| Some people love old houses-- the older and the | | | | famous swan-shaped bed, now at Maymont. Some |
| bigger the better. And if they're historic and | | | | claim the house is haunted by her ghost. |
| palatial--and maybe, haunted--what could be more | | | | After Sallie's death, the home was willed to Dooley's |
| perfect? | | | | sisters, who then sold it. It was turned into a country |
| One example is Swannanoa, a lost but magnificent | | | | club complete with an 18-hole golf course, but it closed |
| mansion on Afton Mountain, just off the Blue Ridge | | | | after three years. It was then leased to a philosopher, |
| Parkway half-way between Staunton and | | | | sculptor, and architect, Walter Russell. He and his wife |
| Charlottesville. Nearly 100 years old, this somewhat | | | | lived there until their deaths; it was used by their |
| crumbling, Italianate palace is like a neglected, poor | | | | followers in the University of Science and Philosophy |
| cousin to the lovingly-kept Maymont estate in | | | | until 1998. |
| Richmond. Both were built by former Confederate | | | | The current owner, James Dulaney, claims that his |
| soldier James Dooley during the Gilded Age. | | | | long-term plans are to turn the estate into a bed and |
| Picture Maymont--an elaborate estate that has since | | | | breakfast. He's the leader in a consortium that has |
| been turned into a popular city park/zoo/nature | | | | owned the property (and the neglected motel that you |
| preserve. Now picture Maymont as it might look today | | | | can see from I-64 at the crest of Afton Mountain) |
| if it had been largely left to ruin the last few | | | | since 1942. |
| decades...and you have Swannanoa. | | | | But it's hard to believe that he'll ever manage to get |
| A certain sadness clings to the estate, with its tattered | | | | the huge amount of funds needed to rehabilitate the |
| yellow silk wallpaper, it cavernous rooms stripped of all | | | | place before it falls down around his ears. "It's one of |
| furniture and adornments, its marble terraces collapsing | | | | those things that will just disappear," said Edwards. |
| in spots. As you peer through the paneled rooms, the | | | | In the meantime, Swannanoa is open to the public |
| dark elevator, and overgrown gardens, you try to | | | | almost a dozen weekends this year. The remaining |
| picture the house as it might have looked when | | | | dates are the afternoons of August 7-8 and 14-15; |
| Dooley, and his wife, Sallie May, built it in 1912. Then you | | | | Sept. 4-5 and 11-12; and Oct. 2-3, 9-10, and 16-17. It's |
| can't help but think of their ghosts floating through the | | | | also available for rent for weddings and special events. |
| empty, echoing halls, exclaiming in horror, "What have | | | | Admission is $6. It's a self-guided tour, although Delaney |
| they done to our house?" | | | | is generally on hand to answer a few questions. |
| "It reminds me of 'The Fall of the House of Usher'," said | | | | All in all, it's still worth seeing the place for a glimpse into |
| local resident Virginia Edwards, citing the infamous | | | | the Gilded Age and a level of wealth that is long gone. |
| collapsing house in the short story by Edgar Allan Poe. | | | | Be sure to walk up the staircase past the authentic |
| Having lived on Afton Mountain since 1968, Edwards | | | | Tiffany window depicting Sallie May, then go up to the |
| has witnessed Swannanoa's gradual decay over the | | | | third floor. And as you take in the magnificent views of |
| years. | | | | the valley from the tower windows, maybe, just |
| After James died in 1925, Sallie May lived on for two | | | | maybe, you'll imagine you hear the Dooleys weeping |
| more years. She died here in 1927, supposedly in her | | | | for their lost castle on the hill. |