kenmore plantation and gardens

If you like history, this is a must see. The house and the plaster work (of the "Stucco Man") is the most amazing and beautiful we have every seen. The tour takes about 45 minutes and costs a few dollars - worth every penny!

We drove past this place this December, however when we lived in Virginia, we have visited this home several times. There is so much to see, you can learn something new each visit. Have visited this home in all seasons and find the ground beautiful each visit. One thing about visiting a place at different times, you may have a different tour guide and one may have facts the other may not have.

The tour was great and the inside of the house is so pretty! Plaster work and everything they are doing to restore this house is amazing. Will return for sure!

Had a great experience at Kenmore. Our tour guide Linda was just great!!! The history of the Lewis family was interesting and actually ties into my area, Gloucester, VA.

The estate is so pretty! If you are looking for a relaxed and peaceful tour go to Kenmore. Our tour was about 45 minutes long and the guide was very knowledgable and nice. The gift shop is okay, not the best, but at least there is a gift shop. I think it is a very nice and historic way to spend an hour or two.

What a fantastic piece of history! I loved hearing about the history of this place from the guide who was extremely passionate and inspiring. He even talked through how they tried to restore the place as authentically as possible and the plans for the future. Best recommendation I can give is to visit the visitors centre and get a day pass and you can visit as many of these places as you like for only $16!

Kenmore was the home of George Washington's sister, Betty, and what a home it was. Her husband, the hugely wealthy Fielding Lewis, built it as a 'How rich am I' statement, and it provides a fascinating insight into how good the colonial life was for those with lots of money. Don't miss it.

I enjoyed the entire tour---our guide was very informative and answered all of our questions! We all took turns taking cell phonephotos for each other on the various sides of the house!

House tour is now limited to the first floor and the kitchen out-building, plus the museum. Still worth the price of admission. Best stucco ceilings you will probably every see. More original furniture now than on our last visit. For return visitors, rooms have been re-purposed from years ago. Bedrooms are moved and ballroom is now a dining room. No tour to the second floor because of ceiling damage from tourist traffic. Gardens are pleasant, and the walk along Washington street is worth a little extra time. Mary Washington house is a short walk several streets away.

While my husband is taking DOD class I took the week off to come with him to tour historical Fredericksburg. While looking at the "things to do" Kenmore house was highly recommended. Please I implore you, save your money and do not take the tour. I was the only one on the tour and my tour guide was clueless. While waiting for my 1:45 tour to get started I walked around the museum reading about the family. First off my tour guide said Fielding had only 2 kids from previous marriage, reality there was 3. He said Betty only had 5 kids live to adult, reality is there was six. When he took me through the house - they only show you 3 rooms. Every time I asked him about something I was told, "I will get to that later." Well I never did get my questions answered. I went back into the museum where they took my $10 admission fee and told them that I had a lot of questions that weren't answered. So, I proceeded to ask her and she said she wasn't sure, she wasn't a tour guide. Again, I say save your $10.00 because you only see three rooms and the tour takes 20 minutes.

My husband and I are recent empty nesters. We had always done the history vacations with our kids. Sometimes some of these tours and museums are not geared toward kids. While we did not actually see children during our tour, it is evident that they do have things geared to children. Kenmore was the home to G. Washington's sister. It does have beautiful and elaborated plaster work on the ceilings and above the fire places. During the tour they talk about how the Lewis family were well off and how they ended up bankrupt after the war. When Children are in the group, they provide them with coins and they are well off when the tour begins. As they go through the tour they slowly begin to loose their riches and it kind of makes the impact of how things turned out for so many people during the wars. They also have a room for the children to dress in period clothing, build a plantation, tea party etc... We enjoyed our grown up tour, it was informative and it was amazing to see the detail in the plaster work. Kenmore is part of the Timeless Ticket option at the Visitors Center. $32 for about 9 attractions and it is timeless. It is on the upper part of town, so you may want to drive. But one nice thing in Fburg, lots of free parking in lots, on the street. Some street parking is limited to 2 hours though.

This was our last stop on our historic tour and worth the stop. The house was breathtaking and our tour guide was quite knowledgeable and welcomed questions.

Virginia is not deficient in historic houses. Kenmore reigns supreme and the incredible plaster ceilings along are work a visit. They were created by an unknown artist known only as, "Stucco Man," who also did the dining room at Mt. Vernon. Kenmore became America's first house museum back in the 1920s. The recent restoration is magnificent. I try to visit once a year. Not far away is Stratford, the ancestral Lee mansion which is also worth a visit.

Kenmore was owned by Washington's sister and her husband. As a supplier to the Revolutionary War effort, Fielding Lewis sacrificed his fortune and his widow was forced to sell the house upon his death. The plaster moldings in the ceilings and over the fireplace are amazing and very ornate. The guided tour of the grounds and gardens were very interesting. The visitor's center also has some interesting exhibits.

Beautiful grounds and visitors center for the Kenmore Plantation. Tour guide was very knowledgeable and friendly about all things Kenmore. It's interesting to see the plantation as it's in the process of being updated with furniture from that era. Also, take the time to walk the streets of Fredericksburg as it's like walking back in history!