Morven in the Twentieth Century
In 1906, Morven was sold to Samuel and Josephine Marshall. The Marshalls expanded the Main House with a two-story addition on the north side by Baltimore architect Howard Sill. The Albemarle Chapter of the Garden Club of Virginia was founded in 1919, and Josephine Marshall served as its first President. After Samuel Marshall’s death in 1923, Morven was briefly the home of David C. and Margaret G. Patterson. Mr. Patterson was a land broker.
The Stone Family
Charles and Mary Stone purchased Morven in 1926, converting the farm into “Morven Stud” for thoroughbred horse breeding and cattle. Charles A. Stone in 1889 co-founded Stone & Webster, an engineering firm that later played a leading role both in the Manhattan Project and subsequent development of the U.S. nuclear industry. The Stones commissioned Boston architect Joseph Chandler to add a west terrace and attic dormers to the Main House in 1928. Mary Stone, in consultation with renowned landscape architect Annette Hoyt Flanders, redeveloped the formal gardens. Mary Stone opened the formal gardens to visitors of the first Virginia Garden Week in 1933, and Morven has remained open to the public for every Virginia Garden Week since. The Formal Gardens, largely unchanged from this era, now represent one of the few intact gardens from the 1930s.
After Charles Stone’s death in 1941, Whitney Stone and his wife Anne assumed Morven, concentrated on stud operations and founded the United States Equestrian Team. A number of famous racehorses were bred at Morven, including the Hall of Fame mare Shuvee, who won the Filly Triple Crown in 1969. In 1973, Morven was added to both the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. Whitney Stone was a trustee and active member of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation and participated in the endowment of several professorships and fellowship programs at the University of Virginia. Whitney Stone died at Morven in 1979 and Anne Stone in 1987.
John Kluge & the Gift
Media mogul and philanthropist John W. Kluge purchased Morven from the Stone family in 1988. The property was one of a series of farms in Albemarle county owned by Kluge. At Morven, Kluge installed sculptures by Rodin, Maillol, Moore, and others across the landscape, accentuating the farm as an outdoor gallery.
In 1992, Kluge supervised the building of a remarkable four-acre Japanese garden and tea pavilion designed by Japanese architect, Koji Tsunoda, and aided locally by Charlottesville landscape architect, Will Reilly. They used traditional ancient techniques and incorporated more than 50 plants indigenous to Japan and America.
After Kluge’s donation in 2001, the UVA Foundation sold approximately half of the acreage, returning the land to active farming and creating an endowment that today totals more than $45 million. Annual proceeds currently support both property maintenance and university programming at Morven.
Morven has been and continues to be a place of exploration and invention. While all of the owners maintained the traditional Albemarle farm appearance, they each altered the condition of the place in some way, adding farm buildings, gardens, and art. The University has the opportunity to build on this tradition of innovation.
Oral History of Morven
Learn more about Morven through oral storytelling by Ollie Thacker, who continued his family legacy of holding the position of Morven Estate Gardener for nearly 55 years until 2000 after his father, Thomas O. Thacker held the position for 60 years. Ollie grew up at Morven and is a direct descendant of Martin Thacker who built the Main House in 1820. He offers insight on Morven’s Horse and Cattle Operations, Life at Morven Farm, The Formal Gardens and The Vegetable Gardens, The Farm Journals, and The Future of Morven.
Land Timeline of Morven
1000 - 1700s First Peoples/Native Presence
1730 - 1796 Carter Family
1796 - 1813 William Short
1813 - 1853 David & Mary Garrigues Higginbotham
1853 - 1879 Daniel Groff Smith
1879 - 1906 Edward Buckey Smith (son of Daniel Smith)
1907 - 1923 Samuel H. & Josephine P. Marshall
1923 - 1926 David C. & Margaret G. Patterson
1926 - 1941 Charles A. & Mary L. Stone
1941 - 1987 Whitney & Anne Stone
1988 - 2001 John W. Kluge (retaining a life estate on the core property until 2006)
2001 - present University of Virginia Foundation