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Brick Research Key To Arlington House Restoration

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By NPT Staff - August 10th, 2015
Brick Pieces From Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial/NPS

Analysis of these brick pieces should tell researchers how they were made in the early 1800s, and help with restoration of the Arlington House./NPS

How were early 19th century bricks made? That's the question the National Park Service hopes to answer as it works to restore the Arlington House.

Along with learning more about brick making in the early 1800s, the Park Service is relying on a Pennsylvania lab to come up with the chemical and material recipe for the bricks that were used in the home's originial construction, which began in 1802. The restoration work is part of the project funded by businessman and philanthropist David M. Rubenstein's $12.35 million lead centennial gift in the National Park Foundation’s Centennial Campaign for America’s National Parks.

Last week the Park Service conducted an exploratory investigation of deteriorating sections of the home’s brick foundation. A Park Service mason removed several small sections of brickwork to assess the hidden interior of the brick foundation. Along with the chemical analysis of the bricks, engineers will evaluate the level of deterioration and pressure test the bricks.

Researching the bricks is expected to help the agency tell the complete story at Arlington House and better preserve the original brick foundation. According to the Park Service, preserving as much of the original structure as possible provides a link to the people, both free and enslaved, who inhabited Arlington House. The bricks that make up the foundation were most likely made by the enslaved people of the Arlington estate.

The residence of Robert E. Lee and his family before the Civil War, Arlington House connects many important figures, issues, and events in American history. Built by George Washington Parke Custis and his slaves, the house and grounds have served many purposes over the last 200 years: a family home for the Lees and Custises, a plantation estate and home to 63 enslaved workers, a monument honoring George Washington, a military headquarters for Union troops, a community for emancipated slaves and a national cemetery.

With 650,000 visitors per year, Arlington House is the most visited historic house museum in the National Park System.

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