Mansion

Future of mansion uncertain By DON AINES Staff Writer, Martinsburg MARLOWE, W.Va. - "Tara it isn't," Hal Dunham said Thursday, making a somewhat unfavorable comparison between Maidstone and the fictional O'Hara plantation in "Gone With the Wind. " The branches of trees form a canopy over the long lane that leads to the manor house from McKowan Road, but the brick steps are partially covered with moss and the four white pillars of the porch are rotting at their bases.

charlestown@herald-mail.com CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - A berm made of contaminated soil from an old orchard and standing 23 feet high will be used to separate the 3,200-home Huntfield development from the historic Claymont mansion, officials said at a Charles Town Planning Commission meeting Monday night. A Huntfield official said using the contaminated soil to build the berm does not pose any public health risk and said the berm will be constructed in accordance with state regulations.

by Ric Dugan / staff photographer see the enlargement Internet sending W.Va. kids to governor's mansion MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Fourth-grader Trevor Herbert wants to know how big Gov. Cecil Underwood's mansion is. Later this month, he and his classmates at Valley View Elementary School near Martinsburg may find out. The fourth-grade class at Valley View won an Internet scavenger hunt in a competition with the other fourth-grade classes in Berkeley County.

The Berkeley County Farmland Protection Board on Thursday approved a preservation easement for Boydville, the 200-year-old mansion in Martinsburg that was spared from burning by direct order of President Lincoln in the Civil War. The easement for the late Georgian-style home at 601 S. Queen St., along with a conservation easement for the acreage around it, ultimately will be held by the farmland protection board when the 13-acre estate is sold...

HAGERSTOWN - Hundreds of people strolled through the Plumb Grove mansion near Clear Spring on Saturday to get a taste of the way Christmas was celebrated in the 19th century. David Wiles, president of the Clear Spring District Historical Association, said Plumb Grove by Candle Light is held one day every year so people can better understand the importance of historic preservation. The mansion, which was built in 1831, was deteriorating until the historical association gained ownership in 1981, he said.

BOONSBORO - Devil's Backbone Park, the second-oldest park in Washington County, offers fishing, walking trails, picnicking and canoeing. The nearby Delemare mansion was owned more than 100 years ago by the Rev. Bartholomew Booth. The mansion was used as a boys' school, which Benedict Arnold's son attended. Mills Bridge, at the end of one side of the park, was built by Charles Wilson for $2,700 in 1883. Devil's Backbone Park facts Hours: Daily from 9 a.m. to sundown, although the park often opens earlier for fishing.

The director of the county farmland board updated the Berkeley County Council Thursday on the status of the sprawling Boydville estate. The Berkeley County Farmland Protection Board acquired Boydville in 2005 for $2.25 million. The purchase, undertaken to stop proposed residential development on the leafy 13-acre property at 601 S. Queen St., was made with the assistance of $750,000 from the city of Martinsburg. Since then, the farmland board has been unsuccessful in finding a new use for the estate, which includes a circa-1812 mansion that was spared by direct order of President Abraham Lincoln in the Civil War. Robert "Bob" White, farmland protection board director, told council members that the board had spent a “substantial amount” of money on maintaining the grounds of the estate and the mansion, but could not provide a more precise figure when council President William L. “Bill” Stubblefield asked for it. Stubblefield applauded the board’s efforts regarding Boydville, but encouraged the board to “aggressively” work to determine the estate’s future for the long term.

CLEAR SPRING - It was the revival of an Independence Day celebration held in Clear Spring from 1820 through the Civil War. So it was appropriate for the town's Independence Jam, held Sunday, to be at historic Plumb Grove on Broadfording Road. Elizabeth Lay, who helped organize the event, said she wanted the evening to have an "old-fashioned" atmosphere. "We wanted a sort of old-fashioned comfortable celebration," she said. A barbershop quartet sang to groups of three or more gathered on the mansion grounds, and there was a reading of the Declaration of Independence.

Rude Mechanicals hold auditions SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - The Rude Mechanicals Medieval and Renaissance Players will hold auditions for "Wit and Science" from 8 to 10 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 21, and Thursday, Jan. 22, in Reynolds Hall at Shepherd University. Renaissance faire seeking actors MANHEIM, Pa. - The Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire is seeking professional and semi-professional actors, independent performers and stage crewmembers to transport patrons back to the 16th century.

bonnieb@herald-mail.com GREENCASTLE, Pa. - Two private homes in the Greencastle-Antrim area played a part in American history, and on Sunday they were decorated for Christmas and open to the public. Michael Lushbaugh's Victorian mansion on Mason Dixon Road was once used as a stop on the Underground Railroad, and a president and his wife stayed overnight in 1929 in the home Barry and Carolyn Shoemaker now own. The homes were part of the 2004 Heritage Christmas Home Tour, the fifth year the Greencastle-Antrim Chamber of Commerce has coordinated the event.

