Maymont

1700 Hampton Street

Richmond, VA  23220

804-358-7166

James Henry Dooley (1841-1922) was a financier and industrialist who devoted himself to rebuilding and developing the city of Richmond. By 1892 he was one of four thousand millionaires in the country, nationally known and respected. In 1869, he married Sallie May of Lunenburg County. Major and Mrs. Dooley came across the Maymont site one day in 1886, on an afternoon ride in the countryside just outside the city limits. She was entranced with its views of the river and could see the potential for a splendid new home with wonderful and extensive gardens. Major Dooley bought 100 acres of Henrico County farmland on the dramatic bluff and gave it to his wife. They built their house a few years later and she, a passionate and serious horticulturist, devoted herself to improving the grounds. Her work included many lovely features, most especially a Japanese garden and an Italian garden complete with a grotto. The Dooleys treated their grounds like the park of a great English estate and opened its gates for visitors to stroll the grounds and gardens. When Mrs. Dooley died in November of 1925, she left Maymont to the city of Richmond for a public park and a museum. It was closed for six months after she died. The day it opened as a city park in 1926, there were five thousand visitors. The Garden Club of Virginia was involved in the restoration of specimen trees on the mansion lawn, the shrub labyrinth, and elms lining the original entrance drive. The construction of a zoo and nature center on the property has increased Maymont’s popularity.