Evening star., 1924-11-06
OLD MANOR HOUSE
RAzED BY FLAMES
Two of Occupants Burned in
Fire in Historic Vir-
ginia Home.

Green Valley Manor House, aristo-
crat among notable Virginia estates
for more than century, is a mass Of
smoldering ruins today, following an
early morning fire that almost en-
trapped its four tenants, naYal Of
ficers, and resulted in injuries ito two
of them. Located about threl miles
from Washington. just north of the
Mount Vernon Boulevard, the house
contained treasures in antiques and
historic items which make estimate
of the damage virtually impossible,
but it was known to have exceeded
$50, 900.
While firemen from Washington.
Rosslyn, Clarendon and Cherrydale
were pumping water into the sizzling
wreckage, Lieut. Thomas l.. Latti-
more. u. S. N, and Lieut.. John l..
Lusk, L. S. ", were being treated for
burns at the Naval Hospital here.
The injuries were pronounced not
serious at the hospital. Lusk sus-
tanned the burns to his arms and face
when he was forced to crawl out of a
second story window and over
lower roof to safety after exit by the
stairway had been cut off b. sheets
of flame.
Origin Undetermined.
The origin of the fire is undetermin-
cd 1t is thought that possibly spark
from the open fireplace may have
started it. F'iremen think that 1t
started in the front Of the house on
the lower floor.
Lieut.. Frank Lowe and Lieut.. Ben
jamin S. Kilmaster, L. S. ~, with
sleeping on the second floor shortly
after o'clock, when Lieut.. kilmas-
ter smelled smoke. He aroused the
Others and all but Lusk escaped
down the stairs. Lusk. however. was
forced to climb to safety over the
roof OF a smaller attached structure.
The alarm of tire, which brought
Washington and neighborinE Nir-
ginia firefighters to the scene. was
too late to be of material aid in saw
ing the house. The Alexandria de-
partment refused to respond because
the fire was outside of its area,
neighbors charge.
Above the ruins, stanch and stur-
dy. still stand the walls which were
first put up between 1910 and 1920.
The interior of the house, the roof
having collapsed. was gutted.
Rare Works Ruined.
In the debris are laces hundreds Of
years old. all ruined; furniture which
can never be replaced, works of art
valued at thousands of dollars.
The house is the property Of Mrs.
Herbert Perring Carter. who was
Miss Polly Sickles before her mar
riage to the son of a prominent
English family. The property had
been in her family for four genera
tions.
In the early days, when the aristo-
cratic old structure was newly built.
statesmen and diplomats coming to
Washington found warm welcome
within its walls. It's setting was
wholly suburban: nestled in a clump
of oaks with a vista to the river
below.
Later. during the days Of the Civil
War, Mrs. Sickles. mother of the
present owner. lived there. and en-
tertained Gen. Lee and other nota bles
More recently the house furnished
hospitality to persons prominent in
the present day. Mrs. Garter being a
member of one of the foremost Nir-
ginia families. Among the lost ar
ticles of personal property is a hand
some dining room set bearing the
coat OF arms of the Carter family,
which itself is a British heirloom OF
distinction.
Fire Spreads RAPIDLY