TOWN OF ASHLAND
“Just off the Tracks”
Sponsored by The Ashland Garden Club
Saturday, April 19, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Chairman:
Janet Rosser (Mrs. Derrick E.)
12324 North Oaks Drive
Ashland, VA 23005
(804) 798-3057
rosser89@verizon.net
Co-Chairman:
Elizabeth Bickford (Mrs. Robert S.)
205 College Avenue
Ashland, VA 23005
(804) 798-1811
edbrnwi@yahoo.com
FULL TICKET: $25 purchased in advance; $30 purchased on tour day; $10 single-house admission. Children 13 and older, full price; ages 6-12 half price; ages 5 and under, free of charge. Tickets may be purchased on tour day at any of the houses open for the tour. Houses need not be visited in the order listed.
ADVANCE TICKETS: A full ticket may be purchased in advance for $25 by sending a self-stamped, self-addressed business-sized envelope by April 12. Include check made payable to The Ashland Garden Club to Mrs. Derrick E. Rosser, 12324 North Oaks Drive, Ashland VA 23005. Advance tickets also may be purchased for an additional charge at www.VAGardenweek.org.
LUNCHEON: Boxed lunches, $10 each, will be served to benefit
the Free Clinic of St. James the Less Episcopal Church. Lunches will
be served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church,
201 Henry Street, Ashland, VA. Lunches must be reserved and
prepaid by April 12. For reservations, send checks payable
to St. James the Less Episcopal Church and mail to the chairman noted above. Please
indicate if you prefer a vegetarian option. Additional lunches will
be available for purchase on the day of the tour on a first-come, first-served
basis.
Restroom facilities are available for lunch patrons at Duncan Memorial.
REFRESHMENTS: Served from 1 to 4 p.m., weather permitting, on the back lawn at 305 Caroline St.
NOTE: This is a walking tour. Vehicles will not be permitted in the immediate vicinity of the homes on the tour. A shuttle will be provided from the parking area. Please wear appropriate flat-heeled shoes.
DIRECTIONS AND PARKING: From I-95, take Exit 92B to Ashland. Continue 0.9 mi. on Rt. 54. Turn left and park in the lot at the Henry Clay Shopping Center on England St. To reach the tour, cross England St. and walk one block on North Taylor St. to College Ave., where five of the homes are located. To reach the President’s Home, turn left on Calhoun St. and walk one block. The home will be on your left. A map of the tour area will be provided on the back of the Garden Day ticket.
INFORMATION CENTER: Information regarding area attractions and restroom facilities are available at the Ashland Hanover Visitors Center, 112 N. Railroad Ave., Ashland, VA.
204 COLLEGE AVENUE. This lovely brick Georgian
house was built in 1938. Mr. and Mrs. William J. Douglas purchased
it in 2005 from the original owners, Dr. and Mrs. William C. Webb. The
design features paneled doors, decorative entablatures, ornate pilasters,
dentil moldings, transom lights, vertically aligned windows and roof balustrades. Mr.
and Mrs. Douglas, a landscape architect and a designer, respectively, have
embraced and restored features that characterize their period home, such
as the original stainless-steel countertops in the kitchen and porcelain
fixtures. The Douglases have made subtle changes to add color and light
to the rooms. Throughout the house, family heirloom furniture is combined
attractively with newer pieces. The living and dining rooms feature
tables of Honduras mahogany, handcrafted from the wood of a larger family
piece. Also of special interest is a clock, damaged by a combatant’s
saber, brought home by Mrs. Douglas’ grandfather from his military
service in France in World War I.
Consistent with its Georgian style, yet modern in functionality, the
exterior has been enhanced with a parking courtyard and walkway, as well as
symmetrically designed front walls and shaped lawn panels. In honor of
Mrs. Webb, “Ibby’s Garden” was built on the east side of
the house with stones found on the property. In the backyard, the owners
constructed a Jeffersonian-inspired garden belvedere, classical columns, and
a brick patio to enjoy with family and friends. The backyard gardens
contain both native and cultivated shade plants. Open for the first time
for Garden Week, Margaret (Fred) and Jack Douglas welcome you to their home.
