Evening star., 1935-05-25
OLD ALEXANDRIA
HOME TO Be OPEN
Residence of Mr.. and Mrs.
A. H. Stevens Was Once
Jockey Club.
BY HELEN FETTER COOK.

History has shown that Virginians
did not lack for amusements in those
days when Alexandria was George
Washington's home town" Especial
ly we're they. as they still are. keenly
interested in horses and practically
every town had its own jockey club. .
When the Alexandria Association
has its annual tour of Colonial homes
next Saturday. June l, prominent
among the houses to have their doors
swung wide will be the home of Mr..
and Mrs. A. H. Stevens at 814 Frank
lin street. This two-Story white frame
house was the clubhouse of the Jockey
Club of pre-Revolutionary times and
also, according to tradition, housed
the first golf club of America.
Between the horse-loving English
population and the golf-loving Scots,
who made up the bulk of Alexandria's
early population, this old house well
coined many under its roof who
wished to forget the cares of those
days temporarily and amuse them
selves. When the house is open next
week it will be the first time one of
these popular tours" has brought
present-day group to seek a still diff
ferent kind of entertainment in the
old home which lies halfway between
the Mount Vernon Highway and the
old Richmond road on Franklin street.
Washington Was Member.
In the days when it was the Jockey
Club George Washington and Benis-
min Dulaney were among the most
distinguished members. The story is
told of how, at one of the races, a
filly that belonged to Washington
won the $40 purse offered. Then,
later, the decision was reversed and
the purse given to Dulaney for his
horse. This made Americas future
first President very angry and he
wrote the club letter threatening to
resign and emphasizing the fact that
ne thought it was a club organized
for sport and on fair lines. So the
judges reconsidered the matter again
and returned to their original deci-
sion. awarding the prize finally to
Washington's entry.
Doorways Are Original.
Charles H. Callahan. commissioner
OF revenue in Alexandria, verified the
above tale and also spoke of how. 25
years ago, Billy Phillips told of a
friend of his who was born in the old
club mouse at 8l4 Franklin street and
how the race tracks lay behind the
house in the general direction where
now are huddled clumps of hothouses
The original front door of the house in
those times is now at the back. Incl
dentally, the preSent-day door on
Franklin street and the one at the
back are Identical and particularly
beautiful examples of Colonial door,
ways
Mr.. Callahan also tells how a letter
from an EngliShman written in 1884
relates stopping at WiSe's Tavern"
tpart of what later became Gadsby's)
land having a game of golf at the
club which was earlier jockey club"
In Gadsby's Tavern records today
mention is found that in November.
1892, Jonathan Swift, treasurer of the
club, announced meeting of the golf
club to be held at Gadsby's Tavern
evidently a special meeting in town"
as Franklin street in those days lay
far on the outskirts of Alexandrias S
busy community
References in Newspapers.
There are many references in the
early newspapers of Alexandria-"th
Columbian Mirror and Alexandria Ga
Zette,' the Virginia journal and
Alexandria Advertiser and the
Times and Alexandria Advertiser
to the Red House Races held in
May and Sptember, but those inter-
ested in Alexandria's history suggest
that probably Yeats Garden is meant
in these references and not the home
now belonging to the Stevens, as
most of them are published in post
Revolutionary era in the 1790s and
18O0s.
AS for the house itself, the present
home of Mr.. and Mrs. Stevens, there
is the usual generous front porch
supported by tall pillars. Slim Doric
columns are at the back, but the two
by the steps are covered with singles
which Mrs. Stevens believes hide
equally graceful Doric columns.
Picturesque Appearance.
The present front of the house,
facing Franklin street, looks like the
cover of a popular home magazine
With its fresh coat of white paint,
neat green shutters and a pair of
hcspitable settles before the lovely
doorway, it is an especially attractive
house.
Inside, the rooms. as one would ex-
pect. are very large, tall-ceilinged
and square. The beautiful front hall
originally swept unhindered from
front to matching back door At
some time since the original design,
occupants have built an ungraceful
squarish stairway In exactly the
wrong spot and Mr.. Stevens plans to
demolish it very shortly and restore
the original beauty of the hall.
Quite unusual for this type of
house are the two small. delicately
carved marble mantels of French de-
sign which guard the fireplaces in
living and dining rooms. In the lat
ter is a gem of a corner cupboard
with nice old hinges and rather un-
usual lines. Also, in the dining room