THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 9, 1994 TAG: 9410070292
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Olde Towne Journal
SOURCE: Alan Flanders
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
``Going once, going twice. . . ''
With those anticipated words Saturday, Stricks Auctioneers and Appraisers hope to find a new owner for the Rodman House, which dates back to at least 1832.
Steeped in local history, this two-story farm house at 4614 Westmoreland Terrace has been the home of some of Portsmouth's first families including Arthur Emmerson, James Murdaugh and William G. Maupin. More recently it had been the home of notables Pearson Rodman and Mahlon Clark.
Originally part of a 600-acre, 18th-century farm that stretched over what today is a good part of Park View, Westhaven, Grove Park, City Park and Waterview, Rodman House has served as a working farm, Civil War hospital, summer resort and amusement park and now city dwelling.
Standing guard over the premises through the centuries have been two giant magnolias, one in the front on Westmoreland Terrace, which was the original back of the house, and in the back, the original front that faces the Elizabeth River. Both trees, natural wonders in their own right, were said to have been planted there by the Emmersons.
In 1861 William G. Maupin is said to have added the second floor, attic, and present roof line.
But why would anyone be willing to sell a historic home at public auction?
Deborah Robinson, who owns the 19th-century Rodman House with her parents, Charles and Connie Robinson, has the answer.
``Over the last 20 years, people have come up to the door, knocked, and said, `Any time you're going to sell it, let me know.' We've lost their phone numbers and addresses through the years. So this way it is advertised and they can come to a public auction right on the premises and make their bid.''
For the Robinson family, coming to terms with selling the Rodman House, which has been their home for the past 20 years, isn't easy.
Like the nearly dozen other Portsmouth families who have lived at this location over nearly two centuries, the Robinsons have come to love its history and folklore. As one walks through the house's 10 rooms, the Robinsons show you fireplaces that cooked food and warmed rooms for Confederate and Federal troops, bedrooms that served as wards for Civil War wounded, front parlors and sitting rooms whose walls, if they could only talk, would tell of secession and reconstruction, truck farming, and turn-of-the-century weekend picnics by boat to other prosperous farms along the Elizabeth.
``Saying goodbye is emotional for all of us,'' Connie Robinson says. ``My daughter and I don't plan to be here, but my husband will be. I don't want to do it, but my husband has retired and I need to take care of my mother. So the decision was made,'' she added.
But as the Robinsons prepare to leave, with family heirlooms and antiques purchased to match the period of the house, they will take some of the history with them; after all, having lived there, they are part of it.
Standing in front of the house beneath one of the magnolias, Deborah Robinson outlines the Rodman House history as if she had been there all her life.
``In the 1780s, it was just a one-story house with four rooms. About 1846, the second floor and attic were added. A second-floor balcony with leading doorways also were added about that time. The Emmersons owned it first and then sold it. In 1846 the Pearson Rodmans bought it and then in the 1900s, Mrs. Lonnie Lester acquired it and operated a small amusement park called Battery Park.''
The Robinsons have collected various early newspaper accounts about Battery Park. ``Around 1900, Mrs. Lester installed a switch back, which was an early version of the roller coaster. The newspaper said it was the first of its kind south of Atlantic City. They also had miles of bridle paths around the property, a bath house and a hotel,'' added Robinson as she pointed out the harness hooks on the side of the house and brass plateroom numbers above the bedrooms.
According to the newspaper accounts, Mrs. Lester sold off the acreage, except for the waterfront and the Rodman House, in 1907 by offering a free ticket to the Jamestown Exhibition to everyone who purchased a lot.
Since then, owners have found a considerable number of artifacts including Civil War buttons, early coins, shards of 19th-century china and even a bullet mold around the yard. The house has a large cold storage cellar and two cisterns that suggest even more archeological discoveries.
Quantities of oyster shells still surface around the base of the magnolia trees as evidence of past civic social events for which the house became so famous.
The Robinsons credit past owners for maintaining its original appearance and preventing the deterioration or destruction of the house.
``Think of how many storms, hurricanes and upheavals this house has seen, and she's still just as solid as ever,'' Charles Robinson said.
``I know leaving here will be hard on my wife and daughter, but I'm ready to sell and anxious to see who the next owner will be,'' he added.
The new owners might wonder what an historic house like this might say to them as they enter for the first time. For the Robinsons, who now depart, it would simply be, ``Welcome home.'' by CNB