Last updated: January 26, 2025
Place
Musical Staircase
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Amenities
1 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
The musical staircase, a brick-and-stone split staircase with a wrought-iron railing, connects the upper and middle terraces of Chatham. Washington D.C. architect Oliver Wendell Clarke designed the staircase in 1926 for the Devores, Chatham’s second-to-last private owners.
The new staircase replaced the old sets of stone steps that connected the terraces. The railing imitated a railing with music notes from the Devores’ home in Washington, D.C. This staircase features the notes to “Home, Sweet Home,” a popular tune by Sir Henry Bishop and John Howard Payne in the Civil War era. Both Union and Confederate troops enjoyed the song. It may have been one of the songs soldiers’ bands played along the Rappahannock River during the winter encampment of 1862-1863.
The new staircase replaced the old sets of stone steps that connected the terraces. The railing imitated a railing with music notes from the Devores’ home in Washington, D.C. This staircase features the notes to “Home, Sweet Home,” a popular tune by Sir Henry Bishop and John Howard Payne in the Civil War era. Both Union and Confederate troops enjoyed the song. It may have been one of the songs soldiers’ bands played along the Rappahannock River during the winter encampment of 1862-1863.