Victorian, 18th century decorations to transport visitors back in time
WASHINGTON – Swags decorated with gold ball ornaments and red ribbons hang below the windows at the historic LeMoyne House. A matching twig and pine wreath graces the front door, welcoming visitors for what to expect inside – a Victorian Christmas in the early 1900s. “We told the volunteer groups and the individuals who decorated the home that we wanted to make it look like a Victorian house at Christmas time,” said Leslie Yoder, education coordinator at the Washington County Historical Society. “They did a very good job of decorating the house for the turn of the century.”
John Julius LeMoyne, a successful practicing physician, built the two-story house of native sandstone in 1812. The stately home, which was Pennsylvania’s first National Historic Landmark of the Underground Railroad, features green shutters and cream-colored columns.
As they walk through the expansive house, visitors will be captivated by the home’s unique features, which serve as the backdrop for the elaborate Victorian decorations, according to Yoder.
“The Victorian decorations are what I would call very gaudy,” she said. “The people who lived in the Victorian period liked lots of things. There are lots of ornaments and bows everywhere. Visitors will see many angels and paper fans in rich colors like burgundy and green, which were popular in the Victorian era.”
Yoder said the home’s first floor parlor showcases an intricately carved wooden fireplace mantel, which is painted white. Gold angels sit on the mantel, which is adorned with assorted pine and decorated with burgundy and white flowers.
A Christmas tree in the parlor is trimmed with popcorn strands, paper fans, paper chains and paper blocks with pictures of rocking horses, angel faces and Victorian girls. White lace doilies and cranberry strands also decorate the tree.
The home features original hardwood floors and an original wooden staircase, Yoder said. Pine garland is interwoven through each wooden post of the staircase. An elaborate arrangement filled with pine, pine cones, holly, fruit and lace sits on the larger wooden post at the bottom of the staircase.
As visitors leave the parlor, Yoder said they will enter the apothecary or doctor’s office, which displays antique medical equipment and instruments that would have been used in the early 1800s.
“We will show visitors what would have been the doctor’s waiting room because there is a separate entrance,” she said. “The room has glass cases filled with early medical equipment, and other cases filled with herbs that doctors would have used as medical treatments.”
In the dining room, Yoder said visitors’ attention will focus on another fireplace with a mantel decorated for the holidays with gold angel candleholders, candles and pine garland. Woven into the garland is red ribbon with gold edging and white poinsettias.
The dining room table features a white tablecloth with strands of pearls and gold ribbon. Sitting on gold lace placements is china decorated with holly and trimmed with a gold rim. Burgundy cloth napkins are rolled and tied together with small pieces of holly. A Christmas centerpiece on the dining room table includes candles, holly, pine and fruit.
Yoder said the Marsha Washington Garden Club decorated the dining room.
“The garden club has been helping to decorate the house for years because they take care of Madeleine’s Garden, which is located on the grounds,” she said. “We usually have to recruit other groups to help us decorate every year. These groups provide the decorations, but they tell us if there is anything else they need, and we augment what they need.”
The home’s second floor includes a Civil War room, which displays artifacts from the Civil War ranging from antique cannon balls and firearms to personal items that belonged to President Grant. Yoder explained that Grant made trips to Washington, Pa., because his wife was related to William Renshaw Smith, who founded a military academy called Trinity Hall.
“We have President Grant’s ring, checker set and his binoculars in the Civil War room,” she said. “That room opened in July 2001 because we had a lot of objects from the Civil War period, and there is such a great interest in that time period.”
The Military Heritage Museum, which is also located on the second floor, is full of artifacts that have a connection to Washington County. These include guns and uniforms used by the ancestors of local residents, who donated them to the museum.
The David Bradford House, the first stone house built west of the Alleghenies in 1788, is owned by the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, according to Myrna Hart, director. The commission provided the beautiful period furniture and rugs displayed throughout the two-story house.
Hart said the home’s exterior is decorated with natural pine. Seven rooms are open to the public inside the home, which is larger than it appears.
“The downstairs ceilings are 12-feet high, and the upstairs ceilings are 14-feet high, which gives the illusion of more space,” she said. “It was a wonderful way to have air conditioning in the summer time because the heat rises. In the winter time, it was important to have the smoke from fireplaces rise above people’s heads.”
The home’s magnificent mahogany staircase is partly original, said Hart, explaining that some of the wooden pieces were discovered between the walls during the restoration process.
“There were seven different owners of the house, and it was even rented a few times,” she said. “It was used as a grocery store at one point.”
Hart said the home features a nice-size lobby, where docents dressed in period costume give historical talks to school children about the home’s significance.
The home’s elegant dining room features a huge fireplace that serves as the room’s focal point. .
Hart said the most unique piece of furniture in the dining room is a pianoforte, which is made of mahogany inlaid and lined with dark and light woods. It was construction in Philadelphia during the late 1700s.
“It has a shorter keyboard, and the wood is just beautiful,” she said. “But it was difficult to play because you had to press hard.”
The home’s upstairs features three main rooms, including a master bedroom, children’s bedroom and the upstairs ladies parlor, which also served as a sewing room.
Hart said the home’s interior is decorated in a simple style.
“We tried to decorate the home as closely as we could to what it would have actually looked like at Christmas time in the 1700s,” she said. “We have swags in the front of the house and flood lights to show off the house at night. We decorate the front picket fence with twigs and greenery. We’re hoping that people will notice the outside of the house and decide to come inside for a tour to see what it’s all about.”