United States of America -- Virginia -- Frederick County -- Middletown
Scope and Contents:
The folder includes worksheets and photocopies of articles about the property.
General:
Major Isaac Hite Jr., who fought with the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, and his first wife Eleanor (Nelly) Conway Madison, a sister of President James Madison, built the Federal style house beginning in 1794, using limestone quarried on the 483 acre property. The landscape plan included groves of trees for shade and was influenced by the less formal 18th century English gardens that complement rather than contrast with the natural setting. The fields would have been planted in grain for livestock, including cattle and Merino sheep. During Hite's lifetime the property was expanded to 7,500 acres and included a distillery and several mills. The house has a south façade of dressed limestone, and is in the pavilion style favored by Thomas Jefferson. There are several outbuildings. The only records of the garden show light foundation plantings around the house and a latticework fence.
During the Civil War, Belle Grove Plantation was the setting of the Battle of Cedar Creek on October 19, 1864, in which Union General Philip Sheridan defeated Confederate General Jubal Early.
The Brumback family owned the property from 1907 to 1929. Francis Welles Hunnewell purchased the property in 1929 and bequeathed it to the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1964.
In 1983, the Garden Club of Virginia voted to restore the gardens at Belle Grove Plantation, using funds raised in their annual garden walks. The gardens were restored to the style of circa 1820. University of Connecticut Professor Emeritus Rudy J. Favretti (Fellow in the American Society of Landscape Architects) designed the restoration. Restoration included pruning the trees to restore light to the house and open the view of the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains and replacing the large foundation plantings including diseased boxwoods with low-growing plants. In addition, an overgrown herb garden was converted to a demonstration garden comprised of plants used in cooking, medicine and commerce in the 19th century, with restored latticework fencing on three sides and post and rail fencing on the fourth side.
Belle Grove Plantation, now 283 acres, is operated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and open to the public. Sites on the grounds include the ice house, old hall, dairy, smokehouse, blacksmiths shop, demonstration garden, slave cemetery, and agricultural fields. There is also a library of local, architectural, crafts and agricultural history, and an artifacts collection.
Persons associated with the property include Major Isaac Hite (former owner, 1794-1836) and descendents of the Hite family, the Brumback family (former owner, 1907-1929), Francis Welles Hunnewell (former owner, 1929), Rudy J. Favretti (1983, restoration landscape architect) and the National Trust for Historic Preservation (owner, 1964-present)
Related Materials:
Belle Grove Plantation related holdings consist of 2 folders (1 3 x 4 in. lantern slide and 3 35mm slides)
See also the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
See others in:
Hollerith Collection, ca. 1970?
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
Now a public park comprised of walled gardens, memorial plaques, sculpture and open space for town events including the annual Christmas tree the approximately one acre site was developed beginning in 1978. Land was donated to contain memorials for notable colonial Virginians: Colonel James Taylor II and his wife Martha Thompson, who were the great-grandparents of President James Madison, and Lieutenant Governor and explorer Alexander Spotswood (1676-1740). Members of The Dolley Madison Garden Club were instrumental in funding and overseeing the design, donating and planting trees and 4,000 bulbs, and for ongoing upkeep of the gardens every Wednesday for ten years. The Main Street plaza is paved with brick and has brick walls, metal benches, a central round fountain, seasonal planters, ten willow oak trees and a raised bed with dogwood and spring bulbs. Curvilinear gravel paths lead through the Perennial garden planted with ground covers, shrubs and trees. Trees include river birch, hemlock, native and kousa dogwood, tulip poplar, magnolia, red oak, and redbud. Shrubs include azalea, rhododendron, barberry, various hydrangeas, and knock out roses. High brick walls screen out noise and enhance privacy. The Spotswood memorial plaza has plaques on a high brick wall detailing Spotswood's expeditions into the unexplored West and a metal sculpture. There is open space for community gatherings and events, shaded by amur maackia trees. A path through a mounded area planted with large evergreens and understory leads to the South garden, site of the annual community Christmas tree. There is a large metal sculpture of the word LOVE by local blacksmith Stokes of England, a promotion for tourism in the state.
