George Washington's Office Museum

The log-and-stone structure where the 22-year-old Washington kept his office while overseeing construction of Fort Loudoun.

The Adam Kurtz House, known today as George Washington's Office Museum, is a small log and stone structure at the corner of Cork and Braddock Streets where Washington maintained his office between 1755 and 1758. He was here as a 22-year-old colonel in the Virginia militia, tasked with organizing the defense of Virginia's western frontier against French and Native American raids during the French and Indian War. From this office he supervised the construction of Fort Loudoun, reviewed frontier dispatches, and managed the logistics of an underfunded and often mutinous colonial force.

The museum is one of the oldest surviving structures associated with Washington in Virginia and is operated by the Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society. Exhibits focus on Washington's military service in the region, the broader context of the French and Indian War on the Virginia frontier, and what Winchester looked like in the 1750s. It is a good complement to the Fort Loudoun archaeological site nearby. Open seasonally — check hours before visiting.

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Washington used his time in Winchester shrewdly. While commanding Virginia's frontier defenses from 1755 to 1758, he repeatedly lobbied the Virginia House of Burgesses for more men, more money, and a regular military commission from the British Crown — arguing that colonial militias alone could not hold the frontier. He was consistently ignored. When he finally gave up on a royal commission and returned to civilian life, he channeled the same political energy into the House of Burgesses, winning his first election from Frederick County (which includes Winchester) in 1758. It was the beginning of his political career.

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