Today we went to Richmond, Virginia to see the Maymont Mansion. Maymont was built between 1891 to 1893 by a wealthy businessman named, James Dooley and his wife Sallie. The home was built during the Gilded Age and show all the best of that period. The property sits high above the James River and is 100 acres. The architect was Edgerton Stewart Rogers who was born and educated in Rome. The house is 12,000 square feet with 33 rooms. The Dooley’s lived here for 32 years. At the time of their deaths, the property and home were gifted to the City of Richmond.

Today, it is a well preserved historic home with most of the original furniture that was purchased by the Dooley’s. It also has several outbuilding and extensive gardens. We were not able to take pictures inside, but believe me, it was VERY Victorian. We did learn one thing we didn’t know about the Victorian Age and it’s social protocol. As a lady of society, if you were to visit Mrs. Dooley, you were expected only to stay for 15 minutes. If you stayed longer, you were what they called a “Day Gobbler”. When word would get around about you staying over your time, you would not be invited to anyone’s home.

You can see more about Maymont on their website. We recommend if you are in the area to stop by and see this beautiful property. One note, wear good walking shoes! There is allot of ground to cover and most of it is hills.

http://www.maymont.org

To see more pictures from our day at Maymont,

Please visit our Belle Grove Plantation Facebook page!

More garden, inside the museum basement and carriage house!

.