Have you ever dreamed about what it would have been like to live lavishly
in the Roaring 20’s? Hi everyone, Ken here, welcome to "ThisHouse"!!
In 1892, Sumner Welles was born into an incredibly wealthy family in New York City. After graduating
from Harvard, he went to work for the US government in the Foreign Service. Throughout his
career, he worked to end the age of colonialism by spreading American Ideals such as capitalism and
democracy abroad. And under President Roosevelt, Sumner negotiated the replacement of Cuba’s
president to open up free-trade, something which would serve the US favorably for several decades.
However, in the meantime, and with his inheritance, he set out to build his dream house.
He searched for a historical property, something that embraced the ideals of the American Dream.
Then, in the 1920s, he found a large tract of land for sale in Forest Heights, Maryland.
The property had once boasted a grand manor which had since burned down and had belonged
to the Hanson Family, in fact, one of the nation’s founding fathers,
John Hanson, had passed away and been buried on the estate grounds.
This was exactly the type of tie into history that Sumner had been searching for.
He purchased the lot and hired architect Jules Henri de Sibour to design for him
a stately neo-georgian mansion. Completed in 1929, the 49 room house was constructed from
Flemish Bond Brick and featured a 5 car garage as well as stables and outbuildings for staff.
The façade of the home was planned to be flanked by two front facing porticos symmetrically planned
about the entrance, the style being sensitive of the property’s historical significance by
playing on classical architectural elements, but arranging them in a new way so as not to
mislead anyone into thinking that the house was the original, historically significant estate.
Before we go inside, let’s take a look at the floorplan of the main level,
noting the clear separation between the public room and staffed wing of the house.
Passing through the front doors, we arrive in the entrance hall finished out with
marble floors and wood paneling the space is stuffed to the brim with objects d’art.
First we will make our way to the left hand side to find the
drawing room with furniture staged conversationally over antique rugs.
Towards the rear of the house we will find the dining room with a table set for 26 guests.
The floor to ceiling wood paneling in this room is broken up by intricate wall
murals and cluttered with souvenirs from the dozens of cultures Sumner visited.
Before seeing the other public areas, lets wind our way back
to the kitchen where Sumner’s personal chef would have prepared his every meal.
From here we will travel back towards the front of the house, stopping in the stair hall to
admire the ornate, iron balustrade seamlessly curving with the rise of the stairs. But,
before we go upstairs, let’s continue across the hall to see the library.
The library is finished out with built in book shelves marked by fluted pilasters below a
dentilated frieze and decorated with overstuffed furniture, and, in the center of the room,
displayed proudly over the fireplace, a portrait of George Washington looks over business meetings.
Upstairs we will find one of the bedrooms, clad in painted wall panels and furnished with a
simple four poster bed. This suite is complete with a full bathroom and all of these fixtures
would have been considered top-of-the-line and luxurious when the house was finished.
Sumner enjoyed hosting large parties and entertaining foreign dignitaries,
including Winston Churchill who stayed in the home while visiting the US. In his later years,
he sold the home to a collector of fine art who opened the house as a museum. Then, in 1976, it
was conveyed to the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission which restored the mansion
and opened it to the public. Today, Oxon Hill Manor remains available for the public to tour.
Did you have a favorite room? Let me know down below in the comments section. And
if you have ever visited, I would love to hear about your experience. And if you haven’t yet,
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