Persons associated with the garden include: Orange County Bicentennial Commission (former owner, 1974- ); Taylor Spotswood Memorial Foundation, Inc. (former owner, 1984- ); Town of Orange (owner, 1997- ); The Resources Group (preliminary park design concept, 1974); Ben Johnson and Robert Fraser, (landscape architects of schematic park design, 1978); John F. James (landscape architect for proposed repaving plan, 2013).
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
American Society of Landscape Architects Search this
Extent:
1 Negatives (photographic) (black-and-white, 3.5 x 6 in.)
Type:
Archival materials
Negatives (photographic)
Negatives
Reproductions
Place:
England
United Kingdom -- England -- Kent -- Tonbridge
Date:
1908.
General:
Original was a nitrate negative which has been digitized and the nitrate negative destroyed. A duplicate film negative is at Photographic Services, Smithsonian Institution (OIPPS). Negative Number: 94-7205.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Assembled by collectors Dr. Henry D. Rosin and Nancy Rosin to document nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century photography of Japan. Includes albumen prints, portions handcolored, some signed and numbered in the negative. Taken by photographers Felice Beato (b. ca. 1825), Baron Raimon von Stillfried (1938-1911), Kusakabe Kimbei (active 1880s), Ueno Hikoma (1838-1904), Ogawa Kazumasa (1860-1929) and unknown photographers to depict architecture, landscapes, formal studio portraits, and daily activities.
Arrangement:
Organized chronologically by the creators.
Biographical / Historical:
Henry and Nancy Rosin were collectors of Japanese photography of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan. FSA.A1999.35. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Purchase and partial donation.
Printed catalog of the Kimbei Studio in Yokohama, one of the leading commercial studios in Japan in the mid and late Meiji period. The catalog is divided by Costumes (mostly studio portraits and assemblages), and then by scenic regions. The catalog has extensive annotations in pencil and red ink.
Biographical / Historical:
Born to a family of textile merchants in Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture, Kusakabe Kimbei moved to Yokohama in 1859. Although unclear, Kusakabe apprenticed under either Felice Beato and/or Raimond von Stillfried. Kimbei managed a studio in Yokohama, first at Bentendori until 1881, then later at Honchodori. His photo studio catered primarily to visiting foreigners.
Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan. FSA.A1999.35. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Purchase and partial donation.
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
Craft presentations at the 1969 Festival focused on two themes: 1) sheep shearing and wool processing, and 2) corn culture. For the former, visitors could see sheep being sheared and the resulting wool carded, spun, and used in weaving. Milling songs from Scotland and from Massachusetts rounded out the program. The corn culture program showed different methods of milling and grinding corn, foodways from cornbread to corn liquor, and various crafts utilizing corn shucks. In addition, craft demonstrators included basket makers, blacksmiths, carvers and toy-makers, and a potter, with a special focus on Seminole crafts from Florida.
The sheep shearing and wool processing demonstration was sponsored by the American Sheep Producers Council, Inc. and the Wool Bureau, Inc. The corn culture exhibit was sponsored by the American Corn Miller's Federation and the Corn Refiners Association, Inc. Arkansas Arts and Humanities supported the participation of Arkansas craftspeople, and National Airlines sponsored the Seminole Indian participants.
Participants:
Sheep Shearing and Wool Processing
Jack Matthews, exhibit consultant & shearing, Maryland
Taft Greer, 1908-1986, weaving, Tennessee
Norman Kennedy, 1934-, spinning, vegetable dyeing, weaving & milling, Virginia
Kay Basler, milling songs, Massachusetts
John Beaton, milling songs, Massachusetts
Joseph MacKenzie, milling songs, Massachusetts
Peter MacLean, milling songs, Massachusetts
Malcolm MacCellan, milling songs, Massachusetts
Christine Gillis, milling songs, Massachusetts
Ellen Smith, Navajo, carding, spinning, weaving, Arizona
Bea Hensley, 1919-2013, blacksmith, North Carolina
Mike Hensley, blacksmith, North Carolina
Mrs. Roy Harris, wooden figures & miniature tools carver, Arkansas
Edsel Martin, dulcimer-maker & figure-carver, North Carolina
Sal Paper, 1891-1972, lead toy maker, New York
Edgar Tolson, 1904-1984, wooden figure carver, Kentucky
Maisey Coburn, apple face doll maker, Arkansas
Mrs. Roy Harris, poppet doll maker, Arkansas
Vernon Owens, 1941-, potter, Jugtown Pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina
Collection Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1969 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
