Swannanoa Palace
Nestled on top of Afton Mountain in Nelson and Augusta County, Virginia sits a place called Swannanoa Palace. It's a grand old lady built back in the early 1900's. Sadly, no one lives there, so she suffers from neglect. However, the owner of the property occasionally opens up part of the home to the public for visitors to catch a glimpse into a bygone era. We have never seen the house, but have always been curious about it. This weekend (Sept 1 & 2), I happened to catch the notice of the open house taking place. So, for this entry, we did not have to wander far to find a real treasure in our area.
The weather was not perfect. A bit foggy and overcast, but it really created a sense of mood for the place. Not creepy, but a bit of sadness of what could be or what might have been in its glory days. During the open house, visitors are allowed to walk through about 7-8 rooms.
Not many, considering the home has 52.
When you enter the grand foyer, your eye immediately takes you up the stairs to a beautiful Tiffany stained glass portrait of Sallie May, wife of the original owner, James Dooley. One is able to imagine what a beautiful place this must have been in its day and think of people arriving in early model automobiles or horse-drawn carriages, dressed in all of their finery and enjoying what were probably spectacular gardens or eating a fine meal in the large dining room. Many fine details still exist such as the beautiful Italian Carrera and Siena marble throughout, incredible ceilings, and a very grand staircase.
Gorgeous Tiffany stained glass portrait of Sallie May
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Amazing marble fireplace
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Looking up to 2nd floor balcony
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Walking around this house, I felt sad. This is such a gorgeous place. If you look closely past the peeling wallpaper, cracking plaster, overgrown hedges, and abandoned gardens, you can find the beautiful bones of this house.
The Music Room
The Dining Room
The home is now used for some weddings, photo shoots, or conferences. But it could be so much more with proper funding and renovations. Of course, not many of us have $60 million laying around, which was the price quoted to us when asked how much it would cost to bring Swannanoa back to her glory. I doubt we will see that in our lifetime......wow, what a shame.
Exterior Places
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Inlaid swan carvings appear on the exterior front entry
An old stone cottage at the back of the gardens
Pergola walkway
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I can almost hear the water flowing from this fountain
I wonder if this was the groundskeepers house
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I can almost smell the wisteria and imagine lush gardens. Bet this was beautiful in its day.
This would have been the largest water feature on the property. Behind the railing, one could walk to the main gardens and to the location of the pergola.
A Brief History
The following is a brief history of Swannanoa Palace taken from the brochure handed to us during our visit:
Swannanoa Palace
"In Jan. 1911, Major James Dooley of Richmond, VA purchased 163 acres of Afton Mtn. land from J.B. Yount , a farmer. Later, into 1913, he purchased 2 more parcels, totaling 762 acres. After the first purchase, Maj. Dooley started construction on the Palace as a summer home. The exterior is white marble from Tate, GA, while the interior is Italian Carrara and Siena. The 10' Tiffany window as the head of the stairs is of Sallie May, his wife. There are a total of 52 rooms and 23,000 sq. ft.
James Dooley graduated from Georgetown University, enlisted in the Confederate army and then was discharged in 1862 when wounded. Following his release from the hospital, he was assigned to the Ordinance Dept. at Staunton, VA. During his assignment there, he met and wooed Sallie May. They married and built the Maymont Estate in Richmond. After buying land for Swannanoa in 1911, they often picnicked on the Palace site. When the war was over, Dooley returned to Georgetown where he recieved his law degree. Major Dooley had controlling interests in the Richmond and Danville R.R. and the C&O. In 1890, he and Sallie May bought 90 acres, then built Maymont in the Virginia capitol. While he dabbled in politics, he was the mayor of Richmond and was a Virginia state legislator.
He passed away in 1922 at the age of 81. A large part of his estate was left to founding a hospital, and orphanage, and a library. Maymont was left to the City of Richmond with a life estate to Sallie May. He left Swannanoa entirely to her along with several million dollars. Sallie May passed away in the swan bedroom at the palace in 1925 at the age of 79.
In her will, she left Swannanoa to her husband's two sisters. The sisters sold Swannanoa in 1926 to Valley Corporation, from Richmond. They opened the Swannanoa Country Club in July 1926 with a golf course. This closed in 1932.
In Nov. 1928, President Calvin Coolidge spent 5 days and had Thanksgiving dinner at Swannanoa.
In 1944, A.T. Dulaney formed Skyline Swannanoa, Inc. He and ten stockholders purchased the Palace. In 1948, Walter and Lao Russell leased the Palace as it had been empty since 1932. Walter passed away in 1963 and Lao passed in 1988. Their foundation, the University of Science and Philosophy, decided to leave in 1998 and gave up their lease.
1n 1999, Skyline Swannanoa, Inc. started renovations on the property. This included a new roof with tiles made by same company as the originals, extensive exterior and interior work, including windows and doors.
Future plans include a Bed & Breakfast hotel and conference center."
source: Swannanoa Palace brochure
Hopefully all of that will come to fruition.
Until next time, I hope you have enjoyed this little ditty about Swannanoa.
Happy Travels!
Melody
