The White House and Museum of the Confederacy

The White House of the Confederacy (1865)

The White House of the Confederacy (2017)

Site Name

The White House of the Confederacy (now, the White House and Museum of the Confederacy)

Date of construction

1818

Reason for construction

This was constructed as a private residence for Dr. John Brockenbrough and was owned by various wealthy families before being sold to the City of Richmond. It was then rented out as the office and main residence of the President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis. This house was generally viewed as the confederate counterpart to the White House in Washington D.C.

Brief History of the Site

Originally built for Dr. John Brockenbrough, this house was designed as a federal style home by celebrated architect Robert Mills. It was sold by the Brockenbrough family in the 19th century and passed through the ownership of many wealthy families before finally being sold to the City of Richmond. It was then rented out to the Confederate government for use as their headquarters during the Civil War. The President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis established an office on the first floor of the building and he and his family took up residence on the second floor. The house was abandoned when the city of Richmond was evacuated in 1865.

During reconstruction, the White House of the Confederacy was used as the headquarters for Military District Number One. When reconstruction ended, it housed Richmond Central School, one of the first public schools in postwar Richmond. In 1890, the city of Richmond announced plans to demolish the building but, due to its historical importance as well as public backlash, they halted their plans.

In 1895, Richmond architect Henry E. Baskervill worked to fire-proof and restore the mansion to museum status. Another renovation of the house from 1977 to 1988 restored the house to Davis-era elegance, with period furnishings and decor. The building next door was turned into a three-floor museum as well as the Eleanor S. Brockenbrough Library. The modern museum and house together comprise the Museum of the Confederacy, an international center of study on the role of the Confederacy in the Civil War.

Brief history of the Surrounding Area

The White House of the Confederacy is located at Clay and 12th Streets in the Court End Neighborhood. The area around the house is almost completely surrounded by the growing hospital complex of the Medical College of Virginia (MCV). The college was founded in 1838 by the medical department of Hampden-Sydney College and enrolled 46 students in the first class. When the civil war erupted, the College played an important role in caring for confederate soldiers and educating Confederate surgeons. In 1867, the college faculty, Freedmen's Bureau, and City of Richmond established an outpatient clinic for people of all races. In the next several decades, MCV merged with the University College of Medicine and grew dramatically in size. Today, the Medical College of Virginia sprawls over 52.4 acres and the undergraduate and graduate students combined number about 30,000.

What about the site has changed?

The site has been renovated many times. In 1895, for example, the building was fireproofed and, in the 1970s and 1980s, it was refurbished with period furniture and decorations. In modern times, the site has been converted into a museum and tourist attractions, becoming one of the more popular places to visit in Richmond, Virginia. Overall, however, it has not changed much. Due to conservation and preservation efforts, the house is still fairly unchanged and is still an accurate portrayal of its condition during the Civil War despite the surrounding area being heavily developed and modernized.

What about the surrounding area has changed?

The growth of MCV has turned the area around the White House of the Confederacy into a giant and busy urban center. The White House, which used to be one of the most important, elegant, and imposing buildings in Richmond, is now dwarfed by the tall buildings of the MCV campus. The urbanization of Richmond has impacted the area around the house a lot. It has also indirectly impacted the house. By being in such a busy area, foot traffic around the site has increased and its popularity as a tourist attraction has grown given its accessibility to those in downtown Richmond. If the area was not in such a busy place, it is likely that fewer people would know about and visit it.

Reflection

I found it really interesting that something so close to such a large institution like MCV could have such a rich history and such an important role in the history of Richmond. I spend a lot of time at VCU and MCV and I am doing my mentorship there so I pass by the White House a lot but I have never gone inside. However, doing this research and visiting this site has peaked my interest in the site and I would really like to go back and take a tour of the site, not just look at it from the outside.

Author

Anisha Sharma

Sources of information

The American Civil War Museum. "Our History: The White House and Museum of the Confederacy." Accessed March 17, 2017. https://acwm.org/about-us/our-story/museum-white-house-confederacy.

National Park Service U.S. Department of Interior. "White House of the Confederacy." Accessed March 17, 2017. https://www.nps.gov//nr/travel/richmond/whitehouse_of_theconfederacy.html.

Hoke, Thelma Vaine, and Medical College of Virginia. The First 125 Years of the Medical College of Virginia. Medical College of Virginia, 1963. Accessed March 17, 2017.     http://dig.library.vcu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/mcv/id/100.