Green Spring Farm Part 7

_Mrs. Netherton_: Did you lengthen these windows to the floor?

_Mr. Macomber_: They were this way when we got the house, but they had been changed some time prior to 1942.

_Mrs. Netherton_: The cupboard was part of the design, was it not?

_Mr. Macomber_: Yes, it was, and I think this is one of the panels that came from Pennsylvania.... [Also] the paneled jamb from the library down into the living room came from this old building in Lancaster County [Pennsylvania]. And also the trim around the opening.

The renovator's description of the dining room included the following comments:

_Mr. Macomber_: The mantel is a mantel of the period, and I'm quite sure it was in this room. The b.u.t.terfly cupboard beside it is a design that was added to the room, and designed and built and installed for this particular location. The dining room, being a small room, we planned the recess beside the fireplace for the sideboard and also to give a little more s.p.a.ce in the room and in the pantry.

The chair rail I'm sure is original and the door trim, but the cornice I installed. The base is original, in most cases, I believe the doors are original, although the bottom rail has been cut off on this to such a degree, it looks as though it might have been for another opening.

And that's true on the door into the library.

[93] _Ibid._

[94] _Ibid._ Mr. Macomber's recollection is that "I'm quite sure it came from the second floor because it's the same as the door into the nursery room...." As to the door into the hallway, he notes that it originally had been painted dark blue-green.

[95] Michael and Belinda Straight, interview of December 8, 1968.

John Mosby Beattie recalls when animal fat was cooked in the fireplace of the old kitchen to make soap.

[96] Walter Macomber, interview July 16, 1969.

[97] _Ibid._ According to local tradition, the tavern near Peace Cross originally was a residence, then a tavern, a gambling house, and a bawdy house. While a gambling house, it was robbed, and shots were fired after the fleeing burglar. One of the shots went into the shutters, and the hole made by this shot is still visible in the portion of the shutter used as paneling in the living room.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Tobey House Approach, Green Spring Farm]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Tobey House, Patio and Fountain]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Tobey House, Interior. Figure 14. Photos by Robert Lautman, c. 1960]

a.s.sOCIATED BUILDINGS

I. THE TOBEY HOUSE

HISTORY. The Tobey House is located approximately one-quarter mile east-southeast of the main house on Green Spring Farm. It was built in 1954 as a residence for Mrs. Charles W. Tobey, the mother of Mrs.

Michael Straight and widow of the late distinguished United States Senator from New Hampshire. Prior to that time, Mrs. Tobey had resided part of the time in Washington and part of the time in Concord, New Hampshire, where she owned a s.p.a.cious, gabled New England mansion built about 1750. In order for her to be nearer her daughter and grandchildren, arrangements were made by Michael Straight to have a small, modern, open-design house built for Mrs. Tobey on Green Spring Farm.[98]

Architectural plans were completed in the fall of 1953, and construction was completed in 1954. Here Mrs. Tobey lived with her housekeeper, Miss Frances McFall, from 1954 to 1968.[99]

The house originally was comprised of a living-dining room, kitchen, two bedrooms, bath, and utility (heater) room. In 1957, however, it was expanded by the addition of another living room, bathroom, and utility room. At this time, also, the carport was relocated, and terraces were created on the east and west sides of the house. The result was to enlarge the living s.p.a.ce within the house and to create an arrangement whereby a living room, bath, and utility room could be part.i.tioned off (by a folding door) to make a guest suite. The addition of the semienclosed areas adjacent to the house, with their flagstone terraces and fountain pool, made for the enjoyment of outdoor activities.

Inside the house, the design and decor encouraged the feeling of closeness to the outdoors by the location of window s.p.a.ce and the use of floor-to-ceiling gla.s.s walls at points where the landscaped surroundings of the house could be seen from the inside; and paneled walls provided a neutral yet sympathetic background for many fine pieces of antique furniture and other artifacts which Mrs. Tobey brought from New Hampshire. Also, use of horizontal ship-lap siding for the exterior gives a suggestion of New England clapboards.

Following her residence in the house from 1954 to 1968, Mrs. Tobey moved to Washington, D.C., and the house was occupied by tenants.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 15. Tobey House Floor Plans, 1957]

[Ill.u.s.tration: First Section, 1954]

GENERAL SETTING AND SITE OF THE HOUSE. Located in the southeast corner of Green Spring Farm, the Tobey House enjoys a setting of generally open, slightly rolling countryside.[100] This setting is preserved on the land which comprises the farm. Beyond these limits, however, the neighborhood of the farm has experienced a rapid and drastic transition in the 1950's and 1960's. As a result, its predominantly rural character has been largely replaced by tracts of subdivisions composed of single-family dwellings on lots ranging from one-fifth to one-half acre of land. At the same time, the Little River Turnpike (Route 236) has attracted extensive roadside commercial development, resulting in increased highway traffic generated by the intensified density of land use. This has accentuated the importance of the farm's buffer s.p.a.ce in preserving the tranquility and natural beauty which the owner and architect sought for the Tobey House.

