Virginia State Seal Virginia Department of Historic Resources

111-0066 James Monroe Law Office

James Monroe Law Office
Photo credit: Calder Loth, 2022

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For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF

See link(s) below to view additional documentation.

VLR Listing Date 09/09/1969

NRHP Listing Date 11/13/1966

NHL Listing Date 11/13/1966

NRHP Reference Number 66000917

James Monroe moved to Fredericksburg in 1789 and began his law practice in an office on Charles Street, launching a career in public service that would carry him on to be a U.S. senator; American minister to France, England, and Spain; governor of Virginia; secretary of state; and fifth president of the United States. Monroe’s Fredericksburg practice is memorialized in this Charles Street building, erected in several stages, the last being perhaps as late as the 1840s. The James Monroe Law Office building stands near the site of Monroe’s actual office in the Fredericksburg Historic District, and is itself a well-preserved example of a Federal-period attorney’s office. The museum, owned by the University of Mary Washington, exhibits many possessions of Monroe and his wife, Elizabeth Kortright Monroe.

1975 NHL Nomination


Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.

Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark


Updated: March 7, 2022