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"Red Hill" Restoration
Made Possible By Contribution From Anonymous Donor
Patrick Henry Home Work To Start Soon
By Martha Rivers Adams
[The News, Lynchburg, VA Tuesday Morning, March 2, 1954]
Complete restoration of "Red
Hill," Charlotte County estate, last home and the burial
place of Patrick Henry, a founder of American liberty, is
in immediate prospect due to the voluntary offer of an anonymous
benefactor.
James S. Easley of Halifax, president
of the Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation, making known yesterday
the promised benefaction, said that the donor is motivated
by admiration of the patriot and the principles for which
he stood in making possible the completion of the historic
shrine.
Stipulating that Stanhope S. Johnson,
Lynchburg architect, be retained for the restoration work,
the patron of the project is to make possible the landscaping
of the grounds and the rebuilding of the manor house, the
office and the various out-buildings, President Easley said.
An approximate amount of $50,000 is estimated as necessary.
Trustees Meeting
Trustees of the Patrick Henry Memorial
Foundation will meet in Richmond March 22 to work out details
of the undertaking, the president said. Other officials are
Henry E. McWane, Lynchburg, and Major John D. Guthrie, Charlotte
County, vice presidents; Mrs. William Page Williams, Brookneal,
secretary; and James R. Gilliam Jr., Lynchburg, treasurer.
In addition to 35 Virginians on the board of trustees, representatives
from nine other states are among the men and women of distinction
forming the governing body of the Foundation. Robert C. Atherholt
and Susan Dabney, the latter a great-great-granddaughter of
Patrick Henry, are other Lynchburg members of the board of
trustees. Miss Dabney's sister, Mrs. Barksdale Penick of Montclair,
N. J., also is a member.
Stanhope S. Johnson, Lynchburg architect
already busy on plans for the reconstruction, Easley said
yesterday, by good fortune has in his possession the exact
measurements of the original Henry mansion. In the 155 years
since Patrick Henry's death, the houses and grounds have changed
considerably. Mrs. Matthew Bland Harrison, a great-granddaughter
of the statesman, in the early years of this century, had
erected a colonial-style residence in which the original simple
home of Patrick Henry was incorporated. In 1918, this building
was destroyed by fire, as were nearby cottages. After that
the garden was obliterated by neglect, and the place left
desolate until, in 1945, the property was acquired by the
FOundation and step-by-step improvements were started.
Associated with the firm which built
the home of Mrs. Harrison, who is no longer living, Stanhope
Johnson came into ownership of the house-plans, with descriptions
of the out-door appearance. These will enable the restoration
to be exact, it was said yesterday. Plans to restore the place
in such manner that its original atmosphere will be preserved
are in compliance with the objectives of the FOundation, Easley
indicated.
Organized in 1944
Organized in 1944, with James S. Easley
of Halifax, well-known attorney, as president, the Foundation
acquired the site of the mansion and something less than 900
acres of land from their heirs. The law office of the patriot
still stands, with an attached studio built later by William
Wirt Henry Jr. According to restoration plans, the office
will be returned to its original state.
Funds have been raised through the
years fro various phases of improvements, and with the establishment
there of the Patrick Henry Boys' Plantation, gifts have been
made for erection of homes for the boys who will be accepted
there. Already two of the ten proposed cottages are assured.
Rebuilding of the house and out-houses will benefit the plantation
project, Mr. Easley said yesterday, adding that it is highly
probable that the Rev. Ralph Bellwood, founder of the "Youth
Community" will occupy the main structure until his home,
one of the several envisioned for the plantation, is constructed.
Attempts to establish a national shrine
at "Red Hill" have been made for the last quarter-century.
The late United States Senator Carter Glass was among those
who led an attempt in 1935 and for the next few years. Senator
Harry F. Byrd, former President Herbert Hoover, Mrs. Alfred
I. du Pont, David K. E. Bruce, former Governor William M.
Tuck, J. Edgar Hoover--these and other national figures make
up the more than fifty trustees of the Foundation.
Nearest Living Kin
Patrick Henry's nearest living relative
is Miss Elvira Henry Miller--Lynchburg's "Miss Ella"--of
314 Harrison St. She has kept the reconstruction of their
great-grandfather's estate in constant remembrance, missing
no opportunity to work for its success.
Patrick Henry's stormy career in the
cause of liberty ended after 10 years of plantation living
at his Staunton River estate. Born in Hanover county in 1736,
he died in 1799. He and his second wife, who was Dorothea
Dandridge, are buried at "Red Hill."
The restoration of the house is not
to be as easy as it sounds, with measurements at hand and
the building notable chiefly for its simplicity. Materials
of the period will be sought, and nothing not in harmony will
be used by the architect, the official of the Foundation state.
Throughout the long distance interview from the Jefferson
Hotel, Richmond, where he is staying, Mr. Easley repeatedly
referred to the great happiness and satisfaction the donor
of the funds has brought to those who have labored for the
last decade and prior to the land's purchase, to set up a
permanent memorial to the apostle of American Liberty.
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