Update: Scotchtown and Dolly Payne Madison

I recently posted a blog on the TJ-centric National Historic Landmarks in Virginia. {You can read about it here}

Catherine Dean, Curator of Collections for APVA Preservation Virginia (which apparently is the current owner/operator of Scotchtown) was kind enough to leave a clarification in the comment section. Since its short and right to the point, I’ll include it here:

Great blog, and thanks for including Scotchtown!

However, calling Scotchtown Dolley Madison’s Childhood Home is may be stretching the facts a bit far. (I know this has appeared in print before, and we’re working to correct the public record!) Mrs. Madison did recall late in her life living at Scotchtown, but we have no evidence that her family owned the house, and her time there would have been limited to a few months around the age of 3 or 4. More likely the Payne family, and daugher Dolley, stayed with Patrick Henry and his family, who were kin, while looking for a home in Hanover County. Patrick Henry owned Scotchtown from 1771-1778, and it is his residency we highlight today at the house.

While this news might remove it from the TJ-centric tour, it still seems like a neat place to visit. Go here to learn more.

Thanks to Catherine Dean for the info.