Dodona Manor

For a map of Dedona Manor Click Here 

Telephone:
(703) 777-1880

Hours:
Open Mon–Sat, 10–4. Closed holidays (including Memorial Day)

Parking:
At parking lot in the visitor center.

Admission:
$5 for adults, $3 for seniors and ages 7–17. Under six free.

Smoking:
Not Permitted

Positions of Gen. George Marshall while living at Dodona Manor:

Army Chief of Staff 1939–1945
Ambassador to China 1945–1946
Secretary of State 1947–1949
President of the Red Cross 1949–1950
Secretary of Defense 1950–1951

The soldier in charge of American troops in World War II—and rebuilding a war–ravaged Europe thereafter—would have preferred to have spent that time at his Leesburg, VA, estate tending to his vegetables and trees. As the U.S. celebrates Memorial Day, those of us in the area can now visit this estate—the home of one of our great leaders in war and peace. The family of Gen. George Marshall sold the decaying property to the George C. Marshall International Center, which gives tours of the estate while it fixes the place up.

George Marshall (1880-1959), a soldier for 44 years and architect of the Marshall Plan to rebuild a war–torn Europe after the war, spent as much time as possible at his Dodona Manor estate right outside historic downtown Leesburg, though service to his country called him away more often than he wished. He and his wife Katherine bought the early 19th century home in 1941, anticipating imminent retirement.

"This is home, a real home after 41 years of wandering," the career soldier said on his first visit. Marshall named his estate after the Greek island of Dodona, where Zeus' disciples gathered to hear him speak through the wind's rustling of oak leaves. Previous owners included George Washington's nephew, the Pike family of Pike's Peak, and Herbert Hoover's lawyer.

Today, the George Marshall International Center is trying to restore the house and still–overgrown gardens to the way they looked when Marshall lived there. The crumbling plaster and chipped paint are evidence that it needs work, and the sinuses detect the must immediately upon entering the house. The center is still raising money for the 10–year project. (The guide even asks for donations after the tour.)

While the house contains some Marshall artifacts, don't expect to see a lot of valuables. Marshall wasn't much of a collector or known for his taste in furniture, preferring instead to tend to the outdoor portion of his home. (You can see his ragged sofa and his still–operable television set.) In contrast to the mammoth office furnishings offered Pentagon top brass and cabinet secretaries, it is almost shocking to see the small wood desk in Marshall's 5' x 15' office.

While Marshall spent as much time at his home as he could, world events called him away for much of his first decade of ownership. Dodona Manor remained his wartime weekend retreat from his quarters at Ft. Myer outside Washington. "I used to forget my campaign against the Japanese by campaigning against the Japanese beetle," he later said.

While Marshall tended garden one summer afternoon in 1944, Katherine answered the phone and asked the caller if Marshall could call back because he was outside. The caller said no, citing urgency. She fetched her husband, who picked up the phone and said, "This is General Marshall...Yes...I see...OK...Goodbye." Without saying a word, he returned to the garden. Katherine followed and asked what was going on. Her husband replied that Allied forces had just landed in Normandy. She asked if that meant he had to return to Washington. The general replied, "Dear, from this distance, don't you think that is Eisenhower's problem now?" and returned to pruning trees.

When he did go to Europe in 1945 to plot postwar strategy at the Potsdam Conference, Katherine sent vegetables from the garden across the ocean, where world leaders gobbled them up. By sending the produce, Katherine hoped to remind her husband of the benefits of home and prod him to hurry back to plant the next crop.

Less than a week after the Japanese surrendered, Marshall wrote President Harry Truman asking to be relieved of his command. He had had enough of military life and declined Truman's appeal to remain in charge of the post–war forces. Marshall said he just wanted to tend his garden. But he didn't stay retired long. By the end of the year, Truman called Marshall at the manor and asked him to go to China as ambassador. Marshall, against his instinct, agreed.

His next retirement to gardening at Dodona Manor also lasted but a few weeks. Marshall accepted an invitation to become president of the Red Cross in 1949, not knowing how much work it would take—rebuilding the world kept the Red Cross as busy as responding to wartime disasters did.

A year later, with war breaking out again—this time in Korea—Marshall accepted Truman's invitation to become Secretary of State. But after a year he quit, again to attempt fulltime gardening. As a fitting end to his career in 1953, he became the first career soldier to win a Nobel Peace Prize. The Marshalls finally settled down at Dodona manor and remained until the general's death in 1959.

Visitors to the house included Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Charles De Gaulle, Madame Chiang Kai–shek and Bernard Baruch. But not all visitors to the garden were welcome. The Marshalls once tried an Indian fertilization technique: they planted fishheads under the corn and tomatoes. Two days later, the Marshalls found a convocation of neighborhood cats digging up the garden. A more successful fertilization method: when Marshall took sick, Katherine asked friends to send manure as get–well presents.