The view of Boscobel from the long, winding driveway.
All my life I’ve heard stories of Boscobel, the beloved Italianate home of my great-grandparents. The beauty of every room, the stories of balls held there, my grandparents’ romance, and my mother’s charmed childhood.
The property is now part of the National Park Service, with the structures where my mother grew up serving as offices for the Monocacy Battlefield park. But my interest in the place has nothing to do with Civil War history, and everything to do with my own.
So today, Katherine and I went to Boscobel .
Here’s what we saw:
Approaching the house from the stone millhouse at the base of the driveway. The mill house is where my grandparents lived, and where my mother was born. This would have been my mother’s view from her house, as a little girl.
The National Parks’ information on the house. While the Gambrills may have called their home Edgewood, my great-grandparents called it the much more lyrical ‘Boscobel’ (beautiful woods in Italian). My great-grandparents bought the house from the Gambrills, and lived there till their deaths in the 1940s. Unfortunately none of the 10 children wanted to buy out the others, so the house, property, and all the contents were sold off and the proceeds divided among them. My grandmother went to the auction and bought back the paintings, lithographs and much of the furniture. It’s all we have of this home.
The view of the extensive fields and beautiful woods beyond, from the front lawn.
Couldn’t resist capturing this enormous hornet’s nest. Though I was afraid to get any closer, the beauty of it was irresistible.
The front of Boscobel, with this towering cupola.
What extraordinary detailing in the front woodwork of the house. Notice the diamond cut-out design on the stair risers. I love that the Park Service preserved this unusual detail.
Love this view.
A closer look at some of the detail.
Side view of the house.
And this modest entry, is the informal, side door.
The generous back porches. I love how deep they are.
The bay window of the ballroom.
The deep back porch.
The interior of house is not open to visitors. All three floors contain offices and conference rooms for Park Service staff. But we knocked on the door, interrupting their lunch hour, explained the family connection, and asked if we could see the interior. The staff there could not have been more accommodating. They welcomed us and gave us free reign of the whole house. I couldn’t have been happier.
So here’s a look inside. While there is no decor, you can see the scale of the house and it’s beautiful, interior detailing, as well as my favorite little surprise at the end . . .
Beautifully paneled, solid wood doors throughout the interior. I love the transom detailing above.
Detail of the cornice in the parlor. It’s crystal chandelier is long gone.
Detail of the chandelier cornice in the ballroom. Sadly, the crystal chandelier that once hung here is also gone.
One of the 7 marble mantels in the house. Four, including this one, were purchased and shipped from Italy.
Extraordinary, three-full story, winding stairway.
The solid wood newel post and ballisters.
Detail of the curve of the grand stairway’s bannister.
The stairway as it ascends from the second to the third floor.
The large doors separating the owners’ suite. These doors appear to swing open, rather than slide as pocket doors.
Access from the second floor front hall to the upper balcony.
Exceptional detailing even in the back, servants’ stairway.
The upper porches. Every bedroom has a door opening onto this gracious space.
The third-floor’s arched dormer windows. The depth of the sills is delightful.
The third-floor bathroom, with its little door accessing the cupola.
The steep, narrow stairway to the cupola.
In the cupola, there are 4 identical windows, one facing in each direction.
My grandparents’ names: Howard Smith + Nettie Geisbert March 21, 1924. They snuck up here during one of the infamous dances the Smith family would have, and carved their names. My favorite part of the house!
The house and grounds are filled with beauty, and for me, a sense of romance. My Aunt Barbara, who traveled the world with my grandmother after my grandfather’s untimely death, even wrote a Daphne DuMaurier-esque novel centered around this house and land. If I can find a copy, I’ll let you know.
After this we continued on to see the others houses on the battlefield park. I’ll share those with you in the next post.
Thanks for reading!
Virginia