We’re in the Comics! An Animated History of D.C.’s Start

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Note: Post updated, February 23, 2012, with addition of an older comic — sort of a ‘flashback Flashback,’ regarding another real estate transaction involving Tudor Place forebear Robert Peter. (Click on comics to see enlarged.) 

Close those history books. It’s time to learn a little D.C. history from the “funnies” page!

First, some background: Many people know that Robert Peter

(1726-1806)

, first mayor of Georgetown, tied his family to that of George Washington in 1795, when his son, Thomas

(1769-1834), married Martha Washington’s granddaughter, Martha Parke Custis (1777-1854). Martha and Thomas Peter went on to buy, build and reside at Tudor Place. But what is less well know is that, four years before the wedding, Robert Peter and the President engaged in a different sort of transaction, one that helped to bring about the new District of Columbia.

Georgetown was a wealthy colonial port and the nearby capital city no more than a promise and a sea of mud when the President authorized his agents to secure land for a new city. It’s brought to life in this February 5 “Flashbacks” by Patrick M. Reynolds:

 

CLICK TO VIEW ENLARGED

A successful tobacco merchant, Peter was born in Scotland with little prospect (as a later-born son) of inheriting the family estate of Crossbasket. He is thought to have arrived in the American colonies in 1745. He and his wife, Elizabeth Scott (1744-1812), had 10 children, of whom seven survived to adulthood.

Thomas and Martha Peter also had 10 children, of whom five reached maturity. Britannia (1815-1911), the youngest of these, inherited Tudor Place.

 

 

It would be more than a half century after the Meridien Hill sale before the rustic, under-populated District overtook (and, in 1851, incorporated) its more prosperous neighbor, Georgetown. The property Mayor Peter sold to Washington’s agents later was the site of a 19th-century society “castle” and is now a renowned park.

And here’s another ‘Flashback’ to a later land deal by Robert Peter:

What Lies Beneath: A Peek Behind the Physical Fabric of Tudor Place

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By Elizabeth Peebles, Preservation Manager

While Tudor Place is closed to the public in January, the entire property buzzes with activity to ensure the long-term preservation of collections and buildings. As an added bonus, what’s good for maintenance and preservation is good for scholarship and inquiry.

Tudor Place Foundation exists not just to maintain its historic treasures, but also to learn from and interpret them. Whether we’re replacing a roof, installing new capitals, rebuilding an arbor, restoring an iron gate–most every project we undertake offers insights into the foundations of this noteworthy 1816 estate. Behind every surface, we find clues to how it was built and why it has lasted.

It is humbling to think that only a handful of people (and with this post, you, too!) have ever seen this part of the physical fabric of Tudor Place. Enjoy this peek into three conservation and restoration projects currently underway:

31st Street Entrance
Our iconic entrance gate is showing signs of its age.

Rust is encroaching on the historic iron gates:

So off they went!

Last week, Conservation Solutions hauled the ironwork to their workshop for cleaning and recoating. Conservators will also replicate a few elements, like this missing finial.

The adjacent pedestrian gate will be carted off next for similar treatment and we should be welcoming back the refreshed and renewed gate in four to six weeks. In the meantime, you’ll see this temporary replacement if you visit:

North Entrance Capitals
Tudor Place’s main entrance centers the mansion’s north side and was originally constructed with flanking capitals made from locally quarried Aquia Creek sandstone. During 1914 renovations overseen by Armistead Peter, Jr., the capitals were removed and replaced with pilasters of cast concrete.

At least, we thought they had been removed. When the building’s stucco facade was removed in 2007, we found that much of the original sandstone blocks remained embedded in the thick walls behind the concrete replacements. When the stucco was replaced, these remnants remained hidden behind plaster pilasters temporarily inserted to replace the concrete ones (seen above).

But longer term measures were needed. After considering all the options, our Buildings and Grounds Committee decided to restore Aquia Creek sandstone above the door, after an absence of almost 100 years.

