The land on which the house now stands was once owned by Colonel Ninian Beall and Benjamin Stoddert.[2] In 1797, the 250-acre (101ha) wooded estate was purchased by Phillip Barton Key, the uncle of the author of "The Star Spangled Banner," Francis Scott Key.[2]
In 1801, Key commissioned the Federal-style design was based on the Woodley Lodge in Reading, England. The word "Woodley" means "clearing in the woods."[2]
In 1952, Maret moved to the new campus from its 1923 building at 2118 Kalorama Road NW. Maret has used the house as a learning center, a library, a business office, admissions office, and the head of school's office.[4]
Residents
Over the years, many prominent people have lived in the house, including:
Colonel Ninian Beall
Ninian Beall was an immigrant from Scotland who started his life in America as an indentured servant and ended up as a major landowner and merchant. He bought the site of the future Woodley as part of the 795-acre tract to which he gave the name "The Rock of Dumbarton." It was on the Potomac River, where Georgetown would eventually be established, that he built a tobacco warehouse, a gristmill, and an iron foundry.[2]
Benjamin Stoddert
Benjamin Stoddert was a successful merchant and veteran of the Revolution who went on to become the first Secretary of the Navy. The appointment came during the "Quasi-War" with France in 1798, when French ships were seizing American vessels on the high seas.[2] Under Stoddert's direction, the American navy not only grew exponentially, but also won the undeclared naval war against France. Earlier in the decade, at the request of George Washington, he had formed a partnership with Uriah Forrest and purchased the site of Woodley and its environs to prevent the land from being bought up by speculators who would then have sold it to the government for huge prices.[2]
Philip Barton Key was born into a prominent family of Maryland planters. He sacrificed his inheritance to fight for a Loyalist regiment in the American Revolution and was eventually captured, paroled and sent to England, where he studied law at the Middle Temple of the Inns at Court.[2] In 1789, he returned to Maryland, married Ann Plater and went on to become the only Loyalist to resurrect his reputation and rise to prominence. Before his death in 1816, he served as both a Federal Judge and a Congressman. During Key's schooling in England, he visited Prime Minister Henry Addington at the Woodley Lodge. When Key returned to Washington, D.C., he modeled his own home after the original lodge in England.[2]
Martin Van Buren, eighth President of the United States, lived in Woodley as a summer home.
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren served as a Senator from New York and later as Andrew Jackson's Vice President before ascending to the Presidency in 1837. When he came into office, the country was plunged into its first depression so he could not do what all his predecessors had done: move away from the heat of Washington during the summer. Instead he rented Woodley because it was on cooler heights above the city and because it was considerably cheaper to run.[2]
Lorenzo Thomas was a Union general who played a number of roles during the Civil War era. As Adjutant General, he watched the siege of Vicksburg beside General Ulysses S. Grant aboard the ironclad USS Magnolia. Later in the war, he raised 21,000 black troops in Mississippi. During an assignment in the West, it is believed, he rented Woodley to former President James Buchanan. After the war, Thomas served briefly as Secretary of War and was a key player in the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson. In April 1862, Thomas freed the last of the Woodley slaves: Lucy Berry and her two small sons, George and Lorenzo. It is not known whether Lorenzo Thomas fathered these two sons.[2]
Lucy Berry
Lucy Berry, the last of the Woodley slaves, was born in Charles County, Maryland, in 1822 on a tobacco plantation called Equality. In 1853, she was bought by Lorenzo Thomas and installed in Woodley as his cook and laundress. In April 1862, Lucy Berry and her two small sons were freed by the District Emancipation Act. Four years later, she was reunited with her husband Denis and her four older children, and the entire Berry family were living together in their own house in East Georgetown.[2] After the end of Reconstruction and the death of Denis Berry, Lucy moved to the Government Hospital of the Insane (now St. Elizabeth's), where she worked as a laundress until her death.[2]
Robert J. Walker: Senator, Secretary of the Treasury, and Woodley resident.
Robert J. Walker
Robert J. Walker was a Mississippi cotton planter, U.S. Representative, and Senator before 1844, when he helped to engineer the election of James K. Polk, the first dark horse candidate elected president. Polk appointed him Secretary of the Treasury. In 1867, he helped persuade Secretary of State William Seward to purchase Alaska from Russia. To keep negotiations on track, the Czar paid Walker a $20,000 bribe, some of which funded the 1867 renovation of Woodley, which included the addition of a third floor.[5]
Francis Newlands shaped the character of the area around Woodley during his stay there.
