Evening star., 1932-06-04
RESTORATION ADDS
TO HISTORIC SHRINE.
Home of Mother of WASH
ington Attracting Increased
Flood of Visitors.
BY CHARLES MESSER STOW.


There never has been time when
the little house in Fredericksburg in
which George Washington's mother
lived has not been center of interest
and of occasional pilgrimage Now its
Importance has vastly increased since
the restoration work which has been
going on for two years or so has been
completed. 1t is notable now for two
reasons: First. it was the home OF
WaShington's mother; second. 1t Is a
remarkable piece of restoration.
Washington himself built this little
house for his mother.
The Association for the Preservation
of Virginia Antiquities got behind the
project to preserve ii and to restore 1t
to a condition approXimating that in
which it originally was,
Old Records Lacking.
OF course it was impossible to make
1t exactly as 1t was when Washington S
mother lived there There we're no
furnishings had been dissipated, no one
knew what pieces Of furniture stood in
its various rooms and there were no
traditions to help in settling these
points. The best that could be done
was to restore the general condition of
house Of the last quarter of the
eighteenth century and furnish 1t with
appropriate pieces. WaShington's sta
ton in life was a certain guide, for he
was used to the best of his day, and it
could easily be determined what that
best was.
Inasmuch as it was impossible to
make the house look Just as it did
when Washington's mother lived there
the approximation seems to have been
brought about wisely and plausibly.
DR.. R. T. H. Halsey, one of the out
standing authorities in America on this
kind of work, gave advice and the BEN
eft of his researches into the furnish
ings of eighteenth century homes. Un-
der his direction the architectural and
constitutional work was carried on
and, according to his knowledge, the
selected. From the Mabel Brady Gar
van collection at Yale University pieces
Of furniture were chosen, and the
stock there is sufficient to furnish
many houses in their appropriate
period
Two rooms are of especial interest to
visitors, one the bed room in which
Washington's mother died, and the
other the one occupied by the general
when he stayed there overnight. The
first is at the left of the hall, the other
upstairs.
Finished in Soft CoIors.
In each the walls have been finished
in soft colors, and the windows have
been draped with contrasting but har-
monious bright chintzes. In Washing
tons own room the bed and the WIN
doWS are hung with a delft-blue scenic
chintZ. In his mothers bed room the
hangings are dark reddish material.
In common with all Virginia houses
of the period the fireplace mantels are
more or less elaborate with carvings
and molding Aside from the mantels,
a chair rail and a cornice are the only
other architectural embellishments. In
the drawing room there is high over
mantel, more elaborate than in the
other rooms
The room used as the dining room
was not a part of the house originally,
but according to report it had been
made, before Mrs. Washington died,
from a back porch, SO that it had a
sloping ceiling. The wood work of the
mantel here is of a different period
and workmanship than the rest
Though there are only seven rooms
in the house, and though the restora-
ton, as regards the furniture to be
placed in it is not yet complete, it is
sufficiently interesting to attract visi-
tors, not only for the historical asso-
Citations, but for the study of the resto-
ration work OF one thing all who see
it may be sure, and that is that the
colors and the draperies are correct as
to period and arrangement.