Katherine Marshall Reshapes Dodona’s Grounds

Beginning with the purchase of Dodona in 1941, the Marshalls made major alterations to the landscape. A single driveway entered from Route 7 (East Market Street) across from the site of Mom’s Apple Pie store and terminated in a loop in front of the house. There were several ruined outbuildings covered in a tangle of vines, including a dirt floor carriage house, toolshed and an outhouse. The house was surrounded by large oak and elm trees that towered above it. All around the house was a mass of plantings giving it a crowded and overgrown feeling. The front yard was a tangled mess of overgrown brambles, lilacs, boxwoods, and weeds.  

Katherine had the front yard cleared. She transplanted lilacs and boxwoods to the western edge of the property. She had the front lawn plowed and planted grass seed producing a sloping lawn that provided a peaceful vista of downtown Leesburg.  

Katherine had the dilapidated outbuildings demolished except for the toolshed. She even personally burnt down the outhouse! Using bricks repurposed from the carriage house along with newly purchased bricks, she had the carriage house re-built into a two-story garage including a storage area on the second floor. She laid out brick walkways around the house including the walkway to the toolshed in the rear.  

Katherine had the stone court patio built including the low retaining parapet wall. At the eastern end was a small fish pool. The patio opened to the south lawn, which became a central focal point. They positioned Adirondack chairs in the south lawn where they enjoyed sitting and relaxing. In later years, Katherine made further changes to the stone patio by extending the original roof over the backdoor into a pergola for wisteria. The pergola was eventually roofed to provide cover for the iron table and chairs during rainy weather. The Marshalls ate many of their meals on the stone court.

The stone court patio with parapet walls was added in 1941 - 1942. This space was a favorite spot for the Marshalls. It faced south, so it received the warm afternoon sun. It also faced and led out into the south lawn where the Marshalls spent time in Adirondack chairs. The stone court patio was a favorite location to enjoy morning coffee, lunch or an evening cocktail.

As mentioned earlier, in 1948, the Marshalls changed the entrance from Route 7 (East Market St.) to Edwards Ferry Rd on the north side of the property.  On the south side of the property, they erected a stockade fence.  This was done in response to vandalism and littering that were occurring around the original driveway entrance.   It also provided further privacy from the busy traffic on Route 7.  

An aerial view of the Dodona grounds circa the late 1940s or early 1950s. The original entry is visible from Rte. 7 Market Street. The front yard and back lawns are heavily wooded. The rose garden area is visible in the turnaround section of the driveway. The vegetable garden is located behind the garage.

Some areas of the property were left natural, most notably the southeast corner along Route 7.  They called this the “wooded lot.” It gave them a forest view from the stone court patio and provided a screen from noise and commercial intrusions along Route 7. The sloping land along Edwards Ferry Rd was also left natural. In both locations, keeping the honeysuckle vines at bay was a constant challenge.  

In the 1950s, the Marshalls tried to create an orchard of fruit trees in the wooded lot area. The orchard never blossomed as intended and was eventually cut down by accident when a contractor was hired to brush hog, (a brush hog is a rotary mower towed behind a tractor) and clean up the area.  

Katherine laid out flower beds around the house and in large English-style garden beds in the south lawn. She planted a variety of flowers including peonies, daffodils, yucca, white vinca, perennial phlox, bouncing bet, zinnias, sweet william and daylilies. The Marshalls also liked to plant marigolds, hollyhocks, salvia, verbena, petunias, nasturtiums, and mixed wildflowers.

B. Powell Harrison Brick Walkway

When leaving the front porch, on your left is a brick walkway that leads to Rte. 7 and Mom’s Apple Pie. This walkway is dedicated to B. Powell Harrison.  B. Powell Harrison started and led the effort to purchase and restore Dodona Manor in the late 1980s. The home and property were slated for commercial development at the time. He served as the president and chairman of the George C. Marshall International Center. A longtime Leesburg resident and admirer of General Marshall. B. Powell graduated from VMI in 1933 and served in the Army in China during World War II.  He was a member of St. James Episcopal Church, where General Marshall was also an active member. B. Powell and his wife, Agnes, were pioneers in the preservation and conservation movement in Loudoun County and throughout the country.

General George C. Marshall Statue

Across the street from Mom’s Apple Pie is a statue of General George C. Marshall. This location was the original entrance to the property. The statue was created by a sculptor named Rosario Fiore.  The statue was unveiled and dedicated on December 6, 1980 at the Loudoun County courthouse in downtown Leesburg.  There was a week-long celebration for General Marshall and it culminated on December 6, 1980 with the dedication of the statue.  The county paid Mr. Fiore $100,000 for the statue.  It was placed in front of what is the law library today.  In 1999, the statue was moved to a county storage facility while construction was being done.  After construction, it was decided the statue didn’t fit the courthouse location, so it sat in storage.  Mr. Ben Lawrence found the statue laying on its side all covered in weeds.  This prompted a discussion amongst county leaders and the decision was made to offer the statue to Dodona Manor.  In 2007, the statue was moved here to its present location.  At the back of the property, you’ll notice a series of stone blocks inscribed with Soldier, Statesman, Citizen, Friend to describe GCM.  Those stone blocks were a part of the original memorial to GCM

The entrance is landscaped with ground cover, flowers such as daffodils, salvia, and liriope.  The larger bushes are hydrangea.  You also see a series of boxwoods.  On either side of the walkway are Cinnamon Crepe Myrtles.  Behind the statue are holly trees.  The border along Market St is lined with Beauty Berry bushes, which are so beautiful.  You’ll also notice Pin Oaks and white pines here.

Animals at Dodona Manor

In the 1950s, the Marshalls introduced two peacocks to the property. They hired a local woman to feed and care for them while they were away. Not much else is known, but we can assume they enjoyed their beautiful plumage.  

At the back edge of the property, south of the toolshed was a chicken coop. The coop became home to 100 chickens. They quickly realized this was more work than originally thought, but they enjoyed having fresh eggs to eat as well as give away as gifts.