Washington Winter Show 2026

55 This page is sponsored in honor of Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys and Building Bridges Across the River 250 YEARS OF HERITAGE: HOW AREA HISTORIC HOMES ARE CELEBRATING AMERICA’S ANNIVERSARY This year marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the first full year of the RevolutionaryWar that won its fulfillment. The following is a listing of what some of the historic houses in the greaterWashington area are doing to celebrate the continuing legacy of this momentous achievement. Please consult their websites for visiting hours and further details. Stratford Hall Historic Preserve 483 Great House Road, Stratford, Virginia 22558 | StratfordHall.org The Revolutionary patriots raised at Stratford Hall include statesman Richard Henry Lee, who first proposed independence from Britain on June 7, 1776, and his brother Francis Lightfoot Lee, who joined him in signing the Declaration of Independence. Their eldest sister Hannah Lee Corbin urged her brothers to extend the principle of “no taxation without representation” to property-owning women. While the war raged at home, brother William Lee acted as commercial agent for the Continental Congress in French ports, and youngest brother Arthur Lee collected political intelligence abroad before being appointed co-commissioner to the court of Louis XVI, where he signed the 1778 Treaty of Alliance that brought France decisively into the war on the American side. Their cousin Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee III distinguished himself in the Army, winning a congressional medal for his command at the Battle of Paulus Hook. His story will be the focus of our Annual Lee Lecture by Dr. Edward G. Lengel on January 18. Learn more about this distinguished family through our three-part Revolution-era Lees video series, available on our website and YouTube channel, and join us on June 7 for Virginia Resolved, a celebration of the 250th anniversary of Richard Henry Lee’s Resolution for Independence.