The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-07-31
LEES HOME IN l714.
It Still Stands Well Preserved at Lee
town. w Va

town. w. Va.
rode to the homes of Charles Lee and
Horace Gates. which are still standing at
Leetown W. Va, and only five miles
apart. The chief mental result of my
visit was surprise that the homestead of
Gates and Lee We're so we'll preserved and
yet so little pictured.
From Charlestown, founded ny Wash
ington's younger brother, Charles. who
Is known.f for nothing else, the road WAS Il
pike in good and bad condition alter
nately. Much stock, hogs and cattle,and
fine wheat We're on the way. but the horses
We're. for the want of grass, skinny and
skeleton.
At Leetown our road came out upon
better, wider, and, asking the store
keeper there where General Lee lived. he
said: Fright at the top of the hill.
souti." So, while our horses fed. we
walked to Lees home, 100 yards away
1t was an apparently white house of
whitewashed limestone, wide and low.
caves to the road and back to rising
lawn, wider than the house, which was
sixty feet front and only twenty. five
deep. y lawn of country grass descend
ed 300 feet to the broad, stately pike. and
an old we'll was up this lawn more than
half way.
We were observed by Il pretty Virginia
girl from the right-hand door. where was
a small, square. peaked porch with de-
scending steps; another door was in the
left wing, lower to the ground, with a
window on each side of it. Oniy three
windows were in this long front. but
three windows broke the windowless eX-
tent Of black shingled roof-one of stone
at the south end another very tall one of
stone in that portion and, finally Chin
81 I'll
center. The roof was pitched high. and
in the north gable was one window and a
side window below that. In the rear of
the north part was a single window in
the stone wall. The floor at this part
was lifted considerably so a TO expose
the cellar, closed stone arch which was
still to be seen. \ modern rear building
of frame was behind the south end.
As soon as we entered the house the
young lady. Miss Watson told rs that
all of Lees habitation was where we sat
at the north or porch part. She said that
IA partition parallel with the gable had
probably been added; it was now a bed
room. We. therefore. sat in part of
that famous room. long described as Il
single apartment, with chalk or paint
marks upon the floor. TO Indicate divi-
sion 1t may have been - feet square
to the outer part of the openings 1t had
fireplace not in the middle. but at the
south end. 1t was a plain, plastered, dry,
nearly square room, cool to suit the lati-
tude.
For bachelor officer, accustomed TO a
tent, Il Polish cot. a Cossack' hut. or an
Italian contadini's farm. house. it was
reasonably sufficient. Lee lived here ONLY
some four years. He may have built it.
or found it already built. The host told
us that n true cornerstone divided the
original part from the extension. though
both were old. Here the legend SAYS
that &c lived surrounded by dogs in
smokey hovel. Similar houses of one
room and garnet are to this day con-
structcd by the iaborers of the region.
Though the room was now we'll fur
nished, and though we were not shown
the ed room, which had been taken from
it, could understand that General Lee
had one tolerably good Giving room. -
such as many people prefer now for eat
ing and abiding. and its original breads tn
may have been even 30 fcet.hy 20 in width
y corner cupboard stair. or ladder stair,
may have gone to the.garret If the house
Is good enough in 1896 for in educated
family, it was not contemplate in 1114
for soldier of fortune. Cincinnati En-
quircr.