Oldal 131 [131]
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 resi¬
dence. 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 distin¬
guished 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]