The Grounds
Picket Fence
The Garden Club of Virginia project was presented on April 27, 2005 in Danville at the Sutherlin Mansion. The picket fence, a replica of the fence shown in a circa 1880s -1900s photograph of the house, was designed by William D. Rieley, Landscape Architect for The Garden Club of Virginia. Square pickets and posts with pyramid caps are painted with polychrome finish to match the house.
During the period of April 3 - 10, 1865, Danville served as the last Capital of the Confederacy, when President Davis and some Cabinet members were guests in Major Sutherlin's home. Danville was the southernmost location for the capital without leaving the state and was the largest city between Richmond and Atlanta. Cannons were placed at corners of the property when President Davis was in residence. When fence builders were digging post holes for the new fence, they found a deeply buried cannon ball.
The fence stretches 850 linear feet on three sides of the city-block size property and ingeniously accommodates for the sloping contour of the land. Four gates along Main Street allow access to the museum's grounds. Construction was made possible with funds from Historic Garden Week in Virginia. Danville citizens say the fence is "the most stunning addition to the historic district in decades."