The Virginia-sourced stone appears in some of Washington’s most prominent early buildings, including the White House and U.S. Capitol. George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate, too, has Aquia Creek sandstone features, which proved fortunate for us, as Mount Vernon generously donated an unused piece of the material for use in the new capitals.

First, we removed the temporary plaster-pilaster capitals in place since 2007, revealing the remnants of the beautiful original sandstone. The pieces appear to recede through the full depth of the wall, and you can see the outline of the original molding profile:

As a guide in shaping the new sandstone blocks, the stone carver is referring to molding profile drawings from 1914, as well as traces of the original profiles still seen (as above) in the existing wood trim . It will take him a few weeks of carving before we can install the new pieces.

Temple Portico Roof
While the house’s main entrance anchors the north side, the south facade’s Temple Portico is possibly its most memorable feature. This month, for the first time in at least 100 years, its semi-domed roof is being pulled back, and its frame exposed to the open air.

The project addresses a vexing problem of longstanding. Moisture has been seeping for years into the southeast bedroom on the second floor, opposite the spot where the Temple Portico’s molded-steel gutter meets the exterior outside wall.

 

Earlier, less invasive attempts to repair the damage did not work. (The water damage seen below is usually concealed behind a bureau!)

 

The first option considered was simply relining the gutter. But after further examination, Wagner Roofing recommended completely replacing the Portico’s tin roof and metal flashing, and the Buildings & Grounds Committee approved this approach. The tin pans that comprise the roof are rusting and have grown thin from years of exposure to the elements. As far as we know, the replacement of this roof is the first since the 1800s: 20th-century improvements to the Portico dome appear to have been limited to minor repairs and many, many layers of paint.

Last week we opened a small portion of the roof to investigate existing conditions:

In the photo above right, you can see the pine rafters that shape the dome.

In a few weeks we will have installed the complete scaffolding, documented the existing metal roof, removed the metal, documented the visible wood framing below, and installed new flashing, roof, and gutter liner. Once spring weather arrives, Federal Masonry will return to replace the surrounding stucco removed to install the flashing.

Be sure to check back for pictures of the finished projects. Or better still, visit us soon to see for yourself!

Tudor Place Historic House & Garden, in Georgetown, is one of the District of Columbia’s first National Historic Landmarks. Tours are offered hourly Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Sundays, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. (Doors close at 4:00.) The house is closed Mondays and throughout the month of January. For those seeking insights beyond the regular docent’s tour, special tours can be scheduled for groups of 10 or more.

Tales of a Tudor Place Intern: The Peppercorn Puzzle

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By Sarah Dickey, 2011 summer Collections Intern

Sealed for 90 years, this packet revealed surprises
when our Collections experts opened it.
Sarah was one of several interns
inventorying collections in 2011.

One day this summer, conducting textile inventory with Collections Assistant Joni Joseph, we came across a box that contained several feather fans. Many were in small boxes that had been wrapped with newspaper and tied with string. One of the boxes was wrapped in sheets of the New York Herald from May 22, 1921, and did not appear to have been opened since that date:

Its wrapping, a Long Island newspaper, dated the object to May 22, 1921.

Carefully removing the string and paper, we found a box containing a bright pink feather fan with a tortoiseshell handle. Although the fan was beautiful and extravagant, what caught our attention first was debris covering both it and the bottom of the box.

Part of Caroline Peter’s luxurious wardrobe (including Hermes, Lanvin and stylish gowns from several eras), this
dramatic feather fan was littered with mysterious black debris. What was it?

Our first thought was pest damage, the worst nightmare of any Collections Manager. Upon closer inspection, though, we realized it was actually some sort of plant material. We turned to conservator Barbara Roberts, who determined it was… peppercorns!

