Location: 16120 Chiswell Lane, Beaverdam, VA 23015
Phone:
(804) 227-3500
Website: https://preservationvirginia.org/visit/historic-properties/patrick-henrys-scotchtown
Hours: March 3, 2017 through December 2017
Friday: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Saturday: 10:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m.
Sunday: 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Ticket Price:
| Preservation Virginia Members: | Free |
| General Admission: | $10 |
| AAA Members, Military and Senior Citizens (60+): | $9 |
| Students: | $7 |
| Children Under 6: | Free |
Visited: Friday, 3/3/17, 2:30 p.m. –
3:30 p.m.
Scotchtown was built around 1720 by Charles Chiswell.
The Parson’s Cause trial (1763) made Patrick Henry famous. He became known as a champion of the common man after that trial. He owned the Scotchtown property from 1771-1778. It is his only remaining original still-standing home.
In March of 1775, he traveled to St. John's Church in Richmond. It was there that he gave his famous and inspiring speech to the Virginia Convention that included the phrase, "Give me liberty or give me death!"
A Guide by Cell tour is available by calling 804-200-4636, then following the prompts on the signs throughout the property. A guided tour of the house is available during operating hours.
Proceed to the home and enter, the gift
shop / tickets are immediately to the right. Kids can pick up a Kids
Quiz at the ticket desk. At the end of the tour, the quiz can be
turned in to exchange for a prize.
You can also find a few interesting, historical, and funny items for sale in the gift shop.
Scotchtown offers Halloween and
Christmas tours. The site has been used to film Turn and also
segments for the History Channel.
The tour begins by going outside then
entering the cellar from the outside. There is an interior staircase
but it’s very narrow and dangerous. It's located just inside the front door.
The cellar is where Sarah
Shelton Henry, his first wife, was kept for the last 2 years
of her life.
The items in the home are not
originals, except for one chair in the bedroom. Most of his items
were auctioned after his death, then the home in which he passed away –
Red Hill – burned.
He was a sensible man and lived modestly, but he had a large and
beautiful home because of Sarah Shelton. However, she suffered from
severe depression - some believe it was post partum depression after her last child. She had
been his childhood sweetheart. Her health deteriorated to the point where she
didn’t recognize her family and was a harm to herself and others,
so they made a straightjacket dress for her.
Henry had a small number of slaves. He
called them by their first names. A copy of a letter to Henry was on the table inquiring
about how he could own slaves after talking about Liberty. His
response was that it was an evil of the time.
People thought Sarah was possessed.
Patrick Henry’s mother and Sarah’s oldest daughter took care of
her. Sometimes now, people see a woman in white walking through the
house with a candle. The local deputies have been called out in the
middle of the night because the security system’s motion detectors
sensed motion. People have sometimes heard chains on the brick floor.
She died in February, 1775. He said he could never stay another night there and he didn’t. He buried her
but no one knows where. Superstitions of the time required him to
have a secret burial so people did not disturb her grave. Only a
couple of weeks after her death, on March 23, he gave his impassioned Give Me
Liberty speech.
His family remained at Scotchtown but he did not. He remarried 2 years later to Dorthea Dandridge –
Martha Washington’s cousin. He was later Governor of Virginia.
He was a great family man who spent
time with his kids and played with them. He was a musician and
also wrote poetry.
He didn’t want to be known except as a
politician so he burned all his poems and music. He owned a peach
satin suit. He had 17 children total between his two marriages. He was a self-taught lawyer and passed
the bar without going to college. This is still possible in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Thomas Jefferson
didn’t like him and thought he was a country bumpkin. He resented the fact that Patrick Henry had a silver tongue and could make everyone
like him, in spite of not having a fancy college education. Henry had
George Washington’s ear and they were great friends.
Henry was proud of
being a country bumpkin and didn’t powder his wig, which was
unusual for that time. His wig was the color of his natural hair – reddish. The powder used for wigs was a taxable item, and anytime you
could get away with not paying taxes to the King, you were supporting
the revolution.
In 1799, Henry was given mercury for his
stomach issues and he died.
On display, you'll find one of the few remaining colonial-era wigs. It's made out of horse hair and human hair.
Scotchtown also has books from
Henry’s day but not ones that were owned by him.
At the conclusion of the house tour, a self-guided tour begins of a room dedicated to the idea of Liberty - not just in Henry's day, but how his legacy has inspired others throughout history.
The grounds can be toured on your own. The out buildings aren't original but have been set up to appear how they would have in Henry's day.
The kitchen building is used for special events and demonstrations.
A small herd of Hog Island sheep live on the property.
