Stratford was the plantation estate of the Virginia Lee family. The original estate was made up of about 15,000 acres in Westmoreland County, on the northern side of the peninsula on the banks of the Potomac river. The main house, Stratford Hall, was built by Col. Thomas Lee (1690-1750) around 1738. Stratford hall is a large brick Georgian style house built on an H-plan with twin sets of four chimney stacks on the wings.

The Lee family of Stratford was one of the most powerful families in Virginia, and Stratford Hall was the home of Philip Ludwell Lee (1727-1775), Francis Lightfoot Lee (1734-1797), Richard Henry Lee, and Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee III (1756-1818). Robert E. Lee (1807-1870) was born at Stratford Hall, but lived there for only a few years.