Gumbo was visiting beautiful Maymont Mansion in Richmond. No one recognized where Gumbo was this week.
Major James Henry Dooley was a wealthy Richmond lawyer, philanthropist and wounded Confederate war veteran, and cofounder of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, which ran down the southeast coast and also over to Atlanta and Birmingham. He was instrumental in the economic recovery of the south after the Civil War and also served as the mayor of Richmond and sat on the Virginia legislature.
The 12,000 square foot, 33-room mansion, which they named “May Mont,” was a combination of Sallie Dooley’s maiden name (May) and the French word for hill and was completed in 1893.
This was their primary residence, though they had a summer residence, Swannanoa Palace located on Afton Mountain in the Blue Ridge Mountains which was built in 1913. The Dooley’s prospered exceedingly well during the economic rise of the Gilded Age from the 1880’s to the 1910’s.
(Swannanoa Palace)
In 1892, Mrs. Sallie Dooley became the founding regent of Virginia’s first chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Old Dominion Chapter. She was also a charter member of the Society of the Colonial Dames in the State of Virginia, a member of the Order of the Crown (Americans of royal descent), and a supporter of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities and the Virginia Historical Society.
Upon the couple’s death, the property and mansion with all the contents were donated to the city of Richmond and opened to the public as a museum in 1925. The couple are entombed in the mausoleum a few steps from the mansion.
(Mausoleum)
James Dooley bequeathed $3 million to build St. Joseph’s Villa in Richmond which provides a variety of services for children and families facing developmental disabilities, homelessness, and mental health issues. Sallie Dooley’s bequests included money to build the Children’s Hospital and the Richmond Public Library.
Guided tours of the Maymont Mansion are free, though they suggest a $5 donation which I saw most everyone in my group donate. There are many exhibits in the basement area of the mansion where you can browse while waiting for the next tour. The exhibits feature the life of the domestic staff that cared for the Dooley’s and worked their estate. Maymont is open 12-5pm, Tuesday-Sunday with guided tours every half-hour 12-4:30pm.
Stained glass abounds throughout the mansion. Every window has a stained glass transom (all different) and the large stained glass window on the stairway landing was done by Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company.
Sallie Dooley’s bedroom décor was quite unusual. Her dressing table was fashioned by Tiffany and Company in the Viking revival style from sterling silver and narwhal tusk ivory. The swan bedroom set was designed by Neuman and Co. of New York, a company known for creating unique furniture masterpieces.
Her passion for the swan motif is also displayed throughout their Swannanoa Palace summer home. It reminds me somewhat of King Ludwig II of Bavaria who was known as the Swan King and I saw that motif in his various palaces and castles.
In her morning room, there was a book of cut-out paper fashions that you put on a paper lady or man and decide if you like that fashion. I remember my little sister had one of those similar fashion paper books back in the 1950’s.
James Dooley was a man of substantial wealth and collected some of the finest décor from Vienna, Berlin, Paris, Venice, the Netherlands and the Far East. Quite an eclectic mixture, but most of the décor seemed to blend nicely in the various rooms. My favorite viewed pieces were the Winged Back Lion Chair (but it didn’t look comfortable), the cut glass floor lamp, and the main metal power switch on the wall. Maymont was one of the first places in the city to be wired for electricity, and in one of the rooms was a main breaker switch controlling all household electricity.
Richmond is the capital city of the state of Virginia and easily accessible. Richmond boasts and international airport, Greyhound bus hub and two Amtrak railroad stations. It is located on north-south Interstate 95 about a 6 hour drive from New York City and 3 hour drive from Washington DC. It is also located on east-west Interstate 64 connecting Williamsburg, Virginia Beach and Charlottesville.
