History Camp Virginia Outing—John Marshall House
Join us for a tour of John Marshall House, the 1790 residence of our fourth Supreme Court Chief Justice, his family, and 8-16 enslaved servants at any given time, until 1835.
Historic house museums serve as the most tangible and intimate reminder of who a person was. Who, and what, made the man who made the Supreme Court? Museum Educators from the John Marshall House will explore the varying, and often competing identities John Marshall possessed throughout his life, including: son, soldier, scholar, husband, father, lawyer, Chief Justice, enslaver, and Quoits and Madeira enthusiast. The John Marshall House is a wonderfully intact example of Federal style architecture in what was a growing urban setting, and the Marshall’s lifestyle is illustrated throughout the 3-story home by over 50% original family furnishings. Preservation Virginia has been the fortunate steward of the John Marshall House, and its rich collection of historic objects and material culture since 1911.
During the conservation of Chief Justice John Marshall’s Supreme Court robe in 2019-20, we produced an exact replica of the robe that will be on display for your tour. Get a close-up look at this silk robe and consider the symbolism the judicial object has possessed since 1801. Your visit helps us perpetuate an over-100 year old tradition of touring and interpreting the John Marshall House in Richmond, Virginia. Thank you!
Parking, Accessibility, and House Rules—One of the realities of operating a museum in a downtown location is parking; the John Marshall House does not possess its own parking lot for visitors. However, there is ample street parking surrounding our museum on East Marshall and N. 9th Streets, and there is a public parking lot one block behind the John Marshall House at East Clay and N. 9th Streets that you can use. All public city parking is free on weekends, so don’t feed the meters. The main entrance to the John Marshall House is not the same one Marshall himself would have wanted esteemed guests to use; please find our museum shop entrance by following the brick pavers to the back of the house. Restrooms are available in our museum shop and you will have opportunities before or after your tour to shop for souvenirs. Please note, one of the downsides to never updating the architecture of the John Marshall House is that the home and property are not very handicap accessible. Be prepared for a number of steps up from street level to the property, steps down into our museum shop, steps up to enter the home, and two flights of stairs within the tour. As a very small consolation, chairs are stationed throughout the house for guests to sit during the tour. We apologize for any inconvenience. Total standing time in the guided tour amounts to 40-50 minutes. During your visit, we ask you to help us steward and safeguard the historic objects and furnishings throughout the house.
The John Marshall House is proud to provide a special visitor experience by offering intimate access to the historic collection (i.e. no barriers) in all but two rooms. However, for the two rooms that do have protective access barriers, please respect them. We also ask that you not touch any objects or historic surfaces including wallpaper; if you have a question about what is safe to touch, please ask your guide. Additionally, no food, drink, or gum is permitted in the main house (closed bottles are fine). Photography is very welcome, but please no flash or video recording of our guides.
Tour will last about 1 hour.
History Camp is a project of the non-profit organization The Pursuit of History. We hope you’ll join us in the pursuit of history.