James Monroe Birthplace Site, Virginia

James Monroe, the fifth president of the USA and last of the Founding Fathers presidents, was born in 1758 at a plantation in a house built by his father, five miles up the Potomac River from George Washington’s birthplace. Monroe lived there until 1774, when he left for college. After the war, Monroe opened a law practice in Fredericksburg, and sold his land, including his birthplace, in 1783. It changed hands many times since then, and the house slowly fell down, then disappeared completely, as the land became a local dumping ground. Starting in 1923, some of his descendants led efforts to develop and preserve the birthplace. These and other early attempts generally failed. The foundation of the house was discovered in the 1970s, and the National Park Service was approached, but declined to get involved. A historic marker was erected in 1987, adding to brickwork, a roadway, and other improvements. Wooden posts marked the house mound, and a marker put in the middle of the house site was dedicated in 1989. In 2005 a memorial foundation was given a 99-year lease on the property, and in 2008 a small visitor center was opened. Inside is a model of the original house, which there are hopes to reconstruct at full scale on the site, someday.