John Marshall House

Richmond
VA
John Marshall House

The Marshall House in Richmond, Virginia

QUICK FACTS
  • The property remains within the Marshall family until 1907, when the City of Richmond purchases it.
  • It is slated for destruction (to make way for a high school), but is saved by local preservationists.
  • In 1960 the house is declared a National Historic Landmark.
  • In 2005, in recognition of more than 80 years of stewardship — and in honor of the 250th anniversary of John Marshall’s birth — the City of Richmond deeds the house to Preservation Virginia.
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This Federal-style brick house, built in 1790, was where the great Chief Justice and his family lived for 45 years until his death in 1835.

Located in the heart of downtown Richmond, in Historic Court End, guided tours take visitors through the two stories to view period rooms, a remarkable collection of original furnishings, and family memorabilia. Includes a landscaped garden in the backyard and a museum shop.

Open limited hours, Fridays and weekends, March through December.

Associated People
Marshall, John

The issue of taxation had immense symbolic importance on both sides of the Atlantic. Like most of his fellow members of Parliament, [Lord Frederick] North regarded the right of Britain to tax America as integral to the absolute and indivisible supremacy of Parliament over America. The concept of parliamentary sovereignty was more than an abstract doctrine. It had emotional resonance as a constitutional victory won against the monarchy in the Glorious Revolution, following the deposition of James II in 1688. It was regarded as essential for the protection of liberty in general. For Britain, the right to tax the colonies was fundamental to its authority to govern America. At the same time, taxation united colonial opposition more than any other grievance.

— Andrew Jackson O’Shaughnessy
The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire (2013)