South Lawn

The south lawn extends from the stone court patio out to Market Street and to the Shops at Dodona Manor. The lawn in front of the stone court patio was used for relaxing and playing. This area was a focal point of their outdoor grounds. The Marshalls kept Adirondack chairs on the lawn. To the left was a crescent-shaped English-garden style bed containing flowers and bushes. Beyond the crescent-shaped bed was the “wooded lot or forest”. The Marshalls initially left this wooded to provide privacy and block noise from Market St. In the 1950s, Marshall tried to create an orchard in the back area of the forest, but despite his intentions, it never fully flourished.

The photos above show the south lawn area during the time the Marshalls lived at Dodona. On the left (top) is a photo of General Marshall and Katherine sitting on the south lawn. This was used as a cover photo in the Hollins College magazine. Katherine was a graduate of Hollins College in 1902. The middle photo shows the dense foliage in the crescent-shaped bed with trees behind it. You can see how well this blocked the view and noise from Market St. The photo on the right (bottom) shows General Marshall taking a break from gardening, he’s sitting on the parapet wall on the stone court patio with the south lawn behind him.

The two photos above show the current state of the south lawn in April 2023. In the photo on the left (top), you see four trees surrounded by coral bell flowers, star of Bethlehem ground cover and daffodils. Hostas will bloom later. Behind the four trees is the left edge of the crescent-shaped bed. The open lawn behind the four trees was the “wooded lot or forest” area that later housed a fledgling orchard of fruit trees.

The photo on the right is the crescent-shaped bed that was lusher during the Marshall years as you see in the photos above. In this photo today, you see the toolshed in the background. The bushes in the foreground are spirea (yellow blooms) and abelia to the right. There is a small dogwood tree with daffodils underneath. The large tree in the background is a Mulberry and the three trees on the left are Hackberry varieties.