Media Contact:
Diane Bartlett
Director of Marketing Communications
Phone: (703) 777-2414
FAX: (703) 777-3282
E-mail: dbartlett@morvenpark.org

LEESBURG, VIRGINIA (December 19, 2002) This week the historical landmark mansion at Morven Park, located in the northwest corner of Leesburg and the last home of Virginia Governor Westmoreland Davis, took its first steps toward an extensive and much-needed conservation and preservation effort, with assistance from a grant received from the Loudoun Restoration and Preservation Society.

The mansion is undergoing research and evaluation by Tidewater Preservation of Fredericksburg, Virginia. On Wednesday, small sections of the mansion's exterior stucco walls were penetrated with a drill in order to determine the original types of construction materials used as the home was expanded multiple times over the 18th and 19th centuries, from a small farmhouse into the stately Greek Revival-style mansion it is today.

The grant received from the Loudoun Restoration and Preservation Society will also help to fund conservation work on the mansion's nine chimneys. Visitors to Morven Park will be able to see the work in progress over the next several years. For more information on Morven Park's effort to conserve the home of Governor Westmoreland Davis, call (703) 777-2414. Additional photographs available upon request.

Photo credits: Morven Park