Red Hill Patrick Henry National Memorial

What it is

Red Hill Patrick Henry National Memorial, in Charlotte County, Virginia, was Henry's last home. He bought the plantation in 1794 and lived there with his wife Dorothea and their children until his death in 1799. The site includes his reconstructed house, his original law office, dependencies, slave quarters, and his grave. It is maintained by the Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation and is a National Park Service affiliated site.

Why it matters

Red Hill shows the later life of Henry, a leading Founding Father and orator, as a working tobacco plantation owner who depended on enslaved labor. The site holds the largest collection of Henry-related artifacts in the country, including a famous 1851 painting of him speaking before the Virginia House of Burgesses, and his last letter. It also preserves one of the largest intact enslaved burial grounds in Virginia, a reminder of the people whose labor supported Henry's household.

Look closer

• What does the presence of slave quarters tell you about life at Red Hill beyond Henry's own story?
• Why was this site turned into a memorial, and who decided what to preserve or reconstruct?
• What questions does a photograph of the main house leave unanswered about the plantation as a whole?