Woodley Mansion
Woodley is a Federal-style hilltop house in Washington, D.C., constructed in 1801.[1] It has served as the home to Grover Cleveland, Martin Van Buren, and Henry L. Stimson, and is now the home of the Maret School.
History[edit]
The land on which the house now stands was once owned by Colonel Ninian Beall and Benjamin Stoddert.[2] In 1797, the 250-acre (101 ha) wooded estate was purchased by Phillip Barton Key, the uncle of the author of "The Star Spangled Banner," Francis Scott Key.[2]
In 1801, Key commissioned the Federal-style design based on the Woodley Lodge in Reading, England. The word "Woodley" means "clearing in the woods."[2]
In 1938, Henry Stimson gave Woodley to his alma mater Phillips Academy, Andover, though he and his wife continued to live there. In 1950, Andover sold the house and grounds to the private Maret School.[3]
In 1952, Maret moved to the new campus from its 1923 building at 2118 Kalorama Road NW. Maret has used the house as a learning center, a library, a business office, admissions office, and the head of school's office.[4]
Legacy[edit]
Woodley Lane (later Woodley Road) in Washington, D.C., was named after the Woodley Mansion.[12]
The Woodley Society, founded at Maret in 1993, is an association of students, faculty, and alumni that studies the house's history.[1] In 2008, the group's leader, historian Allerton Kilborne, published a book about Woodley.[2] The group's podcast, Echoes of Woodley, tells stories surrounding the mansion.