Now, why would a fan be sealed in a box strewn with peppercorns? Our instinct was, it must be a home remedy to repel moths or other bugs. Preliminary internet research produced no evidence to back this up, however. Only after more in-depth studying did Joni confirm our suspicions at last, in a 1919 how-to book, Housewifery: A Manual and Text Book of Practical Housekeeping. Writing shortly before our fan went into storage,in a chapter called “To Put Away Clothing,” author Lydia Ray Balderston instructed:

The thoroughly clean garment should be packed in moth-proof containers, which range all the way from tight newspaper wrappings, and sheets of tar paper, to tar-paper bags and cedar chests. Pepper, tar balls, camphor, cedar chips, or a combination of cedar, camphor, and tar, such as is sold in packages, are usually enclosed with garments as an extra precaution. The object of these materials is to keep out moths and other insects, as they are pungent and irritating to the air passages of the insect.

— Balderston, Lydia Ray.  Housewifery: A Manual and Text Book 
of Practical Housekeeping.Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1919.

 

Sarah Dickey at Tudor Place.

The peppercorns certainly worked, as the fan showed no sign of pests or pest damage. It would be interesting to know whether someone at Tudor Place had read this very same manual, or whether the method was common practice at the time. Whatever the case, it was gratifying to see that whoever wrapped this fan 90 years ago was as concerned about preservation and conservation as we are!

Sarah Dickey recently received her M.A. in Museum Studies from George Washington University, with concentrations in Collections Management and Anthropology.

Getting to Know the Trees at Tudor Place

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By Kelly Whitson, Summer Intern, Garden & Grounds
 
My internship in collections management at Tudor Place this summer introduced me to a type of “artifact” I had never worked with before: trees. Tudor Place is rare among historic house museums in undertaking a complete inventory of its woody plant material – some 400 trees on 5.5 leafy acres – to officially accession them into its collection, the same as it does with interior items like dishes, beds and paintings. As a horticulture collections intern to Director of Gardens and Grounds Suzanne Bouchard, my main task was to help research and document about 100 of these trees and enter them into the collections database Suzanne created in the PastPerfect program, with codes and formatting developed to professional standards.
Histories and mysteries: This towering Scarlet Oak, planted in honor of George Washington,
left a hefty “paper trail.” Stories behind other specimens are harder to trace.

In evaluating my internship experience, I find the most unexpected result was a sense of knowing the trees personally. Some of their histories were easily discovered, like the Scarlet Oak, above, planted in 1932 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of George Washington’s birth. Others are mysterious in origin: historic photos, slides, family records, garden committee notes – nothing reveals their planting date or story.

 

The trees’ solidity is comforting, while their
changes are fascinating, even to a novice.
The trees’ structures and growing habits depend on their locations in the garden and provide interesting visual dynamics. From the towering Border Oak and famous Tulip Poplar (at left), which have reigned over the house and garden since the their inception, to the tiny seedlings just “joining” the collection, they all have personalities. Getting up close and personal with them, measuring them, evaluating their health and discussing their histories creates a feeling of intimacy.
I want to visit in the fall to see their changing leaves and return again in the winter to see their “bones.” I want to visit in the spring to see their flowery offerings and in the summer, to be enveloped by their lush green leaves. I encourage visitors, too, to return repeatedly to get to know the trees at Tudor Place:
Their solidity is comforting, while their slow changes and distinct characteristics are fascinating, even to a horticultural novice.

Kelly is an M.S. Candidate in Museum Studies at The George Washington University.

 

Old Roses

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Old Blush Rose
The Peter family has had a long history of admiring and cultivating a very special type of plant…the rose. In the early years of Tudor Place, roses were found in almost every area of the garden: down near the southern perimeter which borders what is now Q St, along the lower walk, and scattered throughout the north garden. Today, visitors to the Tudor Place gardens can still see some of the descendents of the first roses cultivated on the property.

 

Roses were first mentioned in the family writings referring to Martha Custis Peter, who with her husband Thomas purchased Tudor Place in 1805. Their daughter, who inherited Tudor Place, Britannia Kennon remembered a small double flowering white cluster rose, a damask rose, and the hundred leaf roses were in the garden before she was born in 1815. She later wrote, “Every year mother would have the old hundred leaf roses gathered and sent to Mrs. Arney who owned a sweet store on Bridge Street. Mrs. Arney would distill rosewater from rose leaves. It took one bushel of roses to make a bottle of rose water – about a quart. She would keep one bottle and send mother the other.” At one time hundred leaf roses could be found in a large clump in the area which is now known as the Orchard garden. The roses were divided and replanted along the center axis path by Armistead Peter 3rd and were present well into the 20th century. Rosa × centifolia are highly fragrant and still used in perfume making.

