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End of a Great Season

By  Mel Oles,  Visitor Services and Programs Manager at Rose Hill Mansion and Johnston House

Rose Hill Mansion and Johnston House are now closed for the season.  Reflecting on the 2021 season, it was short but exceedingly successful.  We started the season in May with Outside Rose Hill, which were tours about the architecture and landscape.  In these tours we spoke about how the land was used, how it has changed over the years and our future plans.  These tours were very popular and a great addition to our specialty tours.  We will offer this tour again in 2022 season.   After the COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in midsummer we started inside guided tours of the mansion.  We were surprised with the large amounts of visitors to the site.  We hired three new docents to our team and several docents returned.  It was a “Dream Team” for such an unusual season.

The grounds at Rose Hill never looked better.  In the spring the mansion was powered washed removing dirt, spiders and old paint chips.  We hope to clean the outside twice a year to keep it clean and looking grand.

The mansion was painted which made it twinkle in the sun.  The Facilities Manager Dave Knitter and his wife Fran did an amazing job with the plants.  They were so enormous and beautiful.  We got countless comments on how great the grounds looked.

Dave also made improvements to the parking lot and outside lighting.  The lights now light up the pathways and parking for evening events.  It also helps with security and the staff that lives on site.  As Rose Hill grows in visitations these improvements make such a difference.  We look forward to keep improving and growing the site.

Even through the buildings are closed, the grounds are open dawn to dusk.  There is a geocache on the property.  This is a fun activity for families or groups.  It is a great reason to get outside and discover the grounds of Rose Hill. We can’t wait to welcome you back in the spring of 2022.