The Cemetery Stories of the Lee-Fendall House
The house still stands on Oronoco Street — but many of its people rest in the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex. This free Lee-Fendall House cemetery tour guide follows the founders, soldiers, and families of one remarkable address.
Six Eras, One Address
The house at 614 Oronoco Street was built in 1785 by Philip Richard Fendall — banker, lawyer, and close friend of George Washington — on land bought from his cousin Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee. Over nearly two centuries it passed through six remarkable eras: the Fendalls, the Edmund J. Lee family, the Cazenoves who gave it its Greek Revival style, the Flemings, the Downhams who modernized it, and finally John L. Lewis, president of the United Mine Workers.
Thirty-seven Lee family members are connected to this ground. During the Civil War the house served as the Grosvenor Branch military hospital, where roughly 1,700 soldiers were treated. Washington himself visited more than seventeen times. This walking tour traces those lives across four cemeteries of the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex.
Inside the Guide
Fourteen stops across four historic cemeteries — each one tied back to the house on Oronoco Street:
Philip Richard Fendall Sr. himself lies in an unmarked grave at nearby Ivy Hill — located in 2023 through research and ground-penetrating radar.
Plan Your Visit
Meet
Wilkes St. & Hamilton Ave.
1475–1501 Wilkes Street
Free parking — enter at 1300 Wilkes St
Duration
About 90 minutes
1–1.5 miles, mostly flat
Uneven in areas — sturdy shoes advised
Tickets
Through the Lee-Fendall House Museum (Eventbrite)
One House. Two Centuries.
Four Cemeteries.
From the founding through the Civil War to the modern age — follow the families of 614 Oronoco Street to their resting places.