Francis Newlands
Francis Newlands, a beneficiary of the Comstock Silver Mine, was both a politician and a real estate tycoon. As Senator from Nevada, he championed the Newlands Reclamation Act of 1901, which culminated in the irrigation of huge sections of the West. At the local level, he developed the suburb of Chevy Chase, boosting his land's value by extending Connecticut Avenue, building a streetcar line, and helping to create Rock Creek Park. After renting Woodley to the Clevelands in 1893, he added a block of rooms on the east side of the building and moved in himself around 1900.[5]
Grover Cleveland purchased Woodley in 1886 for $21,500. At the time, it was described as "a two and one-half story stone mansion, elegantly situated on high ground, commanding a fine view of the surrounding country and to which is attached twenty nine acres of ground." His intention was to occupy the house during the summer months and at other periods of the year when he wanted to be safe from intrusion. He planned to add an additional story and a tower to the house so he could see the Potomac River as far as Mount Vernon.[6]
William Phillips, a diplomat and an Undersecretary of State, lived in Woodley from 1915-1919.
William Phillips
William Phillips was a career diplomat and a lifelong friend of Franklin Roosevelt. When he and his wife Caroline rented Woodley (1915–1919), he was Assistant Secretary of State and also the host of numerous dinners attended by the Roosevelts. Phillips went on to a career as ambassador to Belgium, Canada and Italy, where for six years, he tried to keep Mussolini's ambitions in check. He continued to serve in many vital overseas assignments under his old friend Franklin Roosevelt until his official retirement in 1944.[5]
Sallie Long Ellis
Sallie Long Ellis bought Woodley in 1921. Her husband Captain Hayne Ellis had seen action in the Spanish–American War, the Philippine Insurrection and the Boxer Rebellion. He would later become Commander of the Atlantic Squadron. Among the guests who visited Woodley during those years was General John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary force in World War I.
Henry L. Stimson purchased Woodley in 1929, and was its last private owner-resident. He served as Secretary of State during the Hoover administration, and was the Secretary of War for both Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman during World War II, until his retirement in September 1945. When Stimson and his wife Mabel bought Woodley, they added cloakrooms (now little offices) on either side of the portico.[citation needed]
It was widely reported at the time that Stimson had paid $1,000,000 (equivalent to $17,042,636in 2022) for Woodley, but later reports put the sale cost at around $750,000 (equivalent to $12,781,977in 2022) or $850,000 (equivalent to $14,486,240in 2022).[3][8]
Later reports said that Stimson attempted to give Woodley to the federal government to serve as the official residence of the Secretary of State. This was unsuccessful, allegedly because it was feared that other cabinet officers would desire official homes. Stimson also reportedly offered to Andrew Mellon as the site for the National Gallery of Art if its Constitution Avenue location could not be secured.[8] Ultimately, in May 1938, Stimson gave Woodley to his alma mater, the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts (for whom he was president of the board of trustees).[3][9] He and his wife continued living in Woodley until 1947.
Adolf Berle
Adolf Berle, one of the architects of the New Deal, rented Woodley from Stimson in 1939. Once again, Woodley became the place of high drama. On the evening of September 1, Whittaker Chambers arrived at Woodley to tell Berle that Alger Hiss, a highly respected member of the State Department, was passing top-secret documents to the Soviets. That accusation would eventually culminate in the trial of Hiss. (He was found guilty of perjury and went to prison.) Among the many guests at Woodley during the Berle year was Secretary of State Cordell Hull, who would sneak away during afternoons to play croquet on the Woodley croquet lawn; Albert Einstein, who came to a Woodley reception; and Charles W. Yost, Berle's assistant, who was invited to view Julian Bryan's horrifying photographs of the Warsaw siege.
Maret School
In 1948, about a year after the Stimsons had moved out, Phillips Academy listed Woodley for sale.[8] It languished on the market for two years until 1950, when it was sold to a private group of Washingtonians, reportedly for around $200,000 (equivalent to $2,432,642in 2022) in cash, substantially less than its listing price of $400,000 (equivalent to $4,865,284in 2022). From the beginning, the plan was to sell it to the Maret School in a real-estate swap for Maret's existing property on Kalorama Street and sundry other property the school held.[3] Local residents objected strongly to the estate being used as a school, protesting both its change of character, and potential noise and traffic issues. A Citizens Emergency Committee to Save Woodley was created to lobby the city zoning board to deny Maret's use request, as well as an additional request to use add apartments to 10 acres of the estate.[10] Initially denied their rezoning request, Maret finally received permission to operate a school in the building in June 1951, after Maret agreed to only use the first floor of the building as a school and to make no external changes to the building.[11]
In August 1952, a "major part" of the mansion was reported destroyed in a three-alarm fire, as it was being remodeled for use in the fall semester. The damage was estimated at $100,000 (equivalent to $1,102,005in 2022). The school opened successfully in September.[4]
Legacy
Woodley Lane (later Woodley Road) in Washington, D.C., was named after the Woodley Mansion.[12]
The Woodley Society, founded at Maret in 1993, is an association of students, faculty, and alumni that studies the house's history.[1] In 2008, the group's leader, historian Allerton Kilborne, published a book about Woodley.[2] The group's podcast, Echoes of Woodley, tells stories surrounding the mansion.
