Seashell Birdbath from Historic Chatham Manor

Product Description

Circa 1920 Seashell Birdbath from Chatham Manor, the grand historic estate overlooking Fredericksburg, Virginia on the east bank of the Rappahannock. Home of notables William Fitzhugh – the builder who built this property between 1768-1771 to the late John Lee Pratt. Pratt was an industrialist, General Motors executive and the generous benefactor who lived here between 1931-1975 and then willed Chatham Manor to the National Park Service. Previous to John Lee Pratt, this property was owned by Daniel Devore and his wife, Helen, who traded their home in Washington DC along with $1,000 in cash to acquire the estate.  They lived there from 1920-1931 during which time Frances Benjamin Johnson, photographer, documented the transformation of the grounds by Ellen Biddle Shipman, landscape architect. Few houses in America have witnessed as many important events and hosted as many famous citizens including George Washington, Robert E. Lee, Thomas Jefferson, President William Henry Harrison, Clara Barton & Walt Whitman.

This seashell birdbath is in excellent condition. After being purchased at auction in 1976 when the National Park Service auctioned many items from the house contents to raise money to operate the estate, this birdbath hosted many birds at a local Villanova, Pennsylvania estate for 20 years and was then stored for another 19 years when it arrived at Garden Accents.  Material is Cast Stone.