 

Another family favorite was the old monthly rose, pink daily, or “Old Blush” rose. This rose is a hybrid of the first China rose and was brought into cultivation in the 1750’s. The old monthly rose was at Tudor Place from the beginning. Martha Custis Peter had this rose saved and transplanted in the garden while the house was being built. It was returned to its proper place and replanted by the parlor window after the house was complete in 1816. The monthly rose is still grown on the south side of the house by the parlor window. We believe the specimens on the south façade are cuttings from the original rose bush.

 

Tudor Place has many antique varieties and newer cultivars in the garden. Some are in their original locations while others have been moved due to changing growing conditions. The roses have been admired by family and visitors for over a century. In an 1879 article for the Georgetown College Journal, Mrs. Anna W. Dorsey writes ”In summer the grounds, in which Mrs. Peter took great delight and pride, present a scene of unrivalled beauty with their great shade trees, and sloping velvety lawns, flowers of every shape and hue, vines, shrubbery with rare varieties and, above all, thousands of roses as famous for their beauty and fragrance as the ‘thrice blooming rose of Paestrum'”. Tudor Place continues this tradition.

National Public Garden Day

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On May 6th, we will be participating in National Public Garden Day sponsored by the American Public Garden Association and Rain Bird. This event gives us an opportunity to highlight our historic landscape and our ongoing preservation efforts. The Tudor Place gardens have evolved over the past 200 years with each generation of the Peter family leaving their imprint on the garden. Thomas and Martha Custis Peter purchased the property in 1805 using an $8000 legacy left to her by George Washington, Martha’s step grandfather. They set about designing formal garden spaces to improve the landscape of their new suburban villa along with the agricultural areas of the property. Some of those formal features can still be seen today.
The most outstanding feature that still survives is the English boxwood Ellipse on the north side of the house. This hedge was originally kept at twelve inches high and had a large black locust tree (the stump is still there) in the northwest portion where visitors’ horses would be tied. Martha Peter wrote in her journal that the horses would nibble the boxwood hedge while they were waiting. The original formal features in the north garden also included the east garden which was the original home of the knot garden, the west garden square which was more open, and the circle seat overlooking the dell which was enlarged in 1930. The South Lawn’s formal features extended to the east and west islands which were typical design elements of an English inspired landscape. In 1805, the house overlooked the port of Georgetown and the beginnings of Washington, DC.
We will be offering two free guided tours of the garden on May 6th at 11 am and 2 pm, each led by a member of the garden staff. The garden will also be open for our regular self guided tours from 10 am to 4 pm. Admission to the garden will be free for this event and we will have a plant sale on May 6th and 7th to celebrate National Public Garden Day highlighting our plant material including English boxwood cuttings from the Ellipse.
Please join us on May 6th to celebrate National Public Garden Day.

Garden Restoration at Tudor Place

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Over 178 years of Peter family ownership, Tudor Place’s garden has seen many changes and improvements. In 1969, the last Peter owner, Armistead Peter, 3rd, published his book on the history and evolution of Tudor Place. Included at the end of the book was a formal landscape plan that he had commissioned for that purpose. The plan details the garden’s structure as well as the tree and shrub plantings around the property. This map gives us the clearest view of the family’s intentions and leads our preservation efforts.

A garden by nature is not a static entity. With a changing landscape, preservation becomes a challenge. Questions arise concerning the future of plantings and what to do when replacements are necessary. Over the years, as weather patterns change and plants mature, changes become necessary in the garden. This past week we held our second planting event with the help of Casey Trees. With their help we have added 24 new trees to the Tudor Place landscape in less than a year.

