Red Hill - Patrick Henry National Memorial. The white house on the left is a 1957 reconstruction of Patrick Henry's last home; small as it is, it is larger than the house as it existed before Henry's death in 1799 at age 63. The house is built on the original foundations, but research subsequent to the reconstruction has determined that the two one-story wings on either side of the 1.5-story main structure were added in 1833 by Henry's son John (only 3 when his father died). The buildings at the left are the reconstructed slave cabin (log structure) and kitchen with Henry's restored law office beyond; the slave cabin was home to Harrison and Milly, the Henrys' coachman and cook.
Called "the voice of the Revolution" in part because of his famous 1775
"Liberty or Death" speech, his
biography shows Patrick Henry was much more than an eloquent orator. He was the first elected governor of Virginia, and after the Revolution, his quest for liberty included staunch insistence on the need for a Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution (he opposed ratification of it without a Bill of Rights). According to information on the Red Hill website, "After twenty-five years in Virginia's legislature, five conventions, and five exhausting terms as governor, Patrick Henry retired to Red Hill and resumed his private legal practice. Failing health and the needs of his family prompted him to decline appointment as Chief Justice of the United States, Secretary of State, and minister to Spain and to France. He even turned down a sixth term as governor of Virginia." Patrick Henry went to live at Red Hill in 1793, died there in 1799, and is buried there; the plantation remained in the Henry family well into the 20th century. Congress authorized making Red Hill a national monument to Patrick Henry in the 1930, but the National Park Service did not obtain the property until much later. Red Hill was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 (#78003012) and was designated the Patrick Henry National Memorial in 1986.
