Woodlawn Plantation
This 1825 depiction of Lafayette’s visit to Woodlawn is the only period image of the mansion known today. Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House Collection.
In his will, George Washington left the 2,000-acre Dogue Run Farm to his step-granddaughter Eleanor “Nelly” Custis Lewis and her husband, Lawrence Lewis.
Construction on the early Federal William Thornton-designed home began in 1800 and was built largely using enslaved labor. After the death of Martha Washington in 1802, the Lewis family moved from Mount Vernon to the still-unfinished north wing of Woodlawn. Woodlawn would not be completed until 1805.
The Lewis family lived at Woodlawn, along with over ninety enslaved individuals, until the late 1830s. After the death of her grandparents, Nelly prioritized keeping Washington’s memory alive, furnishing Woodlawn with pieces and relics from Mount Vernon. Throughout the early nineteenth century, a wide variety of guests visited Woodlawn. This entertainment was possible because of the labor of people like Hanson, an enslaved chef.
Nelly and Lawrence suffered numerous losses during their time at Woodlawn. In addition to several miscarriages, only three of their eight children (Frances Parke, Lorenzo, and Angela) survived to adulthood. Isolated from the social and cultural centers of her youth, Nelly devoted herself to the care of her children. Enslaved seamstresses like Dolcey and Sukey worked to maintain daily household linens and clothing for the Lewis family.
Like many other plantations, Woodlawn fell into decline throughout the nineteenth century. After Lawrence Lewis’ death in 1839, Nelly moved to her son Lorenzo’s plantation in Clarke County, Virginia, Audley, where she died in 1852.
Slavery at Woodlawn
Three major events shaped the lives of enslaved people at Woodlawn: the manumission, or freeing, of those enslaved by George Washington; the distribution of enslaved people by Martha Washington; and the Lewis family’s participation in the domestic slave trade.
Upon the death of Martha Washington, George Washington’s will freed 123 enslaved men, women, and children at Mount Vernon. The majority of people enslaved at Mount Vernon, however, were part of the Custis Dower Estate (from Martha’s first marriage to Daniel Parke Custis) and were divided up and inherited by the Custis grandchildren. Most of the people enslaved at Woodlawn were inherited by Nelly from the Custis estate and their descendants.
In 1802, the Lewis family inherited 37 enslaved people from the Custis estate. From the George Washington Presidential Library, Peter Family Papers Collection.
Slavery was integral to Woodlawn and the life of the Lewis family. More than ninety men, women, and children were enslaved at Woodlawn throughout the Lewis family’s ownership. Like other planter women, Nelly enslaved and oversaw domestic workers, including Sukey, a seamstress, and Hanson, Woodlawn’s chef. Though she wrote little about the people she held in bondage, her letters convey a strong opposition to the abolition of slavery.
In 1803, a man named Peter escaped from the Lewis family, likely taking advantage of the hectic move from Mount Vernon to Woodlawn. From the Alexandria Gazette, August 14th, 1803.
Those enslaved at Woodlawn demonstrated resistance and resilience. In 1803, a twenty-two-year-old man named Peter seized his freedom by fleeing from Woodlawn and was last seen in the city of Alexandria. It is likely that Peter was never caught. At Audley, the Lewis’ plantation in the Shenandoah Valley, runaway ads posted in 1830 indicate that two men named Shadrack and Dandridge likely coordinated an escape with freedom papers and funds. It is unknown if they were ever caught or if they remained free.
By Lawrence Lewis’s death in 1839, most of Woodlawn’s enslaved community had been sold or forcibly transported to other places. The Lewises sent or sold 48 enslaved people to Louisiana, including Sukey and her children. Research conducted in 2023 traces Sukey’s family from Mount Vernon, through Woodlawn, to Lewis family plantations in Louisiana’s Iberville Parish. Woodlawn staff are continuing to prioritize uncovering information through collaboration with scholars, descendants, and community partners.