Mansion Straddles Centuries: Behind the Artifacts Technology Is Added

A modest farmhouse in the late 18th century, Morven Park went through several upgrades on its way to becoming a sprawling mansion. But the modern additions did not include air conditioning. Even in the 21st century, simple fans were used to cool the historic building’s antique wood cabinets, leather chairs and other precious artifacts.

But when the mansion reopens to the public Friday after a four-year, $8 million renovation, its contents will be protected from heat and moisture by a geothermal heating and cooling system. The energy-saving system is “finally going to give the objects the climate control they need,” said Tracy Gillespie, Morven Park’s director of historic operations.

Other changes include refurbished and polished wood floors on the building’s first level, replastered and repainted rooms and repairs to the roof and stucco exterior. A fire suppression unit that sprays a fogged mist when activated was installed to protect the mansion from the water damage caused by tradix tional sprinklers.

“Two of the biggest enemies that any house can have are water and fire,” said William O’Keefe, Morven Park executive director. He also noted that filters have been put on the mansion’s front windows to protect the furniture from sunlight damage.

Morven Park, home to Maryland Gov. Thomas Swann in the 19th century and Virginia Gov. Westmoreland Davis in the 20th, had not been renovated since the mid-1960s.

Workers started repairing its leaky roof, dilapidated stucco exterior and old drainage system in 2003, with the idea of keeping the mansion open during the project. But when preservation consultants found that water runoff from a hill behind the house had seeped underneath the wood floors, threatening the building’s foundation, the decision was made in July 2005 to close the facility. The trapped moisture also caused mold to grow inside some of the rooms.

“It was during that phase that we discovered how bad things were,” O’Keefe recalled. “The consultants, they came out from underneath the house and said, ‘You really need to close immediately.’ ”

Several of the artifacts also received upgrades. Three cleaned and restored 17th-century tapestries inside the entrance burst with color. A refurbished dark wood cabinet that holds part of a 475-piece china set sits in a corner of the formal dining room.

The renovation turned up hidden treasures. About three years ago, workers installing pipes discovered a letter written by a lawyer in 1803 and addressed to Swann. It had slipped behind a wall near the library and was in near-perfect condition, despite its proximity to a mouse nest, said Allen Stoudt, Morven Park’s collections technician.

Stoudt said the project also led to the discovery of an old dress and a pair of Civil War-era shoes underneath the floors.

“It makes me wonder if there’s more” history lurking in hidden places inside the house, he said.

Despite Morven Park’s grand character, park officials still pay homage to its roots as a fieldstone farmhouse. The oldest section of the mansion reveals exposed stone that was laid by slave laborers.

“We’ve chosen to keep this exposed so we could interpret it to the public,” Gillespie said. “It’s so hard to explain to people that this wasn’t always a 22-room mansion.”

Next weekend, Morven Park will offer free admission and guided tours of the mansion, Civil War huts and the Winmill Carriage Collection. Tour hours are from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Saturday and May 4, and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. All tours begin at the Coach House Visitor Center, 17263 Southern Planter Lane in Leesburg.

via Mansion Straddles Centuries | LoudounExtra.com | The Washington Post.