John Potts, Jr., built the Potts-Fitzhugh House at 607 Oronoco Street in 1795, and you may know it better as the Robert E. Lee Boyhood Home. This brick, Federal-and-Georgian house with its white trim sits on a half-acre lot and carries a quiet, stately presence in Old Town Alexandria. It first rose here in 1795, built by John Potts, Jr., at the same time as its neighbor at 609 Oronoco Street.
In the early 1800s it served as the home of Anne Hill Carter Lee and her family, including the young Robert E. Lee. Imagine family life in a six-bedroom home—today described as 8,145 square feet with 4.5 bathrooms—set back from the street but still part of a tightly knit neighborhood. A historical marker outside marks the spot, and the intersection of North Washington and Oronoco is known locally as "Lee Corner," because several properties here belonged to the extended Lee family.
Across the street is the Lee–Fendall House, which operates as a museum and garden, while next door at 609 once became the Hallowell School where Benjamin Hallowell tutored Lee as he prepared to enter West Point. Between the museum across the street and the old Hallowell School next door, this corner still holds the whole Lee family story.