The Grange - Views From The House

 Looking across Beach Creek

July of 2011, the National Park Service released their proposed plan for the Former Reserved Properties Management Plan.  Their recommendation, open up The Grange tract to the public for visitors services, education, and activities. By law, the NPS received the tract upon the expiration of a Retained Rights Agreement by a descendant of Thomas and Lucy Carnegie, Lucy C. J. Graves.  

With this addition of The Grange Tract within the NPS hands, the historical integrity of the Dungeness Complex is now one cohesive group. The Grange lies in the heart of a complex system of other structural outbuildings that help to create a varied facade for the operations of the infrastructure of the Dungeness Estate in the late 19th and 20th century.

A view from the rooftop

 The NPS will now be responsible for renovating the historic structure within the Dungeness Historic District. Due to several rehabilitations over the years by the Graves family and others, The Grange is in very good condition.

One of the issues at this time is the limited funding that is dedicated to the Cumberland Island National Seashore (CUIS). There are 396 other areas within the National Park System that need to be funded during this downturn in the economic. BTW - Cumberland Island is one of just ten designated National Seashores.

The other issue is a frequently used tool of leases and other agreements by the NPS to help defray the burden of management and over time, continued maintenance costs. Indiana Dunes, Point Raise, Apostle Islands and other areas within the park system have lease agreements. 

 

Rooftop view, Dungeness ruins in the distance

An issue that needs to be considered by the NPS in this critical planning process is that in the future, retained estate tracts at Stafford and tracts located behind Plum Orchard will expire. Several structures in the leased areas of the complex behind Plum Orchard have already deteriorated. More burden will be placed upon CUIS and the park service when these newly acquired historical estate structures come into their hands.

Leases are effective but just what kind?

Antietam Battlefield has leases. One of the major battles at this historic site was fought in the cornfields.  The NPS needs corn for the environmental effect, so they lease the land to farmers to grow the corn so that it will appear to look like the battlefield at that time.

Regardless of whatever the NPS decides, all parties will not be satisfied.

The Grange

The Grange was built in 1902 by Lucy C. Carnegie as a residence for her estate manager William E. Page and his wife Eleanor. Prior to the construction, the Pages had been living at Dungeness in the first floor bedroom. The first and second floor has approximately 7,000 square feet, plus additional attic and basement areas.

Located in the heart of the Dungeness Historic District between The Carriage House and the ruined Pool House, the Georgian-styled house rests on a flared brick foundation and has a hipped shaped roof. Not originally designed but added years later are hipped dormers and a crude cupola giving access to the rooftop. Roughly sixty by fifty seven feet, an exterior stuccoed finish covers the wood framed two-story five bay house.

The Grange is listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and the NPS List of Classified Structures (LCS).

The Grange

The forty year reserved estate lease

for the rights of The Grange tract

expired today.

The Georgian styled house rests nestled in oaks and magnolias between Dungeness and the Carriage House. Right outside the recessed main entrance is a view of the former Pool House.

I'm sure that it was heartache for the families watching that structure deteriorate.

In Mary Bullard's book, Cumberland Island: A History, she states "construction on the Grange, the last large house built on the Dungeness Estate, began in 1902 and was completed by the end of 1903, by which time a total of $25,483 had been spent on the house."

Shaded by the trees, 

the side of The Grange is the best view one can get

 walking down Magnolia Avenue.

Roughly 60'x57', the stuccoed finish residence is now in the hands of the park service.

Below is a link to a recent article in the Tribune and Georgian newspaper located in St. Marys.

http://www.tribune-georgian.com/articles/2010/12/10/news/top_stories/1topstory12.10.txt

The Grange

The Grange as it appeared in the summer of 1970.

The portico is not original to the structure and it is being

held up by tree logs.

Lucy C. Carnegie built The Grange probably around the late 1890's.  The estate manager William E. Page and his wife lived in the structure until his death.

The Grange is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is part of the Dungeness Historic District.  The residence was built just behind the neglected and ruined Pool House.

An old slide of The Pool House in 1970.

The house and it's few acreages are in a Reserved Property Agreement (RPA) with Carnegie descendants.  The family has maintained the structure throughout the years and appears to be reasonably sound. I believe that they have learned that keeping a maintained roof helps to preserve a structure.

