Clio Logo
Gari Melchers Home and Studio Garden Tour
Item 17 of 19
This is a contributing entry for Gari Melchers Home and Studio Garden Tour and only appears as part of that tour.Learn More.
Stairs on the west side of the house led to the Schoolhouse Studio, no longer extant, and further on to Falmouth. Steps predate the Melchers era and date to circa 1850. The lilacs that border the stairs may also be an earlier feature; a Civil War letter refers to the Lilac walk. Today these steps have been restored and we have a new set of stairs at the bottom that links us to the Belmont- Ferry Farm Trail. The wrought iron fence and gate at the bottom of the stairs originated from the grand 1834 house "Smithsonia" in downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Stairs leading to Falmouth with old lilac bushes

Stairs leading to Falmouth with old lilac bushes

Bottom of Stairs looking up

Bottom of Stairs looking up

Stairs, 1927, by Frances Benjamin Johnston

Stairs, 1927, by Frances Benjamin Johnston

Belmont Aerial View, Melchers Era, showing Schoolhouse Studio, no longer extant

Belmont Aerial View, Melchers Era, showing Schoolhouse Studio, no longer extant

'Belmont,' by Gari Melchers, showing stairs at right

'Belmont,' by Gari Melchers, showing stairs at right

Gari and Corinne Melchers at bottom of stairs

Gari and Corinne Melchers at bottom of stairs