History
Intended to be a "summer place" for Richmond, Virginia, millionaire and philanthropist James H. Dooley and his wife Sally May, it reportedly took over 300 artisans eight years to build the structure, complete with Georgian marble, Tiffany windows, gold plumbing fixtures, and terraced gardens. Built as a token of love from husband to wife, the depth of James and Sally May’s relationship was represented in the 4,000 piece Tiffany stained-glass window and a domed ceiling bearing the likeness of Mrs. Dooley Despite the lavish expenditure, it was occupied only for a few years following completion in 1912.
Major Dooley died in 1924 at the age of 82. He left Swannonoa entirely to his wife, Sally Mae along with several million dollars. Sally Mae Dooley died in 1926 at the age of 79. She left the estate to Major Dooley's two sisters.
When the property was built it had state-of-the-art fixtures for the time period. Electricity and plumbing was installed in the house. It was the first house that had electricity in Nelson County and to accomplish this it had its own power plant on the property. There also was a built in elevator. Like Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's house 27 miles away, it had a dumbwaiter to bring food up from the basement kitchen to the dining room on the first floor.
The sisters sold Swannanoa in 1926 to the Valley Corporation, a Richmond corporation, who became the second owners of Swannanoa. They planned and opened a country club in 1929 and closed in 1932. During that time they built the stone building on the property rumored to house the region's best moonshine distillery and was the favored supplier for government officials during Prohibition. The golf course was an 18-hole course. In was during Swannanoa's time as a country club that Calvin Coolidge had Thanksgiving dinner (1928) at the mansion. The sumptuous accommodations and isolation from the Capitol's hubbub seemed to affect Mrs. Coolidge deeply, giving her "the giddiness of a mare in the spring" according to the waitstaff. Calvin was typically silent on the subject, but seemed rather drawn and sleepy for the next day's hunting.
The mansion was empty from 1932 until 1942, when A.T. Dulaney formed Skyline Swannanoa, Inc. Dulaney and nine other stockholders purchased Swannanoa and became the third owners of the property.
The United States Navy considered purchasing and renovating the property in 1942, which they calculated would cost $200,000, for the purpose of establishing a secret facility to interrogate prisoners of war. The military rejected it in favor of a Civilian Conservation Corps camp in Fort Hunt, Virginia, code named P. O. Box 1142, because it seemed unlikely that Congress would approve the purchase of such a palatial structure for the purpose. The mansion stood empty through the Great Depression and World War II until it was leased in 1949 to Walter Russell for his University of Science and Philosophy. During this period, the retreat took in a series of female acolytes who, to help support the institute, gave tours of the mansion and grounds.
Walter Russell died in 1962, his wife Lao died in 1988. The University of Science and Philosophy decided to leave the property and gave up their lease in 1998. In 1999 Skyline Swannanoa, Inc. started major renovations on the property.
Today the property is owned by J. F. Dulaney, Jr., of Charlottesville, who has been attempting to sell tours of the first floor, all the while letting the property fall into disrepair.
Currently small group tours, open houses and weddings are being held on the property and there are plans for a bed-and-breakfast in the future.
Read more about this topic: Swannanoa (mansion)
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