 

 

As part of our garden restoration project, each missing tree was looked at to determine the feasibility of replanting the same species. For most trees, the same species is still available and were replanted. There were a few trees which required decisions to be made. Most were easy decisions like the American elm we planted last fall. Originally the south lawn was home to three English elms but with the threat of Dutch elm disease and the reality that a red maple and beech tree had been planted in previous years, only one could be restored. We chose to plant a more disease resistant variety of elm, ‘Valley Forge’. Another example would be the three Malus species needed for screening the tool shed on the western side of the south lawn. Originally a tea crabapple and two carmine crabapples stood there. With the difficulty of acquiring those exact species, two newer species were chosen to provide a similar look to the landscape and overall better disease resistance. The hardest decision involves the copper beech trees on the north façade. According to family lore, these trees were bought by Tudor Place’s second owner, Brittania Peter Kennon, from a travelling peddler. Since there is such a variance in what is considered a true copper beech tree, we are not sure what type of tree she purchased. The true variety, ‘Cuprea’, is very difficult to find today and we have not found documentation that this variety was what the peddler was selling. These trees have not been replanted yet.

 

The ongoing restoration of the garden is an important project which requires research, understanding, and patience. Tudor Place has been fortunate to partner with an organization like Casey Trees to help us move forward toward accomplishing our goals. We would like to thank the staff and volunteers of Casey Trees, the Nussbaum family for sponsoring our spring planting, and the garden staff and volunteers of Tudor Place for being a part of the preservation efforts here at Tudor Place.

 

 

 

BOLD COLORS

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As warmer temperatures arrive, more plants begin to emerge from their winter slumber. Along with the abundance of white flowers like those of the cherry trees (P. x yedoensis and P. subhirtella), bridalwreath spirea (S. prunifolia) and Kobus Magnolia (M. kobus), the garden at Tudor Place boasts some bold spring color.

 

 

 

Spread throughout the garden, visitors will come across bold reds, bright yellows, and vibrant purples among the whites, pinks, and greens. Nestled in the northern beds of the Tennis Lawn, yellow Primula are in full bloom while in the kitchen beds, our red Primula veria are about to bloom. The Florentine tulips which we are known for are beginning to open along the center walk and the forsythia is still holding on to its color.
The center walk is showing reds and bronzes with the emergence of this season’s peonies and astilbe. Reds can also be seen along the entrance walk and East Island where the flowering quince is full of red flowers. While the crocus has come and gone, our vibrant purples can be found in groups of grape hyacinths and beds of Vinca in full bloom.
Spring at Tudor Place is a wonderful time of year with the garden offering something new to be enjoyed every day.

SPRING

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The last two weeks have been very busy in the Tudor Place garden. We have sheared the box hedges throughout the north garden and renovated the center axis grass pathway. We have also completed the overseeding of our turf areas in preparation for our upcoming events. Spring has arrived at Tudor Place…

Mertensia virginica, Summerhouse Walk

 

Narcissus spp., Center Walk

 

Prunus subhirtella & Forsythia, East Island

In the Garden, Early March

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This week has been busy in the garden and our recent weather has everyone eager for spring. Visitors and staff have remarked on how great the garden looks and have stopped to admire the early flowering bulbs like the crocus coming up in the Thistle Terrace lawn. We have been working hard this winter to get things ready for the upcoming year. Last week, one of our oldest Catalpa trees and a smaller holly (Ilex opaca) on the South Lawn were professionally pruned to take care of some broken limbs damaged in recent storms. Two California Incense Cedar (Calocedrus decurrens) trees by the grape arbor are being removed this month because both trees are diseased and have been officially deemed hazardous. The lean of one tree has become a major concern for visitor safety while its neighbor lost most of its canopy last year during an August storm. We will be replacing both trees in the near future.

Late winter is the time to prune rose bushes. Pruning practices vary depending on rose species and location. We cut back our floribundas and hybrid teas in our knot garden to reduce their size in relation to the boxwood (Buxus sempervirens ‘Suffruticosa’) hedges. The remaining rose species around the property are pruned to remove dead wood and to reshape them like our moss, damask, and china varieties. We also apply lime sulfur spray to our roses to get a jump start on our rose maintenance program.