Swannanoa is a 52-roomed Italian renaissance revival located at the top of the Blue Ridge mountain at Afton, Virginia. It was built in 1912 by millionaire James H.Dooley as a token of love to his wife Sarah. The 2 million dollar palatial home sits on the border of Nelson and Augusta counties.

History of Swannanoa Palace

The palace was built by James H. Dooley and his wife Sarah May as their summer home. It was a one-of-a-kind property with state-of-the-art fixtures for the time. Swannanoa was the first house to have electricity in Nelson county. Some of the features of the palace were its power plant on the property which produced the electricity used in the whole house, built-in elevator, and many other features that made it stand out both in size and class from the surrounding other houses. Major Dooley and his wife later died leaving the house to Dooley’s sisters.

Ten years after the house was built, Major Dooley died (at the age of 82) leaving the mansion to his wife Sarah along with several million dollars for her upkeep. Three years later, the wife also followed her husband to dance with the angels at the age of 79. Since the couple never had children, Major Dooley’s four sisters inherited the house which they later decided to sell since they did not have the finances to maintain such a big house.

How did it get abandoned?

The estate was left for the sisters who a year later sold the palace to the Valley Corporation of Richmond. The corporation renovated the house and opened an 18-hole golf course at the property. However, the county club did not last long for it closed 3 years after its establishment. It is believed that at the time of the country club, a stoned building was added on the property that housed the region's best moonshine distillery supplying even the government officials.

The mansion stood inhibited for years until E.T Dulaney purchased it with a group of Charlotteville businessmen and formed Skyline Swannanoa Inc. This did not last either as Walter Russell rented the palace in 1948 for his University of Science and Philosophy.

What remains of the Palace

The lavish historic mansion sits on a vast piece of land inhabited but its splendor is still evident. The palace is open to the public and anyone who may want to visit can do so. Just don’t do it over the weekends as visitors are given limited time to tour the place.