Historic Lee-Fendall House Hosts Annual Open House, Giving Campaign

The Lee-Fendall House, once home to 37 members of the historic Lee family as well as 20th century labor leader John Lewis, is hosting an open house and giving campaign.

The event, Thursday, Dec. 6 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., will include singers in colonial garb as well as an open bar and hors d’oeuvres. The cost is $40 per ticket.

“This house is a special place because it’s full of Alexandria history,” Lee-Fendall board member Rebecca Thorsen told Patch, but, she added, it’s also “off the beaten path of the historic district” near City Hall, making the historic house often overlooked by tourists and others.

Caretakers of the museum, which includes almost 1 acre of gated space right inside Old Town, are trying to drum up funds to help repair structural damage the house sustained from last year’s earthquake as well as roof damage suffered from Hurricane Irene.

“We rely on donations and we could really use some funds to help keep up the place as well as expand our educational programs and better serve our community,” she said.

All proceeds from the Dec. 6 event will go toward the Lee-Fendall house as Thorsen Construction is sponsoring the event.

For a full history of the house, see the Lee-Fendall Web site. The house is located at 614 Oronoco St., at the corner of North Washington and Oronoco streets.