-Civil War devotion to peace, national reconciliation, and education. It also praises his personal traits which are described as “high character,” “grandeur of soul,” and “strength of heart.” The resolution also named the property the “Custis-Lee Mansion,” which was, at the time, popularly known as the Lee Mansion. A 1972 act of Congress assigned the current name: “Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial” in recognition of the historic name assigned to the estate by George Washington Parke Custis. Sections 7 page 5 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Arlington House Historic District [2013 Arlington County, VA Boundary Increase & Additional Documentation] Name of Property County and State This National Register Nomination update expands the historic district boundary to incorporate significant non-NPS-owned federal property that has important historical associations with the house and domestic core of the historic Arlington estate. In addition, the nomination updates the information provided in the 1980 nomination by introducing expanded periods and areas of significance, defining and justifying the new boundary, and providing additional description of the resources and landscape features that contribute to the historic and architectural significance of the place. Context is provided for the areas and periods of significance identified in Section 8. The 1980 nomination established the property as the 27.9 acres that, at that time, the National Park Service managed. The present nomination retains the original boundary and adds to it. The boundary increase adds approximately 3.1 acres to the existing National Register boundary for a total acreage of 31 acres. The 1980 listing defined three contributing and two non-contributing resources within the boundary. Subsequent research and determinations of eligibility defined other resources that contribute to the property’s eligibility, including the Arlington Woodlands that stands to the north and west of the Arlington House residence. The new boundary encompasses 18 contributing and 3 non-contributing resources within the district. Of the five resources described in the 1980 nomination, three remain contributing, one has been demolished, and one has changed status from non-contributing to contributing. NOTE ON REDACTED INFORMATION: Portions of the text that appears in bold italics is descriptive information for sensitive archeological sites, and under the authority of Section 304 of the National Historic Preservation Act, should be redacted before the document is released to the public. Summary Description The Arlington House Historic District is the 31-acre domestic core of the estate that George Washington Parke Custis and Mary Fitzhugh Custis built in the early 19th century, and that Robert E. Lee, and his wife Mary (Custis) Lee called home until the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. The district encompasses the Custis’ imposing, Greek-temple-like dwelling house, two dependencies that housed slaves along with various domestic service functions, and the historic setting, which includes both designed and vernacular landscapes. These landscapes consist of gardens, a wooded ravine to the west, and important distant views and vistas stretching to the east. The district also encompasses elements that illustrate the creation and early 20th century development of Arlington National Cemetery, as it transformed from a Civil War Union cemetery into a national place of honor for military veterans. Located in east-central Arlington County, Virginia across the Potomac River from the District of Columbia, the district sits astride a high hill overlooking Arlington National Cemetery and the monumental core of Washington to the east. The district is entirely surrounded by the cemetery, which sprawls across approximately 600 acres of rolling hills planted with groves of trees and crisscrossed by curvilinear drives. The Arlington House Historic District contains resources related to both prehistoric and historic occupation and development of the property. The site’s prehistoric occupation is represented by a Late Archaic Period lithic procurement site located within the natural woodlands that cover Sections 7 page 6 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Arlington House Historic District [2013 Arlington County, VA Boundary Increase & Additional Documentation] Name of Property County and State the ravine to the north and west of the main house. The historic district centers on the remaining nineteenth century features developed by the Custis and Lee families as the domestic core of their formerly 1,100 acre estate, and includes a layer of resources connected to the early development of Arlington National Cemetery. Between 1864