Lee-Fendall House Museum & Garden

Wall-to-Wall History: Let’s Stick to the Facts

In 2023, Lee-Fendall's first Historic Structures Report - the gold standard in preservation planning - highlighted several ways in which we could more faithfully interpret this 18th-century home. 

One major finding was that most rooms throughout the house would have been wallpapered rather than painted - and so we're setting out to restore the interior appearance. 

The first room selected for wallpapering is our North Parlor, furnished and interpreted to reflect the lives of the Cazenove family, who occupied the house in the 1850s. 

The room will be wallpapered in an original historic pattern licensed by the Smithsonian, Wheatlands Volute, which has been found in historic homes of this period from Pennsylvania to Georgia.

This Renaissance Revival pattern has often been found in the homes of political leaders, which makes it particularly appropriate for Lee-Fendall. 

Our total cost to wallpaper the North Parlor is $6,000, which primarily reflects the cost of historically accurate block-printed wallpaper. 

Your support will help carry on a vision that began last year when, also in response to the Historic Structures Report, we undertook a full exterior repainting of the house, from bright white to a historically accurate deep burgundy. 

Thank you for helping us STICK to the facts with WALL-TO-WALL history!