Historic Blenheim Center Opens
By Sharon Cavileer
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During Union soldiers’ first advance into Virginia in the spring of 1862, they broke down the door of the house, smashed its banister and defaced the fresh plaster walls with their signatures, sketches and inscriptions. Today, the farmhouse known as Blenheim contains one of the most extensive collections of Civil War graffiti in the United States.
With a strategic view of Fairfax Courthouse and along the trail to Annandale, the house was occupied repeatedly by Union soldiers. It was used as a hospital during the war as a part of the Reserve Hospital system. More than 1,700 soldiers were sick in and around Fairfax Courthouse with typhoid, dysentery and other ailments. Wisely, Mary Willcoxon and her two children relocated to Middleburg in November 1862. Later in the war, the house was occupied by Union cavalry troops, including the 18th Pennsylvania on their way to Gettysburg.
After the war, the Willcoxon family returned to farm in Fairfax. Although the Willcoxons repaired the damage to the house and painted and papered downstairs public rooms, the attic walls were left untouched, a tribute to the men who had spent time there during the conflict.
“We all shared Barbara’s vision to keep this ‘island in time,’” said Carne at the opening of the Blenheim Interpretive Center on Nov. 1. The event included regional officials, including Chairman of the Board of Supervisors Gerry Connolly, state Sen. Chap Peterson, Mayor Rob Lederer and members of the Fairfax City Council.
Carne was joined at the microphone by co-chair and Councilman David Myer, who called Blenheim “a place of national importance.” The new Interpretive Center includes a recreation of the attic, a timeline of the Civil War, video presentation and artifacts from the conflict. The committee led the preservation effort until the city acquired the property from the Scott Estate in 1999 at a cost of $2.2 million. The money was raised from the business community, individual contributions and through tax dollars. The site work and interpretative center construction cost an additional $2.3 million.
Over the past eight years, the house was stabilized and the inscriptions preserved and researched. The effort was supervised by director of historic resources Chris Martin with the assistance of other city staffers including: Andrea Loewenwarter, Susan Gray, Cami St.Germain and Nate Rasmussen. According to Chris Martin, “The other city departments were critical in making the site come alive, especially Public Works and Parks and Recreation. These two departments really contributed and the site would not have been a success without them.”
At the grand opening, the site served as a real “island in time” with its newly constructed snake rail fence, Civil War-era music from Home Front and a living history encampment by 17th Virginia Infantry Regiment, Co. D. Guided tours of the Willcoxon house, cemetery and garden were led by city staffers Loewenwarter and Gray.
The $1.1 million Interpretive Center replicated the atmosphere of the attic with a life-size reconstruction with similar lighting, and digitally recreated the signatures of the soldiers who had spent time in the house. The inscriptions of Union soldiers from Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are preserved on the site. Research has begun to identify each of the signatures and develop biographies of these soldiers. Initial researchers included: C.K. Gaily, Patricia Gallagher and Art and Julia Little.
Matthew Mead Marshall was among the first to inscribe the walls. He was with the 13th New York and had survived the First Battle of Manassas. He served the Union on guard and picket duty along the Potomac before arriving at Fairfax Courthouse. Injured while constructing earthworks in Yorktown, Mathews was disabled. After living for a while with his father, he spent a decade at the National Military Home in Milwaukee, WI, and died on March 31 at the age of 51.
Another soldier who spent time at Blenheim was a new American. Charles (Carl) Schlingermann was born in Herne, Prussia and emigrated to New York in the early summer of 1862. By late September, he was a private in Company H of the 58th New York Infantry. At the Second Battle of Manassas, Schlingerman was mortally wounded. He was transported to Washington, DC, where he died on Sept. 16 at Army Square Hospital. He is buried at the Military Asylum Cemetery, now known as the Soldier’s Home.
During the restoration process, Chris Martin welcomed a number of families who were descended from the soldiers who had written their names on the walls. Upon encountering this evidence, Martin reported, “It was a very moving experience. There’s a sense of overwhelming awe as the family members connect with their real Civil War soldier at one of the places he had experienced during the conflict.”
The exterior of the Blenheim Interpretive Center resembles the Willcoxon dairy barn, which originally occupied the site. It’s designed to accommodate two sets of school groups at a time with double doors leading out. Said Martin, “I think it’s important for Fairfax history because it provides a centerpiece for how the war affected the town of Fairfax and how it affected the Willcoxon family.”
The site will receive its Civil War Trails marker in the spring. Current Historic Fairfax City, Inc., president David Pumphrey said, “We see this as a valuable contribution of the understanding of the history of the City of Fairfax and seeing how ordinary soldiers interacted with themselves and each other, leaving a piece of themselves behind.”
The Historic Blenheim Estate is expected to draw new visitors to the City of Fairfax and the region. Joanna Ormesher, director of marketing and cultural tourism, commented, “With people looking for attractions closer to home, the opening of Blenheim and the upcoming Civil War sesquicentennial should result in a dramatic rise in visitors to the City of Fairfax.
The Historic Blenheim Estate Interpretive Center, at 3610 Old Lee Highway, is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. with daily tours of the house at 1 p.m. (703-385-8414, www.visitfairfax.com)
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