The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-01
LAKEWOOD
Movement Started to Preserve His
 toric Washington Manor.

tOr1c WaSulu6 S0A <1oASA'
 Historic Harewood. around whose old gray walls cling some Of the most TO- mantle incidents of the Colonial, Revo- iutionary and early Federal periods, which was laid out and pullt Tn lioz-oo, under the direction of Gen. George Washington, for his brother, Col. Sam. mel yNasnington. where James and Dol ly Madison were married, where Louis Philippe. afterward King of France, found shelter during hls exile, where the young son of Lafayette was har- bored TOT a time during his Iathers imprisonment, whose halls have echoed to inc tread of many beautiful maid, stately dame and gallant gentleman of the olden time is soon to be preserved forever as a memorial of the Washing ton family and cared for by loving and patriotic hands as now Mount vernon is.
 For this purpose has been formed the Washington Manor Association on the Board of Regents of which are such men as ex-President Grover Cleveland, Admiral George Dewey Lieut.-Gen. Nelson A. Miles. Hon. Seth Low of New York, President of Columbia College; Brig. Gen. Joseph C. Breckenridge, 1n- spector- General United States Army; Hon. Henry Clews of New York; Hon. Theodore C. Search of Philadelphia Frank R. Stockton, the American nov elist; Rt. Rev. Leighton Coleman, Bishop of Delaware; Marcus Benjamin. Ph. D.. of the Smithsonian Institution. and Edwin Fairfax Naulty of Philadel- phia. The headquarters of the associa- ton are in Philadelphia. in which city the movement originated.
 Harewood is situated on land wich is part O fthe tract left by the will of Maj. Laurence Washington to his brothers. George, Samuel, John and Charles. It lies at the upper end of the Valley of the Shenandoah, F miles from where the waters of the Shenan- doah and the Potomac meet and How through Harper's Ferry Gap in the his- toric Blue Ridge of Virginia.
 The manor house Is stately colonial edifice built with two thick walls Of the native limestone quarried on the old estate. It Is quaintly recorded that one Shirley Smith, who hauled the stone tor the building was paid for his labor "an acre of ground per team per day."
 Although fifteen decades have past since the foundations of Harewood were laid. it is. today. as strong and as perfect as the day when the artisans pronounced their work done. They did their work well. too, those old-time craftsmen, for the floors and halls are as solid and as true today as when the last hand-forged nail was driven home. The great staircase and baluStrade are as firm as rock and so well was the roof put on that 1t was not renewed for 80 years.
 Reads Like a Romance.
 The history of Harewood reads like a romance. but 1t Is all fact, cold fact, which is verified by the wills of Gen eral Washington and by his letters, by the will of Laurence Washington from whom the first President inherited lands comprising the old estate, by the old court records of Frederick county, Berkeley county and Jefferson county, Va. its successors, and by tradition and records in the Washington family. The present owner is John Augustin Washington, fifth in direct descent from Col. Samuel Washington, and, therefore the great-great-grand nep- phew of Gen. Washington. It is the ancient history of Harewood that gives it claim upon the affections of the American people, and here Is an epi- tome of it's interesting history.
 When Gen. Washington was a youth residence of his brother, Maj. Laurence Washington. and in company with George William Fairfax set out for the country beyond the Blue Ridge lying in what is now known as the Valley of the Shenandoah. He was impressed by the beauty of the valley and one of the first things he did was to write and urge his brother Laur- ence to add to his holdings of land in the valley. He was engaged for three years in surveying ground for Lord Fairfax and others in this region, and his early letters show that he grew very fond of the country. In 1752 his brother Laurence died and left Mount Vernon to his wife. The lands he owned in the valley of the Shenandoah he left to George. Samuel, John and Charles. George was made executor of Mount Vernon, and as Samuel, John and Charles were then not of age, to George also fell the executorship of the Shenandoah estate. Family rec ords place the building of Harewood between the years 175e-1756. In 1757 he ran for the Virginia House of Bur gesses from Frederick county, where Harewood lay. but was defeated, but in 175s and 1761 he ran again and de- feated his old opponents by a rousine majority.
 Charming Dolly Madison. | III 4tO5 w the Widow Custis and established his winter home at Mount Vernon. In the summer time it was his custom to gC | to Harewood from the time when his brother occupied it until the outbreak | of the Revolution. Samuel died in 1781 | and again Harewood came under the care of Gen. Washington. for Fernando | Washington. Samuers oldest son. was a minor when his father died and Gen Washington was appointed his guar. | dian. Fernando died in a few years and the place passed to the next son l George Steptoe Washington, born ir | 1775. so that from 17S1 until 1796 Hare. | wood was in the custody of the first President. Tn the few years betweer the treaty of peace and his election to | the Presidency. Gen. Washington spent many pleasant hours at Harewood. and | if was in this period that he placed 1T | the great parior the black marble man | tel given him by Lafayette. Tn 179' George Steptoe Washington. at IT. married Lucy Payne the 15-year- old sister nf the charming woman who was later to become Dqily Madison. and two years later t6es charming Dolly