Henry Lewis Stimson was an American statesman, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. Over his long career, he emerged as a leading figure in U.S. foreign policy by serving in both Republican and Democratic administrations. He served as Secretary of War (1911–1913) under President William Howard Taft, Secretary of State (1929–1933) under President Herbert Hoover, and again Secretary of War (1940–1945) under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, overseeing American military efforts during World War II.
Phillips Academy is a co-educational university-preparatory school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year. The school is in Andover, Massachusetts, United States, 25 miles north of Boston. Phillips Academy has 1,149 students, and is highly selective, accepting 9% for the 2022–2023 school year. It is part of the Eight Schools Association and the Ten Schools Admissions Organization.
Benjamin Stoddert was the first United States Secretary of the Navy from 1 May 1798 to 31 March 1801.
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department, was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, also bearing responsibility for naval affairs until the establishment of the Navy Department in 1798, and for most land-based air forces until the creation of the Department of the Air Force on September 18, 1947.
William Franklin Knox was an American politician, soldier, newspaper editor, and publisher. He was the Republican vice presidential candidate in 1936 and Secretary of the Navy under Franklin D. Roosevelt during most of World War II. On December 7, 1941, Knox, flanked by his assistant John O’Keefe, walked into Roosevelt's White House study around 1:30 pm EST, and announced that Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor.
George Robert Carter was the second territorial governor of Hawaii, serving from 1903 to 1907.
William Smallwood was an American planter, soldier and politician from Charles County, Maryland. He served in the American Revolutionary War, rising to the rank of major general. He was serving as the fourth Governor of Maryland when the state adopted the United States Constitution.
Harrison Charles Williams was an American entrepreneur, investor, and multi-millionaire.
Charles Adams Platt was an American architect, garden designer, and artist of the "American Renaissance" movement. His garden designs complemented his domestic architecture.
The Germantown White House is a historic mansion in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is the oldest surviving presidential residence, having twice housed Founding Father George Washington during his presidency.
Nelson Trusler Johnson was an American diplomat who served as the US Minister to China from 1929 to mid-September 1935. Then, until 1941, he was US Ambassador to the Republic of China and then to Australia from 1941 to 1945.
Woodley Park is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. Primarily residential, Woodley Park hosts a commercial corridor of restaurants and shops located along Connecticut Avenue. The neighborhood is noted as the home of the National Zoological Park, part of the Smithsonian Institution.
Eleanor and Franklin is a 1976 American television miniseries starring Edward Herrmann as Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) and Jane Alexander as Eleanor Roosevelt which was broadcast on ABC on January 11 and 12, 1976. It is the first part in a two-part "biopic" miniseries based on Joseph P. Lash's biography and history from 1971, Eleanor and Franklin, based on their correspondence and recently opened archives. Joseph Lash was Eleanor's personal secretary and confidant. He wrote several books on the Roosevelts including some on both Eleanor and Franklin individually and was also a controversial activist in his own right in leftist, liberalism, social and labor issues of the era.
Adolf Augustus Berle Jr. was an American lawyer, educator, writer, and diplomat. He was the author of The Modern Corporation and Private Property, a groundbreaking work on corporate governance, a professor at Columbia University, and an important member of US President Franklin Roosevelt's "Brain Trust."
Lewis Atterbury Stimson was an American surgeon who was the first to perform a public operation in the United States using Joseph Lister's antiseptic technique.
Holt House is an historic house, located on the grounds of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Thought to have been built before 1814, it is one of the most important examples of early Neoclassical architecture in the city, and was one of the major houses in the new national capital when it was built. Since 1889, its caretaker has been the Smithsonian Institution. It is the oldest building under the Smithsonian's management, but has been left vacant since the 1980s.
Beechwood is a Hudson River estate in Scarborough-on-Hudson, in Briarcliff Manor, New York. The estate was most notably the home of Frank A. Vanderlip and his family, and is a contributing property to the Scarborough Historic District. The house and property were owned by the Vanderlip family from 1906 to 1979. The property is now a 37-condominium complex as the result of a development project that began in the 1980s.
The White-Meyer House is a historic mansion in Washington, D.C., located in the Meridian Hill neighborhood of Northwest D.C. It was designed by American architect John Russell Pope and built by order of American diplomat Henry White. For several years, the house was rented to Eugene Meyer, who then bought it in 1934. It was bought by non-profit organization Meridian International Center in 1987.
Rutherfurd Hall is a historic house located in Allamuchy Township, Warren County, New Jersey, US.
The presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt began on March 4, 1933.
1 2 3 Grove, Lee (5 September 1948). "Woodley Estate Up for Sale". Washington Post. p.M1.
↑ "Stimson Gives Home To Phillips Academy: Former Secretary Of State Donates Woodley To Institution At Andover, Mass". Baltimore Sun. 14 May 1938. p.B1.
↑ Lyons, Richard (29 May 1951). "Maret Asks Approval of Woodley Site: Citizens Group Protests Use Of Estate by School Owning It". Washington Post. p.B1.
↑ "Woodley Estate School Use Approved by Zoning Board". Washington Post. 15 June 1951. p.B1.
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