Cultural Landscape Report for Chatham - Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park

Beagan, Christopher; Foulds, H Eliot

Chatham is located on the northeast bank of the Rappahannock River in Stafford County, overlooking the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia. It is set at the intersection of a residential neighborhood, public park, and commercial area, removed from but visually connected to the busy historic district across the river. An 88.65-acre unit of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, this acreage is all that remains of a once vast estate amassed by the Fitzhugh family beginning in the early eighteenth century. The Georgian style brick manor house was constructed circa 1768–71 by William Fitzhugh (1741–1809) at the core of a large plantation supported by slave labor. During the American Civil War, Chatham served as a Union headquarters and field hospital. The property was host to many noteworthy visitors before, during, and after the war. In the 150 years after the Civil War, the property saw a succession of owners who initiated repair of extensive damage to the buildings and grounds. In the 1920s, Daniel and Helen Devore re-conceived the estate according to then popular tastes associated with the Colonial Revival movement, including the construction of a 1.2-acre formal Walled Garden designed by Ellen Shipman to the northeast of the manor house. General Motors executive John Lee Pratt purchased Chatham in 1931 and continued improvements to the house and grounds. Upon his death in 1975, the house and surrounding acreage were donated to the National Park Service. Today, Chatham serves as the administrative headquarters of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. The house and grounds are open to the public. Despite the property’s current use as a park, the former residential and agricultural uses of the landscape remain. Chatham is well visited by local schools, residents, and neighbors, as well as visitors from around the globe. The Friends of Chatham, established in 2012, is the property’s most active partner, providing for advocacy, financial support, and community engagement. This report is organized into four chapters beginning with a detailed site history tracing the physical evolution of the Chatham landscape, followed by documentation of existing conditions, an analysis and evaluation of the significance and integrity based on existing National Register of Historic Places documentation, and treatment recommendations providing guidance for the long-term management of the landscape. Additional detailed information is included in appendices, including a core area tree inventory and vegetation inventory for the Walled Garden.

Cultural Landscape Report for Chatham - Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park

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