The Sturgeon Residency
In 1946, John and Betsy Gould Sturgeon, III, purchased the house, situated on 1400 acres, and employed prominent architect Willis Irvin, Sr. (pictured right) to direct the completion of the house into an elegant home. During this restoration, the conservatory, which had originally been a bay window alcove that John Kirk replaced with a small music room for daughter Emily, was expanded to a large room filled with windows. The copper roof was sound, and Irvin "found original scaffolding still in place inside when he began the project." He stayed "within the original style in his additions" and the finished interior reflected the sophisticated taste of Mrs. Sturgeon.
Descriptions of the house during the Sturgeon residency has been received from several sources, including The Island Packet articles, vertical files and letters:
"It's interior floor plan is 'cruciform,' or in the shape of a cross. Eye-catching are its free-standing staircase in the entry hall, which has a domed ceiling 54 feet high from which hangs a magnificent two-tiered chandelier; the 18th Century, Chinese hand-painted wallpaper in the dining room; the Italian marble mantel in the drawing room; a solarium with an exquisite chandelier of glass day lilies with brass stamens, leaves and tendrils; a bath-dressing room with a fireplace surrounded by ceiling-to-floor mirrors and an intricate, hand-carved wooden mantelpiece of interwoven vines."
"The free hanging staircase is of teak walnut and oak and leads to a balustraded balcony on the second floor. An early Louis XVI chandelier hangs in the dining room and another of strung crystal beads covering a gilded iron form is in the drawing room. A fine American breakfront in the hall houses part of Mrs. Sturgeon's complete collection of Doughty birds as well as other fine porcelains."
To see other photos of the house during the time of the Sturgeon residency, click HERE.
In 1946, when John and Betsy purchase Rose Hill, it was no longer a working plantation. The Sturgeons stocked the forests with wild turkey (not to be hunted), but also pheasant, quail and ducks all of which were hunted as a sport. A vegetable garden was planted, hay was grown for market, and wheat & barley were grown for live stock. Many old time residents of the area recall square dancing, parties and other frolics at Rose Hill. Horses were Betsy's passion. It is said that John Sturgeon would sit on the front porch and shoot at deer foraging in his garden beyond the trees in the front yard.
(Documents concerning the Sturgeons are shown below - scroll down)
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In January 2008, Rufus Akins (pictured right with Robin White) visited the Whites and told of his memories of Rose Hill when he was a child. His father worked for Mr. Sturgeon who built a house for their family on the other side of the highway near where the present golf side entrance gate is now. He fondly recalled how Betsy Sturgeon would "load up her big car and take all us kids to the store and buy us ice cream and candy."
(For Robin White's account of this visit, ........ click here)
In July 2008, Jim Ellington and his family from Kentucky visited the house. He is the nephew of John & Betsy Gould Sturgeon and, while attending college in Savannah in the early '60s, he lived at Rose Hill with the Sturgeons. Jim had answers for so many questions that had puzzled the Whites over the past years. This was perhaps Rose Hill's most opulent of liftimes when, for the very first time in its history, all of Rose Hill Plantation House's construction (or rather reconstruction) was complete. It was a Rose Hill that John and Caroline Kirk had hoped to one day enjoy. It was so good to have Mr. Ellington and his family "come home."
(For Robin White's detailed account of this visit, .......... click here)
In September 2008, Ben Akins and his family visited Rose Hill. Ben Jr. is the older brother of Rufus Aiken who visited us earlier this year, so his memories of those days were a little more detailed. While Rufus remembered Rose Hill as more of a playground, Ben's memories were those of an older child and teenager - of chores and responsibility. His memories and some funny Rose Hill tales are detailed in Robin White's account of this visit.
(For Robin White's detailed account of this visit, .......... click here)
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Betsy Gould Sturgeon died in 1966. Later John Sturgeon remarried and remained at Rose Hill until his death in 1978. After his death, the land was used for little else than growing hay until 1981 when the estate was purchased by The Rose Hill Plantation Development Co., a joint venture of the Welton Corporation and Ontario Properties.
The Sturgeons:
Betsy Sturgeon, nee Florence Amelia "Betsy" Bacon, was first married to Frank Miller Gould, son of Edwin Gould and the grandson financier and railroad builder Jay Gould. They were married at the home of Betsy's parents in Dallas, TX, on November 17, 1924. They had two children: Marianne Gould (1926-1957) who married John Wright McDonough of Galveston, TX, in March 1945; and Edwin Jay Gould, III (b. 1932). Betsy and Frank Gould divorced in 1944. (see divorce announcement below)
Betsy Gould Sturgeon married John Metler Sturgeon, III, April 4, 1945, and they moved to Muroc, CA, where he was stationed as a lieutenant in the Army Air Force. In 1946, they purchased the Rose Hill Plantation and lived there for the rest of their lives. They were both avid horse lovers. (see marriage announcement below). Betsy died in 1966.
John Metler Sturgeon, III, was the son of John and Mary Amos Sturgeon of Smith Grove (Warren County), Kentucky. Lieutenant Sturgeon, a graduate of The Citadel, received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal and a Presidential Citation. John died in 1978 (see his obituary below)
