1840's Dunnington Mansion - Project Updates
Hi all! This is another post about a really cool restoration project - the 1840's Dunnington Mansion in Farmville, VA. You can see one of my previous posts, along with several other on-site pictures, below:
Quite a few people had asked for updates when they were available, so we finally have one!
For anyone unfamiliar, the house was built in the 1840's and was added onto thru the 1890's. It was abandoned in the early 2000's after the investors who owned it encountered financial issues. A storm in 2009 peeled part of the roof off of the back of the house. The ensuing water damage and elemental exposure led to the partial collapse of parts of the house, including the floor in a front room and the front porch, as well. The roof was repaired in 2023, but 15 years of exposure to the elements have left some areas extremely unstable.
The Dunnington Mansion Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, was allowed access to steward the house and take care of day-to-day maintenance, fundraise, and promote the Mansion via guided tours and things like music videos.
After a very, very lengthy process, the DMF formally took ownership of the Mansion from the previous owners this past Summer, and restoration work has begun in earnest.
It's been small steps at first, as donations and grant funds become available, but the brush, bushes, and overgrowth that encroached on the Mansion for decades has been completely cleared, and grading around the base of the building has been completed (so that water flows AWAY from the Mansion, instead of into it). The 20+ years of debris that built up on the floors has also been removed, revealing the original wood floors that are still in remarkably good shape, all things considered.
The next step will be to have a structural assessment completed, to see just how bad some of the damage is, and then to repair the roof and gutters to stop water infiltration.
From there, the windows will all be replaced and temporary power will be run to the Mansion so that interior repairs can begin in earnest.
For anyone curious about the DMF and the history of this mansion, and some of the really cool features (like the Conservatory, one of only a handful of originals remaining on the East Coast), check it out at https://dunningtonmansion.org/
Hopefully we'll have more updates soon!
EDIT: Holy cow this blew up. If anyone would like to support this project or would like to see some of the day-to-day goings-on (filmmakers, artists, photographers, etc), you can check out DMF's Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076580148044
I actually spoke to the DMF after this post went up and the President, Heather, would love to field your questions. Her email is Heather.Beach@dunningtonmansion.org