Virginia: Patrick Henry's Red Hill

It takes real determination to visit Patrick Henry's Red Hill Estate. Every five miles for at least twenty minutes I said to my husband “What was wrong with this man, was he anti-social?” Shortly after we left Appomattox Court House we started seeing signs for Red Hill. I give them a lot of credit for a superior advertisement campaign. We followed those signs through every back road in Virginia and about halfway through I was ready to give up but I am very glad that we persevered. It is by the way 26 miles.

We arrived at 4:15 p.m. and the property is scheduled to close at 5 p.m. The woman in charge told us to go ahead and watch the 15-minute video and to visit the museum and she would keep the buildings open until we had visited them. It was a wonderful Southern hospitality. The museum is really a must; they have many items that belong to Mr. Henry, an ink bottle, his violin and flute, a Chippendale document cabinet, and most importantly his writing desk. There are also letters and other documents both original and copies. Especially interesting are the portraits including a copy of the Thomas Sully portrait.

Having been to Richmond before we visited here, we had learned a lot about Patrick Henry at St John Church where he made his famous "Give me Liberty or give me death" speech. The video basically brings you up to speed on Patrick Henry 101. In our day, this is pretty much the extent that most of us know about him. In his own time, he was the most powerful and important man in Virginia. George Washington said of him "Patrick Henry has only to say this is law and it is law." He was known as the Homer of Orators.

Red Hill was his final and favorite home. The Henry family graveyard is located on the property. The main house is a reproduction, the original burned to the ground in 1919. Philanthropist Eugene B. Casey stepped in and in 1957 the Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation rebuilt Red Hill on the original foundation. The only original building on the property is the law office. When you consider that it is a wooden structure it is pretty amazing that it still survives.

Allow about an hour to an hour and a half for your visit here. We used a full hour. Be sure to show your AAA card you will get a discount.

Red Hill is a simple home, not a fancy mansion. You get to see a spare bedroom, a parlor, and his bedroom on the first floor. The kitchen as was the custom is in an outbuilding. A smokehouse and the cook’s cabin are also featured. The views from the backyard are amazing; it makes you understand what he loved about this property.