The Arlington House is a historic Greek Revival style mansion that overlooks the Potomac River. The mansion, previously known as the Custis-Lee Mansion, was the former home of Robert E. Lee. George Washington Parke Custis originally constructed the house on the high point of his father’s estate. Designed by architect George Hadfield, the mansion was named Arlington House after the family’s Eastern Shore Virginia homestead. Robert E. Lee married Custis’ daughter Mary Anna in the home in 1831. The mansion was their residence for the next 30 years. Six of the couple’s seven children were born in the house.
The federal government seized the mansion and surrounding grounds during the Civil War. The Union Army selected the site as the location for the new national cemetery to ensure that Lee would not be able to return to his home after the war. After his death, Lee’s son George Washington Custis Lee filed suit against the federal government for illegally confiscating his family’s property. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Lee family. The mansion and its 1,100 acres were sold to the U.S. government in 1883 so that the former plantation could continue to serve as Arlington National Cemetery. The National Park Service manages the home and its Colonial Revival style gardens along with 28 surrounding acres as a monument to General Lee.