Lee Chapel and Museum- Lexington Virginia

One of the many must see spots in the town of Lexington Virginia is the Lee Chapel and Museum on the campus of Washington and Lee University.

We went there with a very basic knowledge of the place.  We knew that General Robert E. Lee rests there in a chapel that he had built while he was President of the college.

We weren't sure if this would be the kind of thing where we would stop by, spent a few minutes there, and then leave, or if there was more to it.

Well, there was a lot more to it.

We walked in to the Chapel and a very nice volunteer welcomed us there.  She told us about the Chapel and Lee's time at the college.  This wasn't exactly a traditional "tour" but it was similar to one.  The volunteer made a point to talk to each visitor who came through, welcoming them to join our group, or to explore the chapel on their own.

After hearing some of the history in the chapel, we were directed to another volunteer on the stage area who told us about the Recumbent Lee statue, sculpted from a single piece of marble by Edward Valentine.

From the stage/pulpit area, we were able to see a sign noting where Lee would sit during services in this chapel.

Also on the stage are two paintings, one of Lee, and the other of George Washington.  The one of George is from his family's collection.  There is something very exciting about staring at a portrait of President #1 knowing that Washington himself admired the same painting in his lifetime.

After taking in all of the history from the stage area, we went down some stairs to find ourselves right in front of the Robert E. Lee family crypt.

Many of Robert E. Lee's family rest here.

Robert E. Lee's well preserved office from his time as president of the college is in this area too.


AND, just a few feet away from here is a gift shop.  Yes, I know, that might sound a bit out of place, but it was nice.  A very nice lady running the shop even offered some suggestions about books on Lee.  I bought one, and I picked up a couple of small pewter figures of Lee that I will be painting at some point.

Through the gift shop was a very nice museum dedicated to Lee and the college.


Again, we weren't sure if we would be here a few minutes or longer.....  We ended up being here significantly longer as there is a lot to take in.