Additional History
On May 6, 1914, at the Twelfth Biennial Council of
the National Society of Colonial Dames, held in Washington DC, the
delegates were quick to recognize the value of Sulgrave Manor and its
importance in their objective "to preserve and restore buildings
connected with the early history of our country".
A committee, chaired by
retiring President, Mrs. William Ruffin Cox, was then appointed to
oversee Sulgrave Manor. Mrs. Albert L. Sioussat, Historian, made a
motion to present to Sulgrave Manor, a youthful portrait, by Charles
Wilson Peale, of George Washington, in which he appears as Colonel of
Provincial (British) Forces. The portrait was not sent to
England
until after World War I was over.
In June 1914, the President of The National Society Colonial Dames of
America, Mrs. Joseph Rucker Lamar, submitted a plan to the National
Board to raise a Fund for the restoration of Sulgrave Manor, George
Washington's ancestral home, which was approved. On July 25, there was a
meeting at Sulgrave Manor when the Duke of Teck, as a memorial of their
common inheritance, turned over the keys to the American Ambassador, Mr.
Walter Hines Page. This was during the celebration of the one hundredth
anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, marking one hundred
years of peace between England and America.
In April 1915, the
Treasurer, Mrs.Cassatt, sent $1,000 to the British Sulgrave Institution
for immediate repairs to the Manor, which was acknowledged by the
Secretary as "the first contribution we have received from American
sources". The Sulgrave Board ordered the letter framed and hung on the
walls of the Manor.
In May 1916, at the Thirteenth Council, the National and
Corporate Societies encouraged support for the restoration of Sulgrave
Manor to occur as soon as conditions permitted.
In May 1917, the Society
sent a check for $2,000 for "urgent repairs". During the war years
Sulgrave Manor received little attention by NSCDA. At the close of the
war, the Society was preparing for the Memorial at Plymouth, thus neglecting Sulgrave Manor.
In May, 1923, The
Sixteenth Council met at the Washington Hotel. They voted to proceed
with raising an endowment for Sulgrave Manor. Also, they voted to build
a reproduction of the Manor at the Philadelphia Exposition commemorating
the Sesqui-Centennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
By June, the President had prepared literature and plans for raising
funds for Sulgrave Manor Endowment.
In May, 1925, The
Seventeenth Council met in
Washington,
DC. In less than one year,
$112,000 was raised for the Endowment. The money was deposited with the
United States Trust Company of
New York. A committee was authorized to
investigate the Manor and make recommendations to the National Board as
to the NSCDA's participation in the work of the British Sulgrave
Institution to explain the conditions of the endowment. The income was
to be devoted solely to the restoration, preservation and maintenance of
Sulgrave Manor. This hopefully guaranteed that the Manor would be kept
for all time "in perpetual care".
On June 25, 1926, the reproduction building of Sulgrave Manor was
dedicated, fifty-two days after breaking ground -- a truly remarkable
accomplishment. Many distinguished persons -- Governors, Representatives
of Foreign Countries, delegations of patriotic, civic and industrial
organizations -- were in attendance.
The reproduction of
Sulgrave Manor received the Certificate of the Sesqui-Centennial
International Exposition Grand Prize. "The caring out of the
conception of the reproduction as a stimulus to patriotism in American
youth, and as an education for Americans still in the making, seems to
have been fully justified, as the interest in the public mind for
anything connected with the life of George Washington, was strongly
evidenced, on hearing the stories of the house as given by the
hostesses."
At the May 1927 NSCDA
Council meeting, the Sulgrave Manor Board was formed. Two members of
NSCDA, Mrs. Townsend and Mrs. Chapfield were appointed to be members of
the Sulgrave House Committee. The National Board approved a design for a
folder to be presented to Sulgrave Manor as a record of the Reproduction
of the Manor house at the Sequi-Centennial Exposition. A check for
$15,298.19, which had been raised during the Exposition, was sent to the
Sulgrave Manor Board by Mrs. James Starr, Jr., Chairman of the Committee
on the Reproduction of Sulgrave Manor at the Philadelphia Exposition.
During the restoration,
the wing of the main house, which was destroyed by fire in the
eighteenth century, was rebuilt with stone. Tiles were taken from some
old buildings to redo the roof and the material was so carefully handled
that the moss and lichen were still sticking to them after the work was
completed. The 1587 barn was also rebuilt with old tile. The long barn
which was probably built in the nineteenth century was dismantled and
the stone was used to make the wall of the courtyard, and a small shed
for the motorcar and garden tools. By August 1928, it was reported that
the small oak-paneled parlor had been restored. The grounds, too, were
being restored and developed with orchards and gardens.
By 1928, almost 8,000
people had visited Sulgrave Manor. The admission to the house at that
time was one shilling. In 1931, it was reported that the restoration of
the house had been completed.
In May 1929, at the
Nineteenth Council, the two representatives on Sulgrave Manor Board
reported $50,000 had been collected for further restorations at Sulgrave
Manor.
In 1931 it was reported,
"The restoration of the house has been completely furnished and the ell
partially furnished and opened to the public. The entire contents and
furnishings of a kitchen, inventoried in 1738, was purchased and
installed. The original trim of the mantelpiece, which had been removed
in bygone days to make place for a stove, was found neatly piled in the
junk heap and has been restored to its place. Thirteen acres adjourning
the rose garden was purchased. Between 1926-1931, the sum of $58,936.64
was raised for the purchase of the property, restoration and development
of the orchard and gardens."
Preceding information
comes from "A History of The National Society of the
Colonial Dames of America, From 1891-1933" by Mrs. Joseph Rucker Lamar.