The site of the house is set back from the Little River Turnpike approximately one-eighth mile and is connected with the pike by its own driveway. The driveway approaches the house from the southwest where the view first is of the carport and the 1957 addition. The immediate vicinity of the house has been left relatively open to provide a feeling of s.p.a.ciousness when viewed from inside the house.

Landscaped trees and shrubs located around the house preserve this feeling of an open natural setting while providing cover for the house and terraces.

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN. Since it was Mrs. Tobey's desire to enjoy the site as well as the house, the general design of the house contains features specifically aimed to permit this. On the east side, the flagstone terrace and fountain pool are partially covered by the overhang of the flat roof and a trellis. On the west side of the house, a covered flagstone walkway from house to the carport runs between a hedge and fence on one side and a small courtyard with flower beds and trees on the other. In the living room added in 1957, the only opening is a large picture window set in a bay which contains a planter box with living plants.

Architecturally, the house is of particular interest because its basic objective of facilitating an indoor-outdoor style of living is achieved with simple, open lines and harmonious materials.[101] Set upon a concrete slab, the wooden walls of the house are overlaid with wooden beams placed so as to intersect and create the appearance of squares and rectangular modules on the ceiling. A flat wooden deck roof rests on these beams. No prefabricated units were utilized in the construction of the house, and all pieces were individually specified, cut, and fitted together.

The architect for the Tobey House was David Condon, AIA, of Keyes, Lethbridge & Condon, Washington, D.C. The landscape architect was Eric Paepcke of Washington, D.C. Interior design was done by Top Recker and Patricia Holsaert. Construction was performed by Hayes Brothers of Herndon, Virginia (figures 14 and 15).

EXTERIOR FEATURES. The overall dimensions of the house are 70 by 25 feet; the carport measures 11 by 21 feet. Exterior walls are gray stained cypress, laid on horizontally in ship-lap style, with white trim. Full-length gla.s.s panels serve as walls in the section of the house called "the gallery," facing the terrace on the east side of the house.

The fountain pool in the east side terrace measures 6 by 13 feet. The pool water does not recirculate but is piped from the house water supply and can be controlled by a faucet.

ENCLOSURES. A wooden post and rail ranch fence encloses the field where the house is located.

LANDSCAPING. Pine and plane trees are planted for shade near the house and screening from the highway on the west side. Wisteria is planted for the trellis over the terrace on the west side of the house to shield it from the afternoon sun. In the immediate vicinity of the house, vinca minor (periwinkle) is used as ground cover.

INTERIOR FEATURES. The Tobey House contains 2,062 square feet of floor s.p.a.ce.

Room arrangements for the original structure and following the addition in 1957 are shown in figure 15.

Interior walls are of vertical cypress paneling, and floors are wooden parquet. Ceilings have exposed beam and plank construction.

Interior features when Mrs. Tobey was in residence included wood carvings from a Scandinavian sailing ship salvaged when it sank off the New England Coast.

Woodburning fireplaces are located in the living room of the original portion of the house (now used as a study) and the living room of the 1957 addition.

The house is centrally heated with radiant heat from the floor. No central air conditioning was provided in the original portion; but, when the addition was built in 1957, central air conditioning was provided for it and ducts were extended into the living room of the original portion. Window air-conditioning units were installed in the bedrooms.

II. THE BARN

Located approximately 200 feet northeast of the main house is a two-story frame barn. Its date of construction is not certain, but it is known to have been present when the Straights acquired the farm in 1942. During the occupancy of the farm by the Straights, the barn was converted into a laundry and a maid's apartment. As renovated for this purpose, the first floor of the barn contained s.p.a.ce and equipment for the laundry, a kitchen, and a bathroom. The second floor contained living quarters and a bathroom. Access to the second floor was by an exterior stairway (figure 17).

Overall dimensions of the barn are 14-1/2 by 24-1/2 feet. Its construction is frame with eight-inch siding laid on vertically and two-inch battens used to cover and seal the joints. The exterior is stained brown with no trim. The exterior stairway is constructed of wood and leads to a second floor entrance in the center of the east end of the building. The stairway is in two segments. One, on the south side, reaches from the ground to a landing at the corner of the building; the other, on the east side, reaches from the landing to the entrance door. The peak of the roof is approximately 17-1/2 feet from the ground.