Mark your calendars! The Four Seasons Garden Club will host a National Garden Club, Inc., Standard Flower Show, featuring lovely floral designs and eye-catching horticulture, at Christ United Methodist Church Hall, 211 Phillip Morris Drive, Salisbury, MD 21804 on Wednesday October 16, 2024 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.  The show is open to the public and admission is free.

Our second floor hallway has become our temporary/rotating exhibit space. Every year, we will be changing the exhibit to tell the story or history of a unique aspect of the 1800s, or something relating to PHM specifically, or the history of Salisbury, or even an exhibit to correlate to a celebratory anniversary (such as the Semiquincentennial in 2026). This year, we are focusing on the History and Influence of Sugar in the Early 1800s. Dr. Huston had sugar here at the Mansion, as his inventory lists several items pertaining to sugar such as casters, tongs, and a sugar goblet. As a surgeon, he also would have used sugar medicinally, to treat indigestion. The new exhibit focuses on the material items used for sugar, including a sugar chest, tongs, pots, goblets, casters, nips, molds, and a firkin. It also includes information about the production of cane sugar, the Triangle of Trade, and Thomas Jefferson’s Maple Sugar Scheme. Come to the Mansion for a tour and learn all about sugar! The exhibit will run through December of 2024.

Over the next few years the exterior of the Mansion will be undergoing some much needed renovations. The cypress siding is going to be replaced or repaired, the cedar shingles will be repaired, the front porch will probably be reconstructed, and lastly the shutters will be repaired, repainted to their original color of Charleston Green, and reinstalled on the entire house (not just the front). There will be several phases to this major exterior renovation. Phase I is taking place now where we are replacing the siding on the east and west elevation of the house from the second story down. Phase II will hopefully happen next year, where we will do the same to the north and south elevations. Phase III should occur in 2025, with repairs to the second floor siding and cedar shingles. Finally, Phase IV will be the shutters. We are very excited to have this work done to protect the house. We are also very grateful to the Mayor and City Council for making sure this project received the funding it needed.

People who use wheelchairs or have mobility challenges can now visit the City of Salisbury’s Poplar Hill Mansion, which has added an incline lift. The lift, which allows visitors with physical disabilities to access the first floor of Poplar Hill Mansion, is located at the back of the home. Since it is an incline lift, not an elevator lift, the look is unobtrusive and fits in with the home’s aesthetic.

“I’m excited that more people will be able to visit Poplar Hill Mansion, whether it is for a tour, a public event, or a private event like a wedding,” said Curator Sarah Meyers. “This lift makes Poplar Hill Mansion more inclusive for everyone.”

The lift holds up to 550 pounds and can fit a traditional or motorized wheelchair and its user. People who use walkers or canes, or families with strollers, can also use the lift. The back door located by the new lift already met Americans with Disabilities Act standards, and the stairs at this door that the lift runs alongside were rebuilt. There is enough space for someone to walk alongside the person using the lift. Poplar Hill Mansion’s public bathroom, located on the first floor, was remodeled to fit ADA standards in 2020.

“This lift will make one of Salisbury’s most important historical places accessible to an entirely new group of visitors,” said Mayor Jack Heath. “We’re proud to add Poplar Hill Mansion to the growing list of accessible spaces in the City of Salisbury, and we’re excited to share its history with each and every one of our residents.”

We are undergoing the final phase in our paint and plaster restoration and repair on the first floor of the Mansion and in the stairwell. John and Dana are at it again! John has been hard at work doing all the plaster repair in the Surgery Room and Main Staircase. Over the years, some of the plaster has separated on the lower half of the walls. Someone had attempted to repair these cracks before, but did not use the proper historic technique. John, who has a specialty in historic homes, has been doing a great job repairing previous repair attempts and doing it the proper way. With all of his work progressing nicely, Dana was once again able to come in and work her magic with the paint. Once again, using the paint analysis done several years ago, we were able to restore the Surgery Room back to the Huston Era. The room is described as being bright with a greenish paint over the golden ochre below the chair rail and marbling similiar to what would have been in the connecting room (the Butler’s Closet) between the Surgery Room and the Parlor. The crown molding and the chair rail also had specific coloration that had to be followed. Through some trial and error, Dana came up with colors that pretty well match exactly what was being described. The lower half of the room was especially an interesting transformation and finding just the right shades of gold and green was a lot of work. Dana used the same technique on the walls as she did in the Parlor to make the room light and bright. The outcome was a total transformation of the Surgery Room and it looks amazing!