On October 2, 1865, less than six months after the surrender at Appomattox, Robert E. Lee accepted the presidency of Washington College at an annual salary of $1,500.  At 58, he was anxious for the chance to be of use to the "rising" generation.

Lee first lived in the president's house that Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson had shared with his in-laws during his 14-month marriage to Elinor Junkin, whose father was the college’s president (see Stonewall Jackson House selection).  Soon after Lee arrived he embarked on a building program. 

His first project was the chapel that ultimately became known as the Lee Chapel.   Lee lavished great enthusiasm on the chapel he requested the trustees build on campus.  Work began in January 1867, under the close supervision of Lee and his son, Custis, a professor at neighboring Virginia Military Institute.  It was completed in time for the 1868 June commencement.  From then until his death in 1870, Lee attended daily worship service there with his students.

Lee’s son also helped him formulate plans for a new president's home.  Although unhappy that the house cost more than the $15,000 originally appropriated for it, he was pleased with several architectural details.  The verandas were designed so that his wife, crippled with arthritis, could move her rolling chair across them.  Lee was also happy to have his old friend, Traveller, nearby in a new brick stable adjoining the house.  Reports from the 1860s indicate that Traveller certainly needed a refuge.  Souvenir hunters had pulled out so much hair from its mane and tail that the warhorse shied away from people.

On the chapel’s lower level, Lee established his office.  He fashioned and furnished it, and it remains today as it was when illness forced him from his desk on September 28, 1870.  The remains of Traveller are buried just outside the office.  Today the rest of the lower level is a museum where reminders of both Lee and Washington can be seen.

A letter dated 1796 thanks George Washington for his gift of stock, saving the school from bankruptcy.  Washington endowed the school with $50,000 of James River Canal Company stock that is still paying dividends.  Students today each receive roughly $3 a year in residuals.  Many of Lee's personal belongings are included in the museum collection.  The portraits bring famous figures from history to life.  Paintings include the Charles Willson Peale portraits of Washington and Lafayette and the popular Lee portrait done by Theodore Pine.

The lower level also contains the Lee family crypt where Lee is buried with his wife, parents and their seven children.  Many visitors mistakenly believe Lee is buried in the chapel apse beneath the impressive Edward Valentine statue.  Lee's widow chose the recumbent pose; she wanted to remember him as if he were sleeping on the battlefield.

Robert E. Lee died on October 12, 1870. Later in the month, when George Washington Custis Lee  was elected to succeed his father as president, the college name was changed to Washington and Lee University.  Both the Lee Chapel and the Front Campus Colonnade of Washington and Lee University are National Historic Landmarks.  There is no charge to visit the Lee Chapel and Museum.  Hours are 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Monday through Saturday from mid-October to mid-April and until 5:00 P.M. the rest of the year.  Sunday hours are 2:00 to 5:00 P.M.

Directions:  From I-95 in the Richmond area, take I-64/I-81 west to Lexington.  Take Route 11 exit off I-64 and travel south.  Just outside Lexington Route 11 will fork right onto Main Street.  Follow Main Street to the Washington and Lee campus. From the south if  you are traveling on I-81 take Exit 188, Route 60 West.  Follow Route 60 West to Main Street.  Turn left to Henry Street which will take you to the Washington and Lee campus. For information on this and all the Lexington attractions stop first at the Lexington Visitor Center at 107 East Washington Street.