Jessie Ball duPont Memorial Library
  Hours of Operation
     9:00am–5:00pm, M-F, By Appointment Only
  Location
     483 Great House Road
     Stratford, VA 22558
     United States
The library is open by appointment only and is next door to the Visitor Center at Stratford Hall Historic Preserve.
The current Director of Research and the Jessie Ball duPont Memorial Library is Dr. Gordon Blaine Steffey. Judith Hynson is Archivist Emerita.
 
  
 Stratford Mail Podcast
Stratford Hall's Research Library
The Jessie Ball duPont Memorial Library at Stratford Hall Historic Preserve is an indispensable resource for those who seek to understand the history of Stratford Hall and its people, the Lee family of Virginia, early and colonial America, and the Revolution and founding eras.
Our library is open to researchers by appointment only. To pose a research question or to request a research appointment, we invite you to follow this link: Research at Stratford HallÂ
History of the Library
The Jessie Ball duPont Memorial library was built in 1980 in memory of Jessie Ball duPont. Jessie was a member of Stratford Hall’s first Board of Directors and a generous supporter of educational initiatives and research.
Collections & Archives
The library now houses a special collections archive of more than 4000 rare books, manuscripts, historic photographs, and maps as well as a broad reference collection of around 8000 volumes.
The library is home to the Lee Family Digital Archive, the Stratford Hall Research Fellowship on Colonial, Revolutionary, and Early National America, and to Stratford Mail, a monthly podcast featuring highlights from historical correspondence pertaining to Stratford Hall and its people.
Note to Genealogists: We do not employ a professional genealogist and our tools and materials related to genealogical inquiry are limited. We recommend that you use resources available now on the Lee Family Digital Archive, and make your genealogical inquiries to the Library of Virginia and to the Society of the Lees of Virginia. If you make a genealogical request of our research staff, please anticipate 7-10 days response time.
Research at Stratford Hall
Requesting a Research Appointment
Appointments (by request) are available Wednesdays through Friday during normal hours. We will notify you if your request can be accommodated or must be scheduled for another time.
Prior to requesting your appointment, please review the following guidelines and notes:
- Before requesting an appointment, please search our holdings to ascertain whether we have the materials your project requires.
- We ask that you make your request 1 week in advance of your intended visit.
- Access to materials is subject to the needs of Stratford Hall Historic Preserve, care and preservation of our holdings, and the purpose of your research.
PLEASE complete and submit this form to pose a research question or to request a research appointment:
Make a Gift In-Kind
Stratford Hall and the Jessie Ball duPont Memorial Library encourage our friends and donors to consider making contributions of published and unpublished materials (for example, manuscripts, books, papers, photographs, and the like. Please contact Dr. Gordon Blaine Steffey, Director of Research, to determine whether such gifts accord with our collection policy.Â
Gifts are tax deductible and an acknowledgement letter will serve as the receipt for tax purposes. We do not appraise gifts. It is the responsibility of the donor to obtain an appraisal of value where needed and to keep an inventory of items donated.Â