Grounds for a Gathering
Since Thanksgiving and between Christmas holiday activities, we have still been working on Saving Little Mount Vernon, but we have turned our attention from the house restoration to the grounds. Grounds which contained outbuildings so covered over with vines and trees that we didn't even know they existed until some time after our purchase of the house. (I prefer this kind of outdoor work in cold weather when the snakes and other critters are in hiding... or at least moving slowly!)
Exploring the thick woods out from the house we discovered a hidden shed, a pole shed, and a collapsed structure that turned out to be the original garage with attached smokehouse and quarters for the groundskeeper. After three 30 yard dumpsters totaling 15 tons - that's 30,000 pounds - of debris that we hand loaded (and our friends at Big Red Box hauled to the landfill) and several additional truckloads (that we hauled to the dump), the hidden shed, the pole shed, and the caved in garage/ground keeper's house/later a man cave and pool house - depending on which owner was in residence at the time - have been cleared out!
The Hidden Shed
The hidden shed was full of... of stuff. This shed was only revealed during the fall when all the green died to reveal it over on the edge of the property. It contained lots of old Christmas decorations including wooden angels, a wooden nativity scene, and numerous large plastic candy canes which we donated to the town. There were also several old sinks, the original pink toilet from the master bath, 60 white resin chairs with tags still on them, old doors, rusted light fixtures, a brand new dishwasher still in the box with the tag on it, 2 push lawnmowers, a riding lawnmower, old rusted light fixtures, new in-the-box rusted light fixtures, and lots of rotten stuff. Not to mention tons of spiders and chewed up rat scraps! Ninety-nine percent of the contents inside went straight into the dumpster. Now the shed is getting new siding and some roof repair to fix damage from a big limb that fell on it a number of years ago. But the shed is worth salvaging for much needed storage.
The Covered Shed
Then came the open covered shed. This dirt floor covered carport had the remains of an old basketball hoop on one gable end. It had stacks of unused sheets of waferweld and old doors sitting on a bed of logs, 20 sheets of unused roof tin lying in the dirt, an old fireplace insert, assorted other garbage, an old Christmas tree, and even a wooden Santa and 8 reindeer in the rafters (also donated to the town). It was a much easier clean out except for the heavy fireplace insert.
The Cottage
Finally came the 800 square foot cottage. Over the years it had many uses. Originally it looked similar to the main house, complete with cypress siding and even a small cupola with weatherwave on the top. It had a smokehouse on one side and a groundskeeper's room on the other, with a 2 car garage between them where Emma Wetherford kept her Cadillac. A subsequent owner of LMV replaced the garage doors with sliding glass doors and created a man cave and installed a large jacuzzi tub! For the next owner it became a pool house cottage. This owner added 2 skylights, which led to its ultimate demise. And the last owner removed the pool and used it as a rented apartment. When we bought the property, the skylights had leaked for years and caused the rotting of this entire structure into a huge pile of rubbish. (The morale of our story--NEVER install skylights in a good roof!!!) This space was full of furniture. It had 3 couches, several sets of rattan furniture, a brand new in-the-plastic twin mattress and box springs, a stove, a refrigerator, 2 water heaters, a butcher block kitchen bartop, bath fixtures, a fireplace with an insert, and a HUGE jacuzzi tub. The only things that were saved were the concrete slab under the garage area, some original cypress siding, and the fireplace. We were able to save the fireplace although it needs some repair to the broken brick veneer. We were able to save some of the original cypress siding for use elsewhere. It was amazing to see the difference between the longevity of old growth cypress siding and pine! AND the original cupola from Emma's carport, which matches the one on the house, was sitting on the concrete in the middle of the ruins-- in need of repair of course--but still supporting its historic weathervane.
Yard Restoration
So now, Dwight is cranking up the bulldozer [yes, it cranked!] in order to finish clearing and leveling the yard and make the grounds ready for outdoor events. Our goal for this winter is to completely clear, grade, and level the entire yard to allow us to reestablish the lawn and gardens during the next Spring and Summer and open the Highway 6 driveway, leading to the North front, which hasn't been used in over 25 years.
With the shed area all clean and level, we are preparing to hold our first outdoor event! Be a part of our adventure and support Saving Little Mount Vernon by joining us for an oyster roast on the grounds on February 8, 2020. [See Saving Little Mount Vernon Facebook Events for ticket reservations.]