Edward Wilton Donn Jr. (1868–1953) was a

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

-based American

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

of the early 20th century. Donn was most famous for his association with Waddy Wood as part of the architectural firm of Wood, Donn & Deming (see

Waddy Wood Waddy Butler Wood (1869 – January 25, 1944) was a prominent American architect of the early 20th century and resident of Washington, D.C. Although Wood designed and remodeled numerous private residences, his reputation rested primarily o ...

for a description of the firm and for a list of their works), but is also well known for his design of Memorial House at

George Washington Birthplace National Monument The George Washington Birthplace National Monument is a national monument in Westmoreland County, Virginia, United States. This site was a colonial tobacco plantation developed by Englishman John Washington in the mid-17th century. John Washing ...

Career

Edward W. Donn Jr.'s father and namesake was an architect and Donn Jr. followed his career. As a young architect he worked with Theodore Fredrich Laist and Waddy Butler Wood, eventually forming a firm with Wood and William I. Deming. After Wood, Donn & Deming dissolved, Donn went on his own. In the late 1920s, over the objections of

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co-d ...

, a decision was made to build a replica of the house in which George Washington was born on the excavated foundation of the destroyed home. Donn worked on a design based on the rectangular foundation discovered by

George Washington Parke Custis George Washington Parke Custis (April 30, 1781 – October 10, 1857) was an American plantation owner, antiquarian, author, and playwright. His father John Parke Custis was the stepson of George Washington. He and his sister Eleanor grew ...

in June 1815, and on descriptions of the house as a "house of ten or twelve rooms, of two stories in height, with an ell, and probably, not much dissimilar or smaller than

Gunston Hall Gunston Hall is an 18th-century Georgian mansion near the Potomac River in Mason Neck, Virginia, United States. Built between 1755 and 1759 as the main residence and headquarters of a plantation, the house was the home of the United States ...

....." In 1927 the U.S. Fine Arts Commission and the

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

approved a design based on Donn's interpretation and the Memorial House was finished in time for George Washington's 200th birthday in 1932. The Memorial House foundation was later revealed to be the foundation of a large rectangular out building - perhaps a barn. By 1934 the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government within the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of ...

conducted an extensive archeological survey of Popes Creek.

Archeologists Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts ...

uncovered the ruins of George Washington's birth home yielding 16,000 artifacts, many of which had been intensely heated by a fire. As part of the memorial tributes on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Washington's birth, Donn oversaw the stonework on the columns in Westmoreland Circle, working with stonecutter Walter Phelps.

Works

*George Washington Memorial House, George Washington Birthplace National Monument, VA; 1927 *"Kenmore" House, George Washington's sister,Betty Washington Lewis, Fredericksburg, VA *Falmouth log cabin restoration, the corner of Butler Road and Carter Street, Stafford County, VA; 1930, known locally as Hobby School, built on another location in 1880s * Garden Club of America Entrance Markers, Washington, D.C.; 1932 *Senator

Francis Newlands Francis Griffith Newlands (August 28, 1846December 24, 1917) was a United States representative and Senator from Nevada and a member of the Democratic Party. A supporter of westward expansion, he helped pass the Newlands Reclamation Act of 190 ...

Statue, Chevy Chase Circle, Washington, D.C.; 1933 *U.S. Powder Factory and Naval Proving Grounds, Indian Head, Maryland

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donn, Edward Wilton Jