Historic manor house at Evergreen renovated and offering hospitality again

Close up view of the newly renovated Inn at Evergreen (Photos by Heidi Baumstark/Observer staff)

The historic manor house that has been vacant for about 50 years on the grounds of Evergreen Country Club in Haymarket has been renovated by two area families, the Garcias and the Leopolds.

Built in 1827 by Lewis Berkeley (1777-1836) of an aristocratic Tidewater family, this 19th-century property passed to his first son, Edmund Berkeley (1824-1915), organizer of the “Evergreen Guard” of the 8th Virginia Infantry during the Civil War.

Now the structure has a new name, Inn at Evergreen in Haymarket, and a new function. The inn’s 11 guest rooms are decorated with an eclectic blend of historic and stylish modern pieces.

It was open for public inspection during the NVBIA (Northern Virginia Building Industry Association) annual Parade of Homes tour, April 23 and 24.

During the two-day tour, Robin Garcia welcomed guests. Her husband, Mike Garcia, of Mike Garcia Construction, and their son, Matt, also stayed busy greeting visitors, answering questions and sharing information about the house that their company restored. 

“Yesterday [April 23], about 200 people came through here,” Robin said. “We are part owners along with Jackie and Suzanne Leopold who are the ones who did all the decorating.”

The house retains original wood flooring stained a deep rich brown, and several plexi-glass panes reveal original exterior stone walls; one contains an antique bottle that was lodged in between stones.

All guest rooms have flat-screen televisions and there is WiFi throughout the house.

Each guest room has a private bath and matching robes with “The Inn at Evergreen” embroidered on them.

Many have historic dental moldings, high ceilings and poster beds with wrought-iron headboards.

There are fireplaces in several rooms. Two are working fireplaces–one in the bridal suite and one in the front foyer where public events will be held.

Throughout the house, framed photographs show how each room or hallway appeared before the renovation, which started about a year ago, according to Matt Garcia. It took three months of demolition work and the rest of the time was spent renovating and decorating.

“We hauled away over 100 tons of debris,” he added.

Mike Garcia donated $25,000 to the Manor House Preservation Fund, a nonprofit organization that was attempting to stop the deterioration of the house that had been empty for about 50 years. Garcia also ensured that the inn is now handicapped accessible.

“It needed to be saved; but I never thought I’d be the one saving it. I’ve built about 400 custom homes and this is my first renovation of a historic home,” he said.

Originally constructed in the Greek revival style with Doric columns on the front and rear porches, the manor house’s central portion is two-and-one-half stories high with a stairway to the third floor.

In the 1940s, left and right stone wings were added by then-owner Thomas DeLashmutt. In the mid-1950s, the Woolmans purhased it. In the 1960s it was sold to Norman Realty for the purpose of developing a country club and community.

Yvonne Butler, of Manassas, toured the inn on April 24 with her two daughters and great granddaughter, Kaiya Greene. Butler said, “I remember this house well. My mother worked here in the 1950s when the DeLashmutts owned it. When the Woolmans were here, I babysat their grandchildren. My Uncle Frank was the gardener.”

Butler grew up down the street on Lansdowne Lane.

Prince William County has identified the house as a Designated Cultural Resource (DCR), a recognition which promotes the identification, evaluation and protection of cultural resources throughout the county. In 2009, a bronze oval plaque was awarded to Evergreen by the Prince William County Historical Commission and hangs at the front exterior of the house.

Most impressive is the bridal suite with dark, wood-paneled walls decorated in a calming color palette of whites and grays. There is an old-fashioned, deep white tub near the bed plus a privately enclosed bathroom. The suite overlooks the golf course, pond and Bull Run Mountains.

Donna Caudill, of Haymarket, came on Sunday (April 24) to tour the inn. “I’m friends with Mary Stoy who is the great, great, granddaughter of Edmund Berkeley and she told me to come by.”

Referring to the bridal suite, she added, “I wish my son wasn’t married-they could have stayed here.”

Matt chimed in, “But we also do wedding renewals!”

Bryan Dolieslager, general manager at Evergreen Country Club, added, “It will be a great amenity for the club as well as a beautiful venue for the public to enjoy.”

Carol Chalice, innkeeper, said the inn is open daily for tours, adding, “We invite the public to stop in; it’s for all to take in and enjoy.”

The inn was featuring a “New Opening” package Monday through Thursday nights in May for all rooms except the bridal suite. With a former flying career, Chalice quipped, “My wings have been clipped and I’m staying grounded.”

An interesting story of hospitality during the Civil War involves Edmund Berkeley’s wife, Mary Lawson Berkeley. In the early morning hours of Nov. 5, 1862, Federal officers torched the town of Haymarket about ten weeks after the Aug. 28-30, 1862 Second Battle of Manassas. As a result, people were displaced; others left the area altogether.

But many of the remaining citizens wandered the streets, including the Carolina Road, today’s U.S. 15.

Edmund’s wife, Mary, offered houses from the spoke mill at Evergreen.

This spoke mill (spoke construction for wagon wheels) was on Mountain Road near Evergreen, and was operated by white labor mostly from families from the north. There were a dozen houses for these families, resembling a small village. When the spoke mill burned in February 1861, these families returned home up north, leaving the homes vacant.

After the November 1862 “Burning of Haymarket,” Mary offered the houses from the spoke mill “to the homeless townsfolk, and they were soon filled with refugees,” according to the April 2007 Virginia Department of Historic Resources Preliminary Information Form.

Today, Mary Berkeley would be proud of the hospitality the Inn at Evergreen offers.

The Inn at Evergreen is located at 15890 Berkeley Drive in Haymarket. Information and bookings are at http://www.innatevergreen.com or call 571-222-7030.