Idlewild: Lee's Chancellorsville HQ

When someone says "Idlewild," most people in the Fredericksburg area think of the new subdivision full of cookie cutter houses set so close together that you could almost touch two at once if you stood between them with your arms outstretched.

Most people don't think about the house that appears on the three entrance pillars to the Idlewild neighborhood. That house isn't just some random image chosen because it looked nice. No, that house actually exists.

Built by William Yates Downman in 1859, Idlewild is a beautiful example of American Gothic Revival architecture. The home was just four years old when Robert E. Lee used it as his headquarters on May 4-5, 1863, during the Chancellorsville campaign. Perched high up on a hill, the home had a commanding view of the surrounding landscape when Lee was there. Today, the area is secluded by trees; you can see a Home Depot building and a Central Park shopping center sign in a couple of the clearings.

From the opposite perspective, if you know just where to look, you can see one Idlewild's chimneys peeking through the trees from the edge of the Home Depot parking lot.

Remarkably, Idlewild remained in the same family until the 1940s. Subsequent owners lived there until vacating the property in 1989. No one has lived there since then.



Idlewild, circa 1989

The home sat relatively undisturbed until arsonists set the home ablaze in 2003. A smaller fire and continued vandalism have plagued the site ever since. Now in the possession of the city, the sad remains have been shored up with steel beams and a "protective" fence has been erected around the main house and some of the outbuildings.

Idlewild, October 2013

The city has hoped that someone will come along with a plan that will allow Idlewild to be restored to its former glory. A few companies and people have presented various ideas, but the city has turned all of the offers down.

Idlewild is one of only two homes in the Fredericksburg area that was used by Robert E. Lee. The other home, Braehead, was recently redone and turned into a B&B.

I would love to see Idlewild restored, but without some quick action and, frankly, some deep pockets, it isn't going to happen. I remain hopeful, though, because it would be an absolute shame to let a home with so much history fall victim to the elements any more than it already has.

Idlewild's sad interior

Fredericksburg is often billed as "America's Most Historic City," but every time we lose a piece of our history, whether it is to development or the elements, we become a little less historic.