Lee Chapel National Historic Landmark

On December 19, 1960, the United States Department of the Interior designated Lee Chapel a National Historic Landmark (NHL), recognizing its significance in three areas: Education, Military, and Civil War. Built in 1867 under the supervision of President Robert E. Lee, the chapel served as a place of worship and assembly for students. On October 15, 1870, Lee was interred beneath the chapel, which became both his final resting place and a memorial to his wartime, educational, and moral leadership.

The designation originated with a Department of the Interior committee that identified Lee Chapel as one of fourteen Civil War-related sites eligible for NHL status. University Treasurer Earl S. Mattingly communicated Washington and Lee's acceptance, and President Fred C. Cole completed the formal documentation, pledging to preserve the site's historical integrity in perpetuity.

On May 6, 1961, Superintendent R. Taylor Hoskins of Shenandoah National Park presented Cole with a certificate recognizing the designation during an alumni reunion ceremony. Later that month, the Ford Motor Company Fund announced a $370,000 grant to restore Lee Chapel. The extensive restoration culminated in the chapel's formal rededication on October 11, 1963. The NHL plaque was installed in the vestibule alongside a matching plaque recognizing the Ford Motor Company Fund's contribution.

University officials removed the original plaque in 2021, alongside other memorials from the chapel sanctuary. University officials subsequently commissioned a replacement plaque falsely identifying “University Chapel” as a National Historic Landmark, although the federal designation remains under the name “Lee Chapel.”

In June 2026, the University returned the inscription to public display in the newly renovated “Foundations and Frameworks” gallery of the chapel museum.

LEE CHAPEL
HAS BEEN DESIGNATED A
REGISTERED NATIONAL
HISTORIC LANDMARK
UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE
HISTORIC SITES ACT OF AUGUST 21, 1935
THIS SITE POSSESSES EXCEPTIONAL VALUE
IN COMMEMORATING AND ILLUSTRATING
THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
1961
STEWART L. UDALL
SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR
CONRAD L. WIRTH
DIRECTOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

On June 4, 2021, the Washington and Lee University Board of Trustees announced plans to rename Lee Chapel and restore its auditorium to an “unadorned design,” physically separating it from the Lee family crypt and memorial sculpture. As part of these changes, university officials removed twenty historical plaques and memorials from the chapel sanctuary.

In a July 21, 2022, update, the university announced that “most of the other plaques will be moved to the galleries in the building or to the new institutional history museum, where they can be displayed with more historical context.”

When the renovated chapel galleries reopened in June 2026, six memorials removed from the chapel sanctuary in 2021, including this one, were returned to public display. These plaques were installed together in a display case in the Foundations and Frameworks exhibit of the chapel museum, without accompanying descriptions, interpretation, or historical context.

Eleven memorials removed from the chapel in 2021 have still not been returned to public display. The university has not responded to recent TGR inquiries concerning the whereabouts and future exhibition of removed plaques. However, in September 2026 correspondence with The W&L Spectator, Museum Director Matt Davis stated: “Our storage facility is not open to the public, nor do we make a list of our collections inventory available to the public.” He further explained that “the size and weight of some of these artifacts are not conducive to public viewing.” Regarding their future exhibition, Davis wrote: “It is possible that some or all of these artifacts will eventually be incorporated into temporary or permanent exhibits once the new museum is open, and we hope to have online databases and viewing rooms in the future.”

1. https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/117-0019/

2. https://www.virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=ALJ19630808.1.5

3. https://www.virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=RCN19610511.1.6

4. https://digitalarchive.wlu.edu/islandora/ring-tum-phi-october-11-1963

5. Lee Chapel, National Historic Landmark Record Compilation (PDF)

6. https://www.wlu.edu/about-w-l/leadership/board-of-trustees/messages-from-the-board-of-trustees/message-archive-2020-2023/the-future-of-washington-and-lee-university

7. https://columns.wlu.edu/update-on-university-chapel-renovations/

8. https://columns.wlu.edu/university-chapel-renovations-nearing-completion/