Mansion
March is Women’s History Month, which serves as a commemoration of how far women have advanced in terms of equality and a celebration of the vital role of women in American history. By the end of the 19th century, women’s social status had improved, their legal rights were increasing and the scope of acceptable activities was expanding. There was…
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James Dooley’s Pocket WatchTiffany & Co.American188618 Karat Gold CaseMaymont Mansion CollectionAcquired in 1985 through private donationsMF.85.007 This type of time piece, called a “minute repeater,” sounds the time down to the minute, striking one chime for the hour, a double tone for each quarter hour, and then a single, higher-pitched tone for each minute after…
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James Dooley’s Georgetown College Academic MedalsSilverAmerican1857-1860Bequest of James and Sallie DooleyMaymont Mansion Collection25.270-274, 25.280, and 25.285 James Henry Dooley enrolled at Georgetown College (now Georgetown University) in 1856 and graduated in 1860, and he was first in his class each of the four years of his undergraduate studies. He was awarded the silver, shield-shaped medals…
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Portrait of Sallie May DooleyPortrait of James Henry DooleyArtist: William Garl Brown (1823-1894)1889Oil on CanvasBequest of James and Sallie DooleyMaymont Mansion Collection25.056 and 25.057 In 1889, when plans for the Dooleys’ new residence on the banks of the James River were being finalized, the couple commissioned William Garl Brown to paint the companion portraits that…
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Maymont – originally the home to New South financier and philanthropist, James H. Dooley, and his wife, Sallie – is an amazingly intact estate of the Gilded Age and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. At the heart of the estate stands the Dooleys’ residence, the Maymont Mansion, completed in 1893. Therefore…
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During the month of March we honor the accomplishments of generations of compassionate and persistent women who made a difference in the lives of others. One of the most significant milestones in women’s history was the passage of the Constitutional amendment that granted them universal suffrage – the right for every woman to vote in…
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The following post is by Dale Wheary, Curator/Director of Historical Collections & Programs, and Herbert Wheary Last year Richmond architect Gibson Worsham presented an extraordinary gift to the Maymont Mansion Archives—an early bird’s eye view of Maymont that had been preserved among his family papers. In our age of drone photography this may not seem so…
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Over the course of more than three decades, Bob Hill has been one of Maymont’s most faithful friends, helping to preserve the historic estate and sustain it for the future. As a tribute to his long term support, Maymont honored Bob Hill as a model of exceptional stewardship with the 2017 Maymont House Benevolent Society…
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Immediately upon the United States’ entry into World War I on April 6, 1917, the government had to focus all the nation’s resources on mobilization. Because many Americans had been very reluctant to enter the conflict, the Wilson Administration decided to establish a task force to turn public opinion, the Committee of Public Information. Under…
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One hundred years ago today — April 6, 1917 — the United States, joining with allies France and England, declared war on Germany. At that time, after nearly three years of fighting, the war in Europe had reached a miserable stalemate, with the Germans entrenched about forty miles from Paris. Just months before in November,…
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