An open house celebration commemorating completion of a $300,000 restoration project plus the movement of 264 acres into permanent farmland protection status will be held Sunday at the Claymont Society's main mansion from noon to 2 p.m. The 34-room house off Huyett Road was built in 1820, the largest of 12 mansions built in Jefferson County by siblings, relatives and descendants of George Washington in the late 18th and early 19th centuries....

The Berkeley County Farmland Protection Board on Thursday approved a preservation easement for Boydville, the 200-year-old mansion in Martinsburg that was spared from burning by direct order of President Lincoln in the Civil War. The easement for the late Georgian-style home at 601 S. Queen St., along with a conservation easement for the acreage around it, ultimately will be held by the farmland protection board when the 13-acre estate is sold...

Clear Spring's Plumb Grove Mansion took on the role of the Lincoln White House during filming Monday and Tuesday for a Civil War-themed documentary for the Smithsonian Channel. The documentary will be a three-part series currently called “Smithsonian Civil War Treasure” shows created byWashington, D.C.-based television production company The Biscuit Factory. The three shows document the experience of the Union, the experience of the Confederacy and the story of the ending of slavery.

On May 5 and 6, the  Mansion House Art Center will participate in the annual Washington County Museum Ramble. The event is free. The art center will be open Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. From May 4 to 27, Valley Art Association photography members will exhibit “Shoot the Civil War” in the North Gallery of the Mansion House Art Center. Discovery Station to unveil Moller exhibit Discovery Station will have a ribbon-cutting event Tuesday at noon for the opening of its Moller organ exhibit.

There is no better time for painting than the morning hours, Rachel Stevenson insists. This is when the sun is gentle, the day still soft and the creative juices are ready to flow. And there's no place she'd rather start a day than in her studio, tucked behind her Hagerstown home and filled with early light that settles perfectly on her paints and canvases. If she had her way, it's a routine that would seldom vary. But as a mother who home-schools her children and occasionally does daycare, there's no such thing as routine.

Amy Seville says her children were so familiar with living in a cramped, in-town apartment, they seem to forget they can play in a yard now. The four children ride their bicycles in the garage until their parents urge them to go outside and explore the property secured with assistance from Habitat for Humanity. “It's like a mansion to us,” Jason Seville said of the three-bedroom home. Habitat for Humanity of Franklin County, Pa., obtained the Punch Bowl Road house when it was listed as a foreclosure.

The director of the county farmland board updated the Berkeley County Council Thursday on the status of the sprawling Boydville estate. The Berkeley County Farmland Protection Board acquired Boydville in 2005 for $2.25 million. The purchase, undertaken to stop proposed residential development on the leafy 13-acre property at 601 S. Queen St., was made with the assistance of $750,000 from the city of Martinsburg. Since then, the farmland board has been unsuccessful in finding a new use for the estate, which includes a circa-1812 mansion that was spared by direct order of President Abraham Lincoln in the Civil War. Robert "Bob" White, farmland protection board director, told council members that the board had spent a “substantial amount” of money on maintaining the grounds of the estate and the mansion, but could not provide a more precise figure when council President William L. “Bill” Stubblefield asked for it. Stubblefield applauded the board’s efforts regarding Boydville, but encouraged the board to “aggressively” work to determine the estate’s future for the long term.

Valley Art Association will hold an open house Wednesday, May 25, at 7 p.m. at the Mansion House Art Gallery in Hagerstown City Park. Lynn Ferris, a member of the National Watercolor Society, will give a demonstration. The public is invited. Refreshments will be served. West End Lions Club West End Lions Club news: • On April 16, the club held its first spaghetti dinner, and even though the weather didn’t cooperate, the dinner was fairly successful. The club will try again in the future.

The Mansion House Art Gallery at Hagerstown City Park invites the community to visit for an evening of art and refreshments on Wednesday, May 25, at 7 p.m. Lynn Ferris, a member of the National Watercolor Society, will be on hand for a demonstration.   A brief business meeting and election of officers for Valley Art Association will precede the demonstration. Calendar of events for the Mansion House Art Gallery is as follows:    June 3 to 5; 10 to 12; 17 to 19; and 24 to 26, the North Gallery Miniature exhibit and the North Gallery Exhibit titled “Summer Sunrises” will be on display.

I got a call last week from a gentleman wanting to know if I could clone Stink, my stink bug-eating rooster. The caller said he'd take 10. The sad truth is that Stink is stuffed to the gills. All our free-range chickens are. No lie, they don't even bother to come around at 4 in the afternoon anymore, the time when I usually throw them a pot of cracked corn. I go out looking for chickens to feed, but those that I see give me that "No, really, I couldn't eat another bite" look that is quite out of character for any farm critter.