The William D. Rieley Fellowship
SPRINGSBURY FARM, Clarke County, VA
Springsbury Farm was once one of the premier country estates along the Shenandoah River. Its late-18th-century dwelling was dramatically transformed into a Georgian Colonial Revival-style mansion in 1937 by Boston architects Perry, Shaw & Hepburn, best known for their work at Colonial Williamsburg. Ellen Biddle Shipman, commonly referred to as "the dean of American women landscape architects," designed the elaborate grounds which featured formal, vegetable and picking gardens as well as courtyards, terraces, and recreational facilities. Many of her drawings for the project, including extensive planting plans, still exist.
In 2008, Springsbury Farm and an adjacent parcel known as Lands End, totaling 730 acres, were donated to Casey Trees by philanthropist Betty Brown Casey. A Washington, D.C. based non-profit organization, Casey Trees is dedicated to restoring, enhancing and protecting the tree canopy of the Nation's Capital. Future plans for Springsbury Farm are currently under study, and the Fellow's research may significantly inform this work.
Qualifications:
Fellows are expected to produce measured drawings and a written report to contribute to an archive of historic landscapes of Virginia. Applicants must be candidates for a MLA degree in landscape architecture or candidates for an equivalent academic program such as landscape or architectural history, archaeology, historic preservation, or horticulture.
Stipend:
Each Fellow will be paid a stipend of $6,000 plus certain living expenses for a three-month period
of work.
