Swannanoa

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Swannanoa
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location:	Nelson County, Virginia, United States
Nearest city:	Waynesboro, Virginia
Coordinates:	38°01′41″N 078°52′07″W / 38.02806°N 78.86861°W / 38.02806; -78.86861
Built/Founded:	1912
Architect:	Baskerville & Noland
Architectural style(s):	Renaissance Revival
Added to NRHP:	1969-10-01
NRHP Reference#:	69000221

Swannanoa is an Italianate villa built in 1912 by millionaire and philanthropist James H. Dooley (1841-1922) above Rockfish Gap in northern Nelson County, Virginia, USA. It is partially based on buildings in the Villa Medici, Rome.

Rockfish Gap is the southern end of the Skyline Drive through the Shenandoah National Park and the northern terminus of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

History

Intended to be a "summer place" for Richmond, Virginia, millionaire and philanthropist James H. Dooley and his wife Sallie May, it reportedly took over 300 artisans eight years to build the structure, complete with Georgian marble, Tiffany windows, gold plumbing fixtures, and terraced gardens. Despite the lavish expenditure, it was only occupied for a few years following completion in 1912.^[1]

Major Dooley died in 1924 at the age of 82. He left Swannonoa entirely to his wife, Sally Mae along with several million dollars. Sally Mae Dooley died in 1926 at the age of 79. She left the estate to Major Dooley's two sisters.

When the property was built it had state-of-the-art fixtures for the time period. Electricity and plumbing was installed in the house. It was the first house that had electricity in Nelson County and to accomplish this it had it own power plant on the property. There also was a built in elevator. Like Montecello, Thomas Jefferson's house 27 miles away, it had a dumbwaiter to bring food up from the basement kitchen to the dining room on the first floor.

The sisters sold Swannanoa in 1926 to the Valley Corporation, a Richmond corporation, who became the second owners of Swannanoa. They planned and opened a country club in 1929 and closed in 1932. During that time they built the stone building on the property. The golf course was an 18-hole course. In was during Swannanoa's time as a country club that Calvin Coolidge had Thanksgiving dinner (1928) at the mansion.

The mansion was empty from 1932 until 1942, when A.T. Dulaney formed Skyline Swannanoa, Inc. Dunlaney and nine other stockholders purchased Swannanoa and became the third owners of the property.

The United States Navy considered purchasing and renovating the property in 1942, which they calculated would cost $200,000, for the purpose of establishing a secret facility to interrogate prisoners of war. The military rejected it in favor of a Civilian Conservation Corps camp in Fort Hunt, Virginia, code named P. O. Box 1142, because it seemed unlikely that Congress would approve the purchase of such a palatial structure for the purpose.^[2] The mansion stood empty through the Great Depression and World War II until it was leased in 1949 to Walter Russell for his University of Science and Philosophy.^[3][4]

Walter Russell died in 1962, his wife Lao died in 1988. The University of Science and Philosophy decided to leave the property and gave up their lease in 1998. In 1999 Skyline Swannanoa, Inc. started major renovations on the property.

Today the property is owned by J. F. Dulaney, Jr. of Charlottesville, who has been attempting to restore the property to its former glory.

Currently small group tours, open houses and weddings are being held on the property and there are plans for a bed-and-breakfast in the future.

Gallery

Swannanoa as it is today.

View of the front entrance of Swannanoa.

Stained glass window at landing of grand staircase.

Notable visitors

• President Calvin Coolidge and his wife visited nearby Swannanoa Country Club on Thanksgiving Day 1928. Whether or not the Coolidges actually visited Swannanoa mansion is unknown.^[5]

See also

• Hotel Colorado: Another structure inspired by the Villa Medici.

References

1. ^ F.R. Moon & Co. (1929). Auction sale! : Saturday, Oct. 26, 1929 ... : acting for Mrs. J.H. Dooley, we will sell the following articles. S.l: s.n. OCLC 19915554.
2. ^ John Hammond Moore (Spring 1978). "Getting Fritz to Talk". Virginia Quarterly Review (University of Virginia). http://www.vqronline.org/articles/1978/spring/moore-getting-fritz-talk/. Retrieved 2009-02-24. "On Dec.18, 1941, the Secretary of the Navy approved the creation of special interrogation units, and three weeks later his Army counterpart concurred. They decided that two joint facilities would be set up, one on the East Coast near Washington, D. C., and the other in California. During succeeding weeks various officers visited two imposing estates, "Swannanoa" near Charlottesville, Virginia, and "Marwood" at Potomac, Maryland; however, both ultimately were rejected. Although "Swannanoa" could have been purchased and renovated for about $200,000, those concerned were reluctant to ask Congress to buy a marble palace for interrogation purposes." 
3. ^ Russell, W., & Russell, L. (1957). Romance of beautiful Swannanoa, marble palace and sculpture gardens : a mountain-top paradise. Waynesboro, Va: University of Science and Philosophy. OCLC 59143234
4. ^ Russell, W., & Russell, L. (1958). Announcement of purpose and objective of the University of Science and Philosophy : a world university for self-transcendency, with home study course information. Waynesboro, Va: Walter & Lao Russell. OCLC 26409679.
5. ^ ""Skunked"". Time (1928-12-10).

External links

• Sizemore, Donna. "Swannanoa: An Afton Mountain Palace". Curio, Summer 1980. James Madison University: Harrisonburg, VA. 15-19.
• Gallery of Swannanoa images from the University of Science and Philosophy
• Video of the Russell years at Swannanoa from University of Science and Philosophy