This is my second visit here since last May. On this visit, I was able to explore the 1840 stable, the springhouse and the original entrance and gatehouse. Our guide is Joseph Beatty from Raleigh NC. He has come down for the day to lead tours. I have described the house in another post so I will not cover that again. We also met Louie the caretaker for the property for 42 years. Louie is a character and started every story with "don't tell anyone I told you this". The Clarks who owned the property from 1902 to 1992, hired Louie's father as a caretaker. Louie eventually took over as caretaker. He resides on the property. There are several other homes, a couple retained by the Clarks after the 1992 sale of the main house and 400 acres to Richard Jenrette.
A replica of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Columbia is actually a springhouse. Water was pumped from the springhouse, up a hill to a water tower using leather lined lead pipes.
The water tower, disguised as a lighthouse or belltower, is located near the rear of the house. Water flowed in pipes to the kitchen and the laundry. The portico on the right side of the house led to the 2 story laundry building. A similar portico led to the kitchen on the opposite side. Both building are identical.
After touring the house, we were invited to walk the grounds and visit several of the other buildings including the stables. This structure was built at the same time as the house, 1840. Note the mortise and tenon joints. Here in the upstairs or loft, hay would have been stored. Chutes from the loft to the stables below, allowed the animals to be fed by dumping hay down the chutes.
There were numerous horse stables below. The Mannings were known to have the finest thoroughbreds. There was an area for mules also in the stable, a tack room and a carriage area.
Back to the house, I have a couple Louie stories to relate. In the stairwell area, Richard Jenrette wanted a faux marble block wall. He also wanted a design stenciled onto the heart of pine floor. Louie had sanded the floor down to its natural color and was preparing to paint the walls white. Mr Jenrette wanted to do the painting so Louie left to get a large drop cloth. When he returned, Mr Jenrette was up on a ladder with a tiny drop cloth below. As he painted the walls, he would jump the ladder over to keep painting. Louie heard a loud crash and came in to see Jenrette and paint on the floor. Jenrette had broken a bone so Louie had to tend to him and get some medics there. While doing that, the paint had time to start to set up. It was a mess and you know who had to clean it up.
During our tour, someone asked Joseph what the floor was made of below the rug. Other than wood, he didn't have an answer. Louie had already told me the floor was heart of pine and when the Clarks were installing air conditioning, he had to drill some holes in the heart of pine. He said he burned up a bit trying to drill through the hard wood. So much smoke was in the house, he had to set up fans to clear it.
Before leaving, I wanted to see how the house might have looked when guests arrived back when the Mannings owned it. The Mannings operated the estate like a party place for entertaining and impressing. We now arrive at the back of the house but the original entrance was at the bottom of the expansive lawn. There is a gate, a bridge and a gatehouse, also called a porter's house. The approach road then sweeps across the lawn so guests can get a full dose of what wealth can buy. Thoroughbred horses would have been showcased on the lawn as well. John Manning's second wife, Jane Clark (no relation to the later owners) planted exotic pine trees from all over the world. The American Classic Homes Foundation is now trying to identify and date those trees.
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