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WHITE HOUSE OF THE CONFEDERACY MUST STAY
White House of the Confederacy ~ 1201 East Clay Street
Image courtesy of VCU Cabell Library Special Collections
Robert Mills, Thomas Jefferson's only architectural pupil, designed the house that served as the White House of the Confederacy from 1861-1865. When it was built1816-1818, the house had a commanding view of the deep valley that ran between Church Hill and Shockoe Hill, where it stood. Also, the house featured the first monumental portico on a house in Richmond. Mills designed other landmark buildings in Richmond's historic Court End, including Monumental Church and the nearby Wickham House. VCU expansion has caused the Museum of the Confederacy - owners of the building - to consider moving the National Historic Landmark from its original site in Richmond's historic Court End thereby compromising its Landmark historic status. Contact the VCU Board of Visitors (at 828-1200) or the Museum of the Confederacy (at 649-1861) with your concerns.
1-24-07 UPDATE: After long negotiations with preservation groups, state & city government, the White House of the Confederacy WILL STAY on the site on which it was built in 1818. BUT, will the Museum of the Confederacy stay? Read the January 24, 2007 RTD article
12-29-05 UPDATE: A.C.O.R.N. is actively working with the City of Richmond and the Museum of the Confederacy to obtain more visible, effective signage-- to boost visitation to and secure the preservation (and National Register listing) of the White House of the Confederacy in its original site.
A.C.O.R.N.'s POSITION ON THE PROPOSED MOVE OF THE WHITE HOUSE OF THE CONFEDERACY FROM 1201 EAST CLAY STREET
DATE: July 12, 2005
CONTACT: Jennie Dotts, Executive Director
RE: A.C.O.R.N. Position on the Proposed Move of the White House of the Confederacy and Museum from 1201 East Clay Street
The ongoing initiative by the Museum of the Confederacy (MOC) to physically move the White House of the Confederacy historic structure from Court End is not in the City’s best interest for four fundamental reasons:
Reason #1: The historic integrity of the landmark would be
undeniably and irrevocably compromised.
The Virginia State Historic Preservation Office has stated that the building most certainly will lose its National Historic Landmark designation should it be moved. There is no question that a significant proportion (all) of the building’s historic integrity would be lost by such a move to another site. The 12th and Clay Streets site where (of) so many pivotal events (critical) in American history took place will likely disappear under a new Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Medical building if the historic structure is moved. At that point all historic associations to the Court End site (connection with this structure) would be forever obscured.
Reason #2: Its historic setting is critical to the City of Richmond’s story.
The importance of the White House’s historic proximity to the Capitol at 12th and Clay is essential in the accurate portrayal of the “Lincoln in Richmond” story. Lincoln walked from the State Capitol to the White House of the Confederacy on April 4, 1865, creating what author James McPherson described as “some of the most unforgettable scenes in this unforgettable war”. (McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, 1988). The accurate retelling of the epic story of Lincoln’s walk through Richmond for future generations of Americans will depend on the White House remaining at 12th and Clay.
The house holds special historical significance as the setting for a spy network involving an African American household servant, Mary Elizabeth Bowser. Ms. Bowser passed along information to the Union Army through her ally, Elizabeth Van Lew, who ran the covert intelligence operation from her home in nearby Church Hill.
Countless other stories of wartime Richmond, the functions of the Confederate Executive Branch, and the subsequent Federal occupation revolve around the structure at 1201 East Clay St. Integrity of location is a vital factor in conveying the significance of this structure.
Reason #3: It is unnecessary for the White House of the Confederacy building to move to improve public access to the Museum of the Confederacy.
Access to the MOC by car may be especially complicated at the moment because of the construction of a Bed Tower, which necessitated the closing of a street and the loss of a parking area. But this is only temporary. Since the early 1980s, Medical College of Virginia (MCV)/VCU has undertaken a vigorous construction campaign in the immediate vicinity of the MOC, in the Main Hospital and Gateway Buildings adjacent to White House. If the MOC is primarily concerned about the future viability of their museum and the public’s limited access at 12th and Clay, the City ought to encourage the relocation of the museum facility only. In that eventuality, the White House landmark ought to be left in its historic setting and entrusted to another entity (such as the Valentine Museum/Richmond History Center or the National Park Service) to be open to the public as the eastern bookend to the other Court End National Historic Landmark on Clay Street, the Wickham House.
Reason #4: Moving its most historically significant resource will accelerate the erosion of one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, Court End.
In 1992 MCV/VCU expansion forced a one-block move of the historic Maupin-Maury House, built in 1846, from 11th and Clay to 10th and Clay streets. The MCV Alumni Association, which owns the house, wanted to move the house intact. But engineering studies revealed that an old streambed runs under Clay Street, which raised fears that the street could not withstand the weight of the brick building. There was concern the weight might cause the house to tip over during transport. Consequently, the house was dismantled and a facsimile constructed at 10th and Clay (one block from the White House) where it had neither the integrity of location nor of materials. The result was its removal from the State and National Register of Historic Places—one less historic structure to provide a context for an important old Richmond neighborhood and nearby Capitol Square.
The Confederate White House is only one block east of the reconstructed Maupin-Maury House. Not only is it larger, the house is considerably heavier as a result of fireproofing in the 1890s when the interior wooden elements were replaced with concrete and cast iron. No move should be contemplated without independent studies of the underground infrastructure for the entire length of any journey to a new location, in part because historic accounts of the area indicate that a number of creek beds and ravines traversed this section of the city. (Mordecai, Richmond in Bygone Days, 1860, 1946)
VCU recently completed a Master Plan showing new construction on other historic sites in Court End, such as the Academy of Medicine across the street from the White House. If the White House—the premier historic resource left in Court End—is moved, every other historic structure in this neighborhood will become extremely vulnerable to removal or demolition in response to the pressure of VCU Medical Center’s expansion.
A.C.O.R.N. believes that there is an urgent need to revise the recently unveiled 2020 VCU Master Plan so that the City of Richmond’s Court End Historic District’s resources, including the White House of the Confederacy, are given their due consideration. VCU’s expansion plans need to better recognize that these historic resources are valuable to the history of the nation, to the City of Richmond, and ultimately to VCU’s own institutional history. Such a reassessment of the VCU Master Plan needs to begin with the basic recognition that the White House of the Confederacy at 12th and Clay is the lynchpin historic property crucial to the inclusion of the Court End Historic District into VCU’s growth. For as the White House goes, so will Court End.