Maymont was the sprawling home of wealthy Richmond, Virginia residents James Henry and Sallie May Dooley (the estate name comes from combining Mrs. Dooley’s maiden name and the French word for hill). They left their home and their grounds for the city after their deaths. This 100-acre property is one of the top activities for Richmond, VA travelers. The Japanese gardens are a particular highlight, but Maymont also boasts a carriage collection, a petting zoo, a nature center, and an arboretum, not to mention a truly spectacular and well-maintained 12,000-square-foot, 33-room mansion.
Inside the mansion, visitors will glimpse the lives of Richmond’s well-to-do in the Gilded Age. The restored rooms boast original furnishings – including a bed shaped like a swan – and fixtures typical of the era, like gas lighting and an elevator. In the Belowstairs space exhibit, you’ll find “In Service and Beyond,” which explores the Black employees who were instrumental in running the mansion and the experience of working Blacks in the South.
Recent visitors called Maymont a Richmond treasure and said it’s the perfect place to spend an afternoon. Other travelers urge you to pack a picnic to enjoy on the mansion lawn. Maymont’s only sincere problem is that there needs to be more to see and do in just one day. Many of Maymont’s reviewers said they planned on making a return trip.
You can visit the Maymont estate grounds and visitor center daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; the grounds and gardens are open until 7 p.m. from March or April to September. Unfortunately, the mansion itself is temporarily closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Admission is free, but donations are suggested for several indoor exhibits and the mansion tours (Maymont suggests $5 for each attraction). On the other hand, the Robins Nature Center costs $8 for adults and $6 for children ages 3 to 12. Visit the website for more information on the open exhibits, tour times, and more. Bed Bug Exterminator Richmond
Maymont Mansion
In 1886, James and Sallie Dooley acquired farmland on the banks of the James River, where they planned to build a new home. Their architect, Edgerton Stewart Rogers (1860-1901), born and educated in Rome, combined the Romanesque Revival style with the picturesque Queen Anne for the Dooley residence. By 1893, the Dooleys were living in their new 12,000 square-foot, 33-room home, which they named “May Mont,” a name that combines Mrs. Dooley’s maiden name and the French word for hill.
Among historic house museums, the Maymont Mansion is rare in that no intervening families or adaptive conversions separate us from the original owner’s 32-year occupancy. Even though no architectural drawings or other early records of its construction and design have survived, it’s physical integrity and ongoing research have provided a solid documentation base. Within six months of Mrs. Dooley’s death in 1925, the mansion was opened to the public as a museum. The upper floors’ interiors and an extensive original collection remained relatively untouched until the beginning of the restoration in 1970. Since the nonprofit Maymont Foundation took responsibility for the estate in 1975, extensive conservation and restoration have greatly enhanced its authenticity, condition, and presentation.
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