English: This is the south facade of the South Slave Quarters at Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial, at Arlington National Cemetery.

George Washington Park Custis inherited more than 200 African American slaves. Most of them lived in rough two-story log cabins near the Potomac River. But a few "house slaves" lived near the mansion to provide for the family.

As the house was built, so were two slave quarters. The two-story brick structures were set perpendicular to the main house and formally aligned with it. They are Neoclassical in design, with pebble-dash stucco exteriors. The facades facing inward toward the yard were plain, but the facades facing outward toward the gardens were formally decorated in a Neoclassical style and highly ornamented.

The two-story northern slave quarters had two interior rooms: The eastern one was a summer kitchen (used to cook food in hot summer months rather than the indoor "winter" kitchen), and the western half was used as living quarters. The windowless upper story contained three rooms which were used as slave housing.

The southern slave quarters was much like the northern slave quarters. The south façade, which faced the mansion's flower garden, features four arches recessed about a foot into the wall, into which windows were placed. In the center of the façade was a recessed rectangular area with a false pediment and dour Doric pilasters. On the east and west ends of the building were similar rectangular recesses, with two Doric pilasters. The main entrance of this structure faced north onto the utilitarian yard. Three doors gave access to the three rooms inside the building. The western third of the building originally served as a sleeping room for the slave Thorton Gray, his wife, and their six children. The center room served multiple purposes, but was used as a smokehouse and a wash room at times. The eastern room served as a storeroom for food and slave rations, and was kept locked. Hedges were planted to screen the south slave quarters from visitors approaching up the road from the southeast.

The yard between the slave quarters was used as a work area. The grass was cut but kept long, and a few deciduous trees dotted the yard to provide shade.

Arlington House was built by George Washington Parke Custis, adopted son of George Washington, in 1803. George Hadfield, also partially designed the United States Capitol, designed the mansion. The north and south wings were completed between 1802 and 1804. but the large center section and portico were not finished until 1817.

George Washington Parke Custis died in 1857, leaving the Arlington estate and house to his eldest daughter, Mary Custis Lee -- wife of General Robert E. Lee.