Page 131 [131]
OCR
HisTOoRIC GARDENS. OF .VIRGINIA — —— planted by Samuel Dobie who, as early as 1782, occupied the stuccoed building which stands on the northeast side of the residence. Samuel Dobie was the architect of the roof, the steps and the interior of the Virginia State Capitol, the plan of the exterior, a reproduction of the Maison Carrée at Nismes, France, having been brought to America by Thomas Jefferson. In the year 1847 Daniel Webster was invited to Richmond by the citizens and a public banquet was given for him. This distinguished statesman was entertained in the Archer home at a notable dinner. Many other interesting men have been within its walls— Henry Clay, Chief Justice Marshall, the Virginia Ambassadors to England and France—James Barbour and William C. Rives; and greatest and most beloved of all, General Robert E. Lee. The late Dr. S. Weir Mitchell was a kinsman of the family and visited there when a boy and again in later years, after he became one of America’s eminent men in medicine and letters. FRANCES ARCHER CHRISTIAN. [80]
