I. THE TOBEY HOUSE

HISTORY

The Tobey House is located approximately one-quarter mile east-southeast of the main house on Green Spring Farm. It was built in 1954 as a residence for Mrs. Charles W. Tobey, the mother of Mrs. Michael Straight and widow of the late distinguished United States Senator from New Hampshire. Prior to that time, Mrs. Tobey had resided part of the time in Washington and part of the time in Concord, New Hampshire, where she owned a spacious, gabled New England mansion built about 1750. In order for her to be nearer her daughter and grandchildren, arrangements were made by Michael Straight to have a small, modern, open-design house built for Mrs. Tobey on Green Spring Farm.[98]

Architectural plans were completed in the fall of 1953, and construction was completed in 1954. Here Mrs. Tobey lived with her housekeeper, Miss Frances McFall, from 1954 to 1968.[99]

The house originally was comprised of a living-dining room, kitchen, two bedrooms, bath, and utility (heater) room. In 1957, however, it was expanded by the addition of another living room, bathroom, and utility room. At this time, also, the carport was relocated, and terraces were created on the east and west sides of the house. The result was to enlarge the living space within the house and to create an arrangement whereby a living room, bath, and utility room could be partitioned off (by a folding door) to make a guest suite. The addition of the semienclosed areas adjacent to the house, with their flagstone terraces and fountain pool, made for the enjoyment of outdoor activities.

Inside the house, the design and decor encouraged the feeling of closeness to the outdoors by the location of window space and the use of floor-to-ceiling glass walls at points where the landscaped surroundings of the house could be seen from the inside; and paneled walls provided a neutral yet sympathetic background for many fine pieces of antique furniture and other artifacts which Mrs. Tobey brought from New Hampshire. Also, use of horizontal ship-lap siding for the exterior gives a suggestion of New England clapboards.

Following her residence in the house from 1954 to 1968, Mrs. Tobey moved to Washington, D.C., and the house was occupied by tenants.

GENERAL SETTING AND SITE OF THE HOUSE

Located in the southeast corner of Green Spring Farm, the Tobey House enjoys a setting of generally open, slightly rolling countryside.[100] This setting is preserved on the land which comprises the farm. Beyond these limits, however, the neighborhood of the farm has experienced a rapid and drastic 53 transition in the 1950’s and 1960’s. As a result, its predominantly rural character has been largely replaced by tracts of subdivisions composed of single-family dwellings on lots ranging from one-fifth to one-half acre of land. At the same time, the Little River Turnpike (Route 236) has attracted extensive roadside commercial development, resulting in increased highway traffic generated by the intensified density of land use. This has accentuated the importance of the farm’s buffer space in preserving the tranquility and natural beauty which the owner and architect sought for the Tobey House.

The site of the house is set back from the Little River Turnpike approximately one-eighth mile and is connected with the pike by its own driveway. The driveway approaches the house from the southwest where the view first is of the carport and the 1957 addition. The immediate vicinity of the house has been left relatively open to provide a feeling of spaciousness when viewed from inside the house. Landscaped trees and shrubs located around the house preserve this feeling of an open natural setting while providing cover for the house and terraces.

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

Since it was Mrs. Tobey’s desire to enjoy the site as well as the house, the general design of the house contains features specifically aimed to permit this. On the east side, the flagstone terrace and fountain pool are partially covered by the overhang of the flat roof and a trellis. On the west side of the house, a covered flagstone walkway from house to the carport runs between a hedge and fence on one side and a small courtyard with flower beds and trees on the other. In the living room added in 1957, the only opening is a large picture window set in a bay which contains a planter box with living plants.

Architecturally, the house is of particular interest because its basic objective of facilitating an indoor-outdoor style of living is achieved with simple, open lines and harmonious materials.[101] Set upon a concrete slab, the wooden walls of the house are overlaid with wooden beams placed so as to intersect and create the appearance of squares and rectangular modules on the ceiling. A flat wooden deck roof rests on these beams. No prefabricated units were utilized in the construction of the house, and all pieces were individually specified, cut, and fitted together.

The architect for the Tobey House was David Condon, AIA, of Keyes, Lethbridge & Condon, Washington, D.C. The landscape architect was Eric Paepcke of Washington, D.C. Interior design was done by Top Recker and Patricia Holsaert. Construction was performed by Hayes Brothers of Herndon, Virginia (figures 14 and 15).

EXTERIOR FEATURES

The overall dimensions of the house are 70 by 25 feet; the carport measures 11 by 21 feet. 54 Exterior walls are gray stained cypress, laid on horizontally in ship-lap style, with white trim. Full-length glass panels serve as walls in the section of the house called “the gallery,” facing the terrace on the east side of the house.

The fountain pool in the east side terrace measures 6 by 13 feet. The pool water does not recirculate but is piped from the house water supply and can be controlled by a faucet.

ENCLOSURES

A wooden post and rail ranch fence encloses the field where the house is located.

LANDSCAPING

Pine and plane trees are planted for shade near the house and screening from the highway on the west side. Wisteria is planted for the trellis over the terrace on the west side of the house to shield it from the afternoon sun. In the immediate vicinity of the house, vinca minor (periwinkle) is used as ground cover.