302 COLLEGE AVENUE. Four generations of the
family of Edmund W. Newman, the owner of Ashland Roller Mills, have occupied
this beautiful, two-story brick residence since he built it in 1924. The
design is in the Georgian Revival style, with columned front and side porches,
paired end chimneys, and three dormer windows. The interior boasts
a lovely balanced design, widely arched hallways, and a graceful curved staircase
leading to the second floor.
In 2002, Mrs. Malcolm Magovern, the Newmans’ granddaughter, and
her family moved to the home, where she lived as a child. The Magoverns
performed extensive renovation, adding hardwood flooring, ceramic tile and
granite countertops in the kitchen and updating bathroom fixtures. Reflecting
the Magoverns’ keen interest in art collecting, the interior contains
paintings by Jean Sauls, a sculpture of Hippocrates by Doris Appel, a sculpture
by G. Masi, and other works of art acquired in the family’s travels. Of
special interest is a painting depicting the side of the Magoverns’ home
viewed from the house next door, which also has been a residence of Mrs. Magovern’s
family and is open on the tour. The formal gardens surrounding the house
contain numerous English boxwoods propagated by Mrs. Magovern’s mother,
as well as a wealth of shade‑loving plants. Also noteworthy are
the antique millstones from Mr. Newman’s mill, embedded in the back garden. Open
for Garden Week for the first time in forty years, Linda and Malcolm Magovern,
owners.
303 COLLEGE AVENUE. This 1910, two-story Classical
Revival is the home of Dr. and Mrs. Hill Carter, Jr. The residence
was enlarged in 1993 with a stucco addition designed by the late Richmond
architect Robert Welton Stewart. The house boasts 11-foot ceilings,
coal-burning fireplaces in each room, and an appealing, eclectic interior. A
short transitional hallway leads to the salon which features Palladian windows,
doors on two sides, and a two-story bay window at one end. The kitchen
includes granite countertops surrounded by a collection of MacKenzie-Childs
tiles and pottery and flanked by custom-paneled cabinets. Among the
heirloom pieces in the house are a Hepplewhite-footed breakfront with fruitwood
inlay; an antique crystal chandelier; a walnut medical box belonging to Dr.
Madison Pendleton of Louisa County, Virginia; and a 62-inch-round, one-piece
Honduras mahogany tilt-top pedestal table belonging to Dr. Carter’s
grandparents. The Carters’ strong sense of family and local tradition
have shaped their livable collection of Jack Witt sculptures, oil portraits
of family members, and pastel portraits of the Carter children.
The beautiful and now-sunny (thanks to Hurricane Isabel) back garden,
featuring boxwoods, azaleas, hydrangeas, and an oyster-shell path, was planned
by Williamsburg landscape designer Gale Roberts. One path leads to a
charming guest cottage built in 1906 by Dr. Henry Rose Carter of Ashland. This
was used as his medical office until the mid-1950s and was moved to its present
location in 1983 by the present owners. Antique medical instruments will
be displayed in the guest cottage. Dr. and Mrs. Hill Carter, Jr., owners.
Ashland—304 College Avenue
304 COLLEGE AVENUE. Visitors to this magnificent
house might believe, with good reason, that they have been transported to
the Battery in Charleston, South Carolina. Built about 1912 and emulating
the style of a beautiful Charleston home, the residence is one of the earliest
examples of Colonial Revival architecture in Ashland. The façade
is embellished with a two-story, full-width porch with a central pedimented
portico supported by two Ionic columns. The portico has a modillioned
and dentiled cornice with a fanlight in the pediment. The remaining
porch features smaller Ionic columns and heavy turned balusters on both floors. Palladian
windows, each with tracery work, flank the portico and add sunlight to the
front first-story rooms. The house has four chimneys, each with two
flues.
