Explore the George Wythe House

The passage connected daily life. It was a greeting space, a waiting spot, and a pass-through. Everyone who entered the home moved through the space, including George and Elizabeth, George’s students, house guests, and enslaved men, women, and children.

George, a lawyer, was deeply curious about the world and how it worked. He shared his love of learning with his students, the most famous of whom was Thomas Jefferson. He had an impressive library which included over 600 books. He left them all to Jefferson in his will.

Eighteenth-century rooms were often flexible spaces. This might have been the Wythes’ summer bedroom (to escape the heat that rose to the second floor), a guest room, and Elizabeth’s office. From here, Elizabeth would have managed the home, including the labor of enslaved people.

The dining room’s decor reflected the Wythes’ gentry status. But it was the ideas discussed here that speak to the room’s lasting influence. Deeply interested in the Enlightenment, George likely discussed philosophy, science, and politics with guests. Elizabeth managed meals, while enslaved people cooked, served, and cleaned the space.

A room for music, quiet talks, or entertaining, the parlor served the needs of the moment. While guests gathered here for leisure or conversation, enslaved people arranged, cleaned, and served—making the space function to fit its current need.

George’s students sometimes boarded with the family. This room could have housed them and any other guests staying with the Wythes.

Eighteenth-century homes often lacked closets, so this overflow room held a variety of objects: furniture, scientific instruments, and seasonal goods. Its contents, like the rest of the house, reflected the many interests, roles, and people who passed through it.

George and Elizabeth may have shared a room, or kept separate spaces like many couples of their time. Bedrooms were personal, but not always private—enslaved people cleaned, maintained, and tended to the Wythes’ routines in this space.

Hosting guests was part of genteel life, adding to the regular routines at the Wythe house. Guests might stay for a night, or for months. Elizabeth’s cousin and her husband stayed for over a year in the early 1780s.

As many as 17 enslaved people lived and worked on the Wythe property in the early 1780s. They worked throughout the property and lived in the outbuildings. The original outbuildings have been recreated based on archaeological evidence.

In this separate building, the Wythes’ enslaved cook Lydia Broadnax prepared food for the household. Her work was essential and shaped everyday life on the property. Her living quarters were likely in the adjoining room.

Laundry took an immense amount of labor—soaking, boiling, scrubbing, drying, and ironing. Outbuildings like these were often multi-functional, serving as workspaces and housing for enslaved people, both on the first floor and the attic space.

The Wythes owned a carriage and horses for travel.

The vehicle currently displayed in the building is a wagon used to haul freight from around 1810.