The RPA lease will expire in a few months and become property of the NPS.  Once the ownership is taken, the NPS will be responsible for maintaining and renovating the historic significant structure, forever.

The problem, and everyone knows this, no additional funding will be available for this home or any of the other 100 or so structures to be maintained on the island, especially during the state of the present economy.

I believe that the NPS should consider extending the present RPA to the present owner so that the building will be preserved for generations to come.  We are learning now that some property is deteriorating in the NPS hands because of lack of funding.  The current owner has stated they would upgrade the structure to NPS standards.

For the record, I do not know any previous or current owners of The Grange.  I'm just a concerned citizen.

Please check out these sites:

http://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?parkID=371&projectId=28794

http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=371&projectId=28794&documentID=30789

http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=371&projectId=28794&documentID=34617

Please comment on your concerns here about The Grange and The Stafford Beach Cottage and how they need to be preserved and maintained.

http://www.hscl.cr.nps.gov/insidenps/summary.asp
The National Park Service List of Classified Structures for Cumberland Island National Seashore.

Plum Orchard Carriage House

At the Georgia Archives last week, while researching through the Carnegie Collection, I came across a folder with letters of correspondence between the architectural firm of Peabody and Stearns in Boston, Massachusetts and the Carnegies. The letters were mainly addressed to William E. Page, the estate manager for Lucy Coleman Carnegie. The Page family lived in "The Grange" on Cumberland as an occupier and not as an owner.

The Grange around 1970.

Peabody and Sterns was responsible for designing additions to Dungeness, The Pool House, and the building of Plum Orchard around 1898 and it's additions on Cumberland Island for George Lauder Carnegie.

Plum Orchard mansion

Below: A Couple of Reader's Digest Tales

My graduating senior class in 1986 made no plans for a senior class trip, so I decided to get the heck out of dodge. I went to Cumberland Island by myself and stayed at Greyfield Inn. Greyfield is another story in itself; the history, architecture, clan, and the NPS avoidance of the Fergusons.

Now, back at the archives, there was a letter in the folder talking about how nice the simplistic nature of the carriage house's structure would be and how they could make changes to architectural details of the building "to sweeten it up" at a low cost.

Photo of Carriage house in 1986.

As anyone can see,

the right side of the carriage house

is starting to collapse inside of itself.

The year was 1986, on record - twelve years after the park service was officially established, but not necessarily only 12 years after the NPS took control of the island properties.

My father, mother, brother, sister, Uncle John, Aunt Brenda, Uncle Joe, Aunt Doris, and other relatives visited the island on the last week before the NPS took control of the southern end of the island. My Uncle Joe, who worked at NASA - actually in a certain division of it, had contacted Charles Fraser the owner of the southern tract at that time and obtained permission to camp on the island. I guess Uncle Joe had seen the writing on the wall for Fraser was selling the land to the NPS at that time. My Aunt Mallette (really a kin cousin) cried for years because her young son Jamie was sick and she couldn't go and camp out on the island with them. My mother still talks about catching the fish and cooking them. Daddy, that is a different story.

They were on Cumberland the summer of 1970 when the NPS officials actually started to arrive on the island. They were told by the officials that the NPS was taking control of this section of the island the next day and then were told that they had to leave the following morning. That is your Reader's Digest version. Kinda interesting, is it not, if you are a history loving fan of the island.

Below, is a photo series taken by Troup Nightingale of Brunswick, Georgia. Troup has graciously allowed me to post a series of photos of the Carriage House at Plum Orchard from his site on Smug Mug. Please check out Troup's site at: http://www.southeasternphotography.com/History/Plum-Orchard-Area-Cumberland/8119245_CYjU5#529369316_Ar3Yg

Troup Nightingale is a direct descendant from Phineas Miller Nightingale, the owner of Dungeness mansion and property before and after The Civil War. Thomas and Lucy Carnegie, after buying the property, tore down this Dungeness and built their own mansion on this site.

This is the Plum Orchard's Carriage House today.
It is like Austin Power's saying, "yea baby, you complete me."

Or better yet!

Guess who Goldmember is?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRtNfb6D3Mc&feature=related