In the 1930s, the residence was remodeled and the central staircase
removed to accommodate two apartments. Mr. and Mrs. Frederik E. Peyron,
who purchased the house in 2006, have restored the original floor plan and
installed a staircase sympathetic to the early period of the dwelling. The
fluted Ionic columns in the living room, double pocket doors in the front study,
and heart-of-pine floors all are original to the house. Heirlooms from
both sides of the family are incorporated in the décor, including antiques
from “Stegeborg,” Mr. Peyron’s Swedish ancestral home built
in the early 1800s. Also displayed are a military dress uniform and implements
of the Swedish Calvary. Open for the first time for Garden Week, Sue
and Ted Peyron, owners.
306 COLLEGE AVENUE. Built in the late 1920s
by Frederick Cox, Sr., this two-story brick, Georgian Revival-style house
reflects the early 20th century enthusiasm for 18th century British architecture. The
residence exhibits symmetrically balanced windows, columned portico, dentil
work on the cornices, Flemish bond brickwork and a slate roof. Dr.
and Mrs. R. Hayes Hanley purchased the house in 2001 and began renovations
almost immediately. Special features of the dining room include a table
and hutch that are heirlooms from Mrs. Hanley’s family. In the
living room, a drop-leaf table and a hand-painted Nippon china vase that
was converted to a lamp are especially noteworthy. Both items belonged
to Dr. Hanley’s grandmother. The hallway to the kitchen displays
an interesting and original light fixture. A remodeled kitchen boasts
fresh countertops, an island and lovely new cabinets. The back of the
house has been reconfigured and currently includes a spacious laundry room
and a screened Florida Room, which overlooks a verdant private yard.
Inspired by a West Avenue Garden Tour, in Richmond, the Hanleys embarked
upon a landscaping project of their own in 2005. After redirecting the
driveway and refurbishing the garage, they installed a patio designed by Jack
Douglas, whose home also is open on the Ashland tour. The stunning result
is a fluid combination of hardscape and garden rooms. Retaining English
boxwoods original to the house, the Hanleys have constructed a series of beds
that feature lush plantings of daphne, helleborus, pulmonaria, hosta and more. A
raised vegetable garden engages the eye and fills the larder as well. Open
for the first time for Garden Week, Dr. and Mrs. R. Hayes Hanley, owners.
305 CAROLINE STREET: THE PRESIDENT’S HOME. Mr.
and Mrs. Robert Lindgren and their children are the fifth family to live
in this stately Georgian Revival home since Randolph-Macon College acquired
it in 1939 to serve as the official residence of the college’s president. Built
in 1929, the three-story brick house overlooks the Randolph-Macon campus. Since
Mr. Lindgren’s presidency began on February 1, 2006, the family has
opened the home frequently to welcome Randolph-Macon students, faculty, trustees,
alumnae, parents and friends of the College.
In 2006, the residence was redecorated and the kitchen updated. A
screened porch on the side was enclosed with glass, providing additional space
for entertaining and enjoying the surrounding landscape. The formal rooms
on the first floor are furnished and decorated primarily with pieces belonging
to the College. Notable among the collection is a Southern walnut 18th
century drop-leaf table, a gift from descendants of the Macon family for whom
the College was named. Also of interest are the Queen Anne pedestal dining
table and chairs, an Edwardian English sideboard inlaid with bellflowers, a
corner cupboard handmade during the latter 19th century, a china cabinet, and
Persian Sarouk rugs. The paintings and clocks belong to the Lindgrens. Outside,
the front walk is lined with petunias in cool weather and other colorful flowers
when it is warm. Varieties of flowering shrubs and mature trees adorn
the property. Refreshments will be served in the back garden of the
home. Randolph-Macon College, owner.
ALSO OF INTEREST:
SCOTCHTOWN. Follow Rt. 54 West through Ashland about 8 mi. Turn right on Scotchtown Rd. and follow signs. Patrick Henry, the first Governor of Virginia, lived here with his wife and their children from 1771-78. The grounds were landscaped by The Garden Club of Virginia with proceeds from Historic Garden Week tours. Scotchtown is a National Historic Landmark and a Virginia Historic Landmark. Separate admission.