INTERIOR FEATURES

The Tobey House contains 2,062 square feet of floor space.

Room arrangements for the original structure and following the addition in 1957 are shown in figure 15.

Interior walls are of vertical cypress paneling, and floors are wooden parquet. Ceilings have exposed beam and plank construction.

Interior features when Mrs. Tobey was in residence included wood carvings from a Scandinavian sailing ship salvaged when it sank off the New England Coast.

Woodburning fireplaces are located in the living room of the original portion of the house (now used as a study) and the living room of the 1957 addition.

The house is centrally heated with radiant heat from the floor. No central air conditioning was provided in the original portion; but, when the addition was built in 1957, central air conditioning was provided for it and ducts were extended into the living room of the original portion. Window air-conditioning units were installed in the bedrooms.

Located approximately 200 feet northeast of the main house is a two-story frame barn. Its date of construction is not certain, but it is known to have been present when the Straights acquired the farm in 1942. During the occupancy of the farm by the Straights, the barn was converted into a laundry and a maid’s apartment. As renovated for this purpose, the first floor of the barn contained space and equipment for the laundry, a kitchen, and a bathroom. The second floor contained living quarters and a bathroom. Access to the second floor was by an exterior stairway (figure 17).

Overall dimensions of the barn are 14½ by 24½ feet. Its construction is frame with eight-inch siding laid on vertically and two-inch battens used to cover and seal the joints. The exterior is stained brown with no trim. The exterior stairway is constructed of wood and leads to a second floor entrance in the center of the east end of the building. The stairway is in two segments. One, on the south side, reaches from the ground to a landing at the corner of the building; the other, on the east side, reaches from the landing to the entrance door. The peak of the roof is approximately 17½ feet from the ground.

Located approximately 90 feet northeast of the main house is a small one-story house of log construction. Its date of construction is uncertain, although it is possible that this building is the “Servants’ House” referred to in the notice of the commissioner’s sale of the farm following the death of William Moss in 1835.[102]

During the Straights’ occupancy of the farm, the cabin was renovated and converted into a guest house. During the later years, their son, David, lived in the cabin.

The renovation carried out by the Straights resulted in enlargement and reframing of the windows, reconstruction of the existing door on the west side, and reconstruction of the brick chimney at the north end of the building. At the same time, another doorway was added on the east side (figure 18).

HISTORY

References to a spring house appear frequently in descriptions of Green Spring Farm during the nineteenth century.[103] The well watered character of the farm, possessing springs of its own and traversed by Turkey Cock Run, was an advantage of great value to all its owners. Quite possibly the presence of the springs was decisive in enabling both the Mosses and Fountain Beattie to make dairying a substantial part of the farm’s operations. In the 1830’s, many of the types of equipment and utensils typically used in making and preserving butter, cheese, and fresh milk were listed in inventories of personal property at the farm. During this period and later, the presence of the Little River Turnpike would have made it feasible to sell dairy products regularly in Alexandria, six miles away, and in the District of Columbia, nine miles away.[104] It is equally likely that a spring house was also one of the focal points of the farm’s cider and brandy-making activities at those times when the orchards flourished.

After the sale of the farm by Fountain Beattie in 1917, the level of its operations gradually decreased. By 1940, the spring house stood unused, as neither dairying nor orchard activities were carried on. Therefore, when the Straights ordered the renovation of the main house in 1942, it was suggested that the spring house be converted into a residence for the farm’s caretaker.

Conversion of the spring house into a residence was carried out under the direction of Walter Macomber of Washington, D.C., who also had been in charge of remodeling the main house. Using the basic stone shell of the house, which was structurally sound, a two-story house was designed with living room, bedroom, kitchen, and utility (heater) room on the first floor and a bedroom, bathroom, and storage area on the second floor.[105] (See figure 19.) In this work, new materials were used, except that slate shingles taken from the main house (where the roof was being replaced) were used for roofing the spring house.

In 1961, the second major remodeling of the house enlarged it and attempted to reduce the dampness due to its location in the midst of the springs. The architects for this work were Keyes, Lethbridge & Condon of Washington, D.C. As a result of this work, the roof was raised to permit construction of a new bedroom and storage room on the second floor. On the first floor, enclosure of a porch permitted the addition of a bathroom and closet to the downstairs bedroom. Substantial remodeling of the kitchen was also undertaken, in which a closet was converted into cabinets, new flooring was laid, and new kitchen fixtures were installed.

EXTERIOR

The original portion of the spring house is constructed of stone, with stucco exterior finish. The frame addition is covered with rough-sawn redwood lap siding over half-inch vapor-sealed sheathing. The roofing for this portion of the house is slate shingles, matching the slate roof of the original portion which used shingles taken from the mansion house when it was renovated in 1942. Copper gutters and downspouts were installed in 1961, as was copper flashing at the base of the chimney.

ASSOCIATED BUILDINGS

I. THE TOBEY HOUSE

III. THE LOG CABIN

IV. THE SPRING HOUSE