An aerial view of Maymont in 1920 (Photo courtesy Maymont)
A century ago — with the laying of stone and the transfer of a deed — a pair of Richmond families set the foundation for two of the city’s most popular landmarks and public spaces.
In 1926, businessman T.C. Williams Jr. and his wife, Elizabeth, broke ground on a plot of land overlooking the James River. For more than a year, they meticulously reassembled the 16th-century Tudor manor they had purchased, dismantled and shipped across the ocean from Lancashire, England. Keeping its original name, Agecroft Hall played host to countless parties in the decades that followed, but the couple also planned for it to one day become a public museum.
Just 3 miles downriver, financier James Dooley and his wife, Sallie, had a similar vision for the Gilded Age mansion they built in 1893. They dubbed it May Mont, a combination of Sallie’s maiden name and the French word for hill. Following the couple’s deaths in the early and mid-1920s, the mansion, its contents and the surrounding 100 acres were left to the city of Richmond — thus establishing Maymont Park.
“It was popular, at the time, for people to do something philanthropic and leave all of their money to charitable organizations,” says Kathy Garrett-Cox, curator and director of historical resources and collections at Maymont. “Many of the Gilded Age families were looking at how to create a legacy, and a park was considered one of the top ways to give back to their community.”
Natural Habitat
When the Dooleys purchased the tree-lined pasture on a ridge over the James River in 1886, James was one of the wealthiest men in Virginia, thanks to his savvy investments in railroads, land, iron and steel. The couple commissioned architect Edgerton Stewart Rogers to design the 12,000-square-foot mansion, which they moved into in 1893.
James and Sallie hosted frequent parties in their elaborate home, which were regularly detailed in the society pages of the local newspapers. Their plans to bequeath it to the city, however, came as a surprise, revealed only after James’ death in 1922.
Following Sallie’s death in 1925, Maymont Park opened to the public for the first time on January 1, 1926. More than 55,000 visitors flocked to the estate in its first year, eager to see the opulent home and lush grounds.
By midcentury, as city leaders looked to enhance the park, Maymont began to evolve into a nature center. The Thalhimer family secured the rights to add animal habitats, and several garden clubs started labeling trees and plants and hosting walking tours of the grounds.
“These grassroots organizations came in and wanted to share the Maymont story,” Garrett-Cox says. “That really helped root Maymont in the community.”
Today, Maymont is one of only a handful of fully intact Gilded Age estates, with all of its original land, outbuildings and the Dooleys’ personal collection of art and artifacts.
“This was a time of unprecedented wealth in America, and the Dooleys were a part of that,” Garrett-Cox says. “The collection at Maymont reflects their travels, their tastes and their unique vision.”
Children in the Italian Garden in 1937 (Photo courtesy Maymont)
But Maymont also offers a look at the region’s natural resources and wildlife. More than 18,000 schoolchildren visit the nature center and farm annually, while the fields and gardens are the backdrop for countless weddings, graduation celebrations and family photos. During the summer, thousands of visitors attend concerts on the sprawling Carriage House Lawn.
Recent efforts have focused on restoring and preserving both the mansion and the wildlife habitats for the resident fox, bears, bobcats and raptors. In addition, there are several new walking trails, and Maymont has added two baby porcupines and a coyote to its animal family.
Visitors can expect big celebrations in the coming months, including the Maymont Mansion Open House on March 21, celebrating the building’s reopening to the public after a two-year renovation project. The Virginia Wildlife Trail Grrrrand Reopening on April 18 will highlight the new habitats and trails. Then, on June 6, Maymont will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a huge family-friendly birthday bash.
Agecroft Hall and its builders on Jan. 27, 1928 (Photo courtesy Agecroft Hall & Gardens)
Through the Ages
While the first stones of Agecroft Hall & Gardens were laid in Richmond in 1926, the earliest known mention of Agecroft in Lancashire, England, dates to February 1376. When T.C. and Elizabeth Williams purchased the Tudor manor and began the process of dismantling and shipping the pieces across the Atlantic Ocean, the home was unoccupied and deteriorating.
At the time, the U.S. was in the midst of the garden city movement, and T.C. planned to develop the surrounding property — now known as Windsor Farms — into a suburb community.
The couple also made plans early on to convert their home into an art museum, though they changed course after the 1936 opening of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Instead, they decided to preserve Agecroft Hall as a celebration of the Tudor period.
Stepping into Agecroft today, however, one straddles multiple timelines. In addition to exploring English history, visitors can also experience the Williamses’ life in the early 20th century. During special events, guests can enjoy a traditional Tudor meal, see a Shakespeare performance, sit for an audience with Henry VIII, discuss Agatha Christie novels and tour the gardens created by renowned landscape designer Charles Gillette.
To celebrate its Richmond centennial, this spring Agecroft Hall is stepping back into the Roaring ’20s with an outdoor gala on the back terrace, complete with jazz music and a view of the sunken garden’s 5,000 tulips in bloom.
“There are traditions that carry forward — maybe in slightly different ways — that are similar to what people did centuries ago,” says Executive Director Anne Kenny-Urban of Agecroft’s history-spanning mission. “We look for threads that carry through the centuries.”
Never miss a Sunday Story: Sign up for the newsletter, and we’ll drop a fresh read into your inbox at the start of each week. To keep up with the latest posts, search for the hashtag #SundayStory on Facebook and Instagram.
