Master Craftsmen Restoring 18th Century House That Survived the Civil War

The Ellwood home survived the Civil War, and now is being fully restored. Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star photo.

Somehow, the eight-room house survived the Civil War battle that swept across the Wilderness battlefield in Virginia. Now, master craftsmen are working to see that it survives the test of time.

The so-called Ellwood home, along with its rich history, was the only structure on the Wilderness battlefield to survive the Civil War. Built in the 1790s, the home has seen the likes of the Marquis de Lafayette and General Robert E. Lee, and it's said the left arm of Confederate General "Stonewall" Jackson is buried in the family cemetery.

The National Park Service, via the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, acquired the home and the 226 acres it sits on in 1971; its last owner died in 1977.

While restoration efforts have been ongoing for more than a decade, the pace is picking up now as the Park Service hopes to have the house fully restored by the agency's centennial in 2016. You can read of the progress being made in this story from the Free Lance-Star of Fredericksburg, Virginia.