Woodley is a Federal style house built in 1801,
the year Thomas Jefferson assumed the Presidency. In those days, the land
was cleared between the Woodley site and the Potomac River beyond which
meant
that Woodley residents had a panoramic
view of the incipient capital in the low lands below.
For a century and
a half Woodley would house a series of prominent
Americans including
at least two Presidents,
two
Secretaries
of War, a Secretary of the Treasury, a Secretary of State, a Senator,
a Judge, an admiral, and General George Patton, "Old Blood and Guts himself."
In 1950 the house and 8 adjoining
acres were pur-chased by Maret School.
The Woodley
Society
In 1994 the Woodley Society was created. Since that
time it has evolved into an association of students, faculty, graduates,
parents, and friends which has carried on primary research at a number
of archives and libraries in the Washington area and beyond, created a
web site, joined the Historic House Museum Consortium of Washington, DC,
and hosted a
number of Woodley related recep-tions, most notably the prize winning
2003 bicentennial celebration. In the process, a dozen articles have been
written for the Maret Magazine. One long-term goal of the Woodley society
is to publish a book that traces the history of this remarkable house
and its inhabitants.
Website designed
by Connor Renfrow