Stranica 375 [375]
OCR
GAY MONT id] burg. It is beautifully located and commands a gy) wonderful view of the surrounding country. This estate, which formerly comprised some two thousand acres, was part of the Miller grant. Unfortunately, the early records of Caroline County were destroyed or carried away by the Union troops during the War Between the States, making it difhcult to obtain exact data. It is certain, however, that it was afterwards part of the Catlett estate, and was purchased from Mr. Catlett in 1790, by John Hipkins, of “Belle Grove,”’ King George County, Virginia, who on his death left it to his grandson, John Hipkins Bernard. The original house comprised only the central, or two-story portion of the present building and was erected about 1725. Iwo wings, one at either end, were added in 1798, and the octagonshaped music room at the back in 1830. The latter opens on a small porch, from the steps of which one can look down the central garden walk to the sundial. John Hipkins Bernard upon reaching his majority went abroad for several years and on his return brought with him many things for his home, including landscape wallpaper—then a novelty in France—for the Gay Mont hall, parlor and dining-room. ‘The paper in the hall shows brightly colored Italian scenes, that in the parlor represents the Bay of Naples in soft grey tones, while that for the dining-room pictures mythological characters in sepia. Mr. Bernard also brought over two English gardeners who remodeled the grounds and garden into their present form. That a rose garden anfedated their arrival and was a feature of the [234]
