One of Virginia's oldest plantation houses, Scotchtown is a charming one-story white-clapboard home. Charles Chiswell of Williamsburg built it around 1719, but it's best known as a residence of Patrick Henry, who lived here from 1771 to 1778 with his wife, Sarah, and their six children. Henry served as governor of Virginia during those years, but sadly, Sarah was mentally ill during much of that time and eventually confined to a room in the basement. Although Henry last lived at Red Hill near Lynchburg, this is the only house he ever occupied that is still standing. Henry's mahogany desk-table still bears his ink stains, and bookshelves hold his law books. Dolley Madison, whose mother was a first cousin to Patrick Henry, and her mother lived here while their family moved back to this area from North Carolina. Unlike so many historic houses, none of the rooms here are roped off.