Visitors leaving Shenandoah National Park on the Skyline Drive or meandering along the Blue Ridge Parkway toward Rockfish Gap at Afton Mountain may do a double-take as they catch a glimpse through the trees of white marble towers. Most have no idea of the grand mansion named Swannanoa that sits nearby.
The property, located just off I-64 between Waynesboro and Charlottesville, Virginia, at the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Augusta and Nelson counties, was the summer villa of Major James Dooley, a millionaire and philanthropist who also owned the Maymont mansion located on the James River in Richmond.
An opulent white Italianate marble mansion built in 1912, Swannanoa is a curiosity to hikers and travelers who have sometimes found their way off the Parkway and up the long private drive, amazed at this seemingly out-of-place structure in the middle of nowhere.
Construction began in 1904 and it took 300 artisans eight years to build, following the popular style of the time preferred by the industrialists of the late 1800s and early 1900s. No expense was spared to create extensive terraced Italian gardens, fountains, and an ornate stain glass window located on the magnificent marble balcony landing.
Embracing the latest in technology available at the time, Tiffany windows and gold indoor plumbing fixtures were installed and, as the first residence in Nelson County to have electricity, it also boasted an elevator.
To complete the ornate Italianate style, the house has such features as towers, arches, capped columns, balconies, brackets, cornices, and dentil molding creating an artistic feast for the eye.
Swannanoa is majestic even in its rundown condition, but extensive repairs would be necessary to restore it to its original opulent state. Marble slabs have fallen off stairway walls and the house itself. Walkways are cracked. A recent visit revealed a broken window, and marble steps have cracks that require attention to navigate.
For the curious, weekend tours of the property will begin in April and continue through October for those who want a closer view of a place that is a reminder of an earlier time in history when millionaires lived on Afton Mountain.
