Chestnut Grove was an 18th-century plantation on the Pamunkey River near New Kent Court House in New Kent County, Virginia, United States.[1][2] Chestnut Grove is best known as the birthplace of Martha Washington,[1][2][3][4] wife of George Washington, and the first First Lady of the United States. Martha Washington was born in the east room of the mansion house.[1][4]
The two-story frame house consisting of six rooms[2][4] was originally built around 1730.[4] It was first inhabited by prominent Virginia planter John Dandridge and his wife Frances Jones.[1][2][4] The couple raised their eight children, including Martha Washington, there.[1][2][4] It was at Chestnut Grove that Martha married her first husband, Daniel Parke Custis, on 15 May 1750.[1][2][4]
In 1768, Martha Washington's younger brother Bartholomew Dandridge sold Chestnut Grove and its accompanying 500 acres (2.0 km2).[4] Colonel Richard Pye Cooke then purchased the mansion in 1840.[5] At that time, the Chestnut Grove estate contained 1,175 acres (4.76 km2). Unlike neighboring plantation homes, Chestnut Grove continued to serve as a residence for 200 years in its original state until it burned down in November 1926.[2][4]
Chestnut Grove's architectural details survive due to old photographs and sketches.[4] The mansion was a two-story frame structure with a hip roof and a chimney at either end.[4] It also contained a basement which ran the length of the mansion.[4] The interior of Chestnut Grove was plain and paneled in pine.[4]