Surratt House Restoration

[Jim Page]

Hi--

I was Googling about the archeology of Lincoln-associated sites and found a document that I guess was in support of restoring the Surratt House into what we know today. It had quite a bit of info; 53 pages worth.

What I found most interesting in this document were a series of black-and-white photos of the house prior to being restored. Seeing these images made me wonder what the history of the building was from, say, 1866 to 1975?

I seem to remember the docent on my tour saying that at one time it had served as a doctor's residence or office. Much earlier, in 1901, Osborn H. Oldroyd's book describes his visiting the Surratt House in his walking tour of the escape route in May, 1901. Oldroyd wrote:
The owner of it, Mr. J. W. Wheatley, was sitting on the front porch, and as I walked up and told him my business, stating that I wanted to stop with him until the next day, he at once made me feel at home. The sign at the corner of the house reads: "Village Hotel." The farm originally contained 168 acres. The Surratts sold it to John Hunter, and at his death it was left to Mrs. Addison, a relative, and she sold 117 acres to Mr. Wheatley ten years ago.
(Roger: I tried to make this above portion from Mr. Oldroyd's book set apart as a quote or in italics but couldn't get it to work!)

We are so lucky that this fine house was preserved and can be visited today. Even apart from its Lincoln associations, it's a fascinating place to visit.

--Jim

[L Verge]

Jim, if I knew who your docent was when you visited, he/she would be reprimanded for giving bad information. The house was never lived in by a doctor.

Briefly (for me): The original plat of land bought by John Surratt in 1852 was 287 1/2 acres, but that dwindled down over the years as he sold off parts of it to satisfy debts (stupidly, because that meant he had less to cultivate to bring in money from tobacco sales).

The remaining property was auctioned off in 1869 to settle debts, but did not bring enough to settle them all. Robert Hunter was the successful bidder, but he actually had to turn it over to his wife, who had the money.

Mrs. Addison was the next owner, and we know very little about her except that the Addison family name is one of the very old ones in Prince George's County. She also donated several acres of the farm to the Freedmen's Bureau to establish a school for black children. That school still exists today encased in Clinton's American Legion Post.

Mrs. Addison sold to Mr. Wheatley of Charles County about 1890. He did run a hotel there as well as it being his home and farmland. My grandmother used to talk about the parties that were held at the "hotel," but she and her sister were not allowed to go to them. I have seen a newspaper article about a New Year's ball that was held there. Mr. Wheatley's daughter was still alive when the site was being restored in the 1960s and early-70s, and we were able to interview her. Her daughter was a friend of mine and passed away about three years ago.

The Wheatleys eventually sold the farm to the Penn family, who kept it until the late-1930s. They appear to have sold it to the Seaboard Small Loans Corporation, probably to get money to build new homes on adjacent lands. One of those homes was just demolished within the past year.

In 1937, Mr. B.K. Miller, Sr. purchased what was left of the property and began selling it off in subdivision lots. He had his widowed sister living in part of the historic house and rented the other part to various families - some of whom were not gentle to the place. In the 1950s, the great assassination historian, James O. Hall, was at the house interviewing "Miss Ella," Curtin when he heard chopping going on in the hallway. He investigated and found that one of the other occupants was getting ready to use one of the spindles from the stair bannister as kindling in the fireplace. Mr. Hall retrieved it.

When Miss Ella died in 1965, her brother announced that he was going to tear down the house to make room for a warehouse (he ran a store and liquor establishment across the road). This is when some of the influential citizens of Clinton stepped in to save the structure. Mr. Miller agreed to donate the house to Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission with the understanding that it would be moved about two miles down the road to a regional park. While those negotiations were going on, Mr. Miller died and it took three years to settle his estate.

In that time, we found that you don't get federal funding for restorations that are not on their original site and that the house could not be moved in its entirety. It would have to be dismantled and moved in pieces. (As an aside, my family's 13-room Victorian was moved in 1950 to make way for a dual-lane highway. But, it was only moved about 200 yards to an open sheep meadow and turned around 180 degrees to face south instead of north. We lived in it while it was being moved - about six weeks - with all amenities except water, which had to be brought in from our well. Someday, I'll describe how they did the moving.).

Continuing, the Commission went back to the Miller heirs and asked if they could buy one acre that the house sat on. The family agreed. The price was somewhere between $75-90K for the one acre. This took all the money that had been raised for the restoration and then some. It was not until 1973 that enough money could be raised to start the physical carpentry work. We opened to the public on May 1, 1976, as the first, public house museum in our county. It poured rain that day, and we had over 400 visitors in a few hours. We always blamed the weather on the troop of Yankee re-enactors who had been signed on as part of the ceremonies!

[Jim Page]

(11-22-2012 01:43 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Jim, if I knew who your docent was when you visited, he/she would be reprimanded for giving bad information. The house was never lived in by a doctor.

Hah! I won't reveal the docent's name as my tour was fascinating! If I were a docent, I would make up many interesting items.

Thanks for all the info. I can't imagine the level of effort you and your staff have put in over the years, but it is most appreciated and makes a visit to the Surratt House a never-to-be-forgotten experience. Our family has visited many historic sites but the Surratt House is the tops. And, unlike my visit to a nearby and contemporary house, I left when I wanted to without being prompted.

Happy Thanksgiving!

--Jim

[Hess1865]

I can just guess what house you were 'prompted' to leave......

[Jim Page]

(11-22-2012 07:46 PM)Hess1865 Wrote:  I can just guess what house you were 'prompted' to leave......

We should start a subset society: Recipients of the Muddy Boot!

--Jim

[L Verge]

Jim - I just want to add that Surratt House has been successful for several reasons: 1) We have much-needed financial support from a tax-based government agency which owns us. 2) We have an outstanding group of volunteers (currently about 50), who love the history and continue to study it. 3) I do have a great staff to work with, and 4) We have over 1500 associate members around the world (nearly every state, Canada, England, Belgium, Czech Republic, Australia) who give us financial and moral support.

I think we are one of the best examples of government and community working together that you could ask for.

[Jim Page]

(11-23-2012 12:57 PM)L Verge Wrote:  I think we are one of the best examples of government and community working together that you could ask for.

Laurie, that is no doubt true, but you are a key reason it has worked so well, I'm sure. Such a result is no accident.

I've been involved in many groups and enterprises over the years. Some have been successful and some have skidded into a wall, and it's always been a result of the person driving either having a vision or not having one.

So, thanks!

--Jim

[RJNorton]

Right on, Jim!

[L Verge]

Thank you both. My love of the history has kept me going, as well as the hundreds of friends and associates that I have made along the way. There have been a few rough spots and rough people to deal with, but they are more than overshadowed by the great people I learned from and shared the fun with.

[Jim Page]

(11-23-2012 02:27 PM)L Verge Wrote:  . . . shared the fun with.

Maybe that fun is the secret to success!

When I worked at a Publix Supermarket in high school, I got caught in a bit of spirited horseplay by George Jenkins, the owner and founder; he had stopped by the Naples store unannounced to buy a jar of peanut butter and a loaf of bread.

I was stunned and embarrassed, but he laughed and said, "Hey; if you can't have fun at work, you're in the wrong job."

I've never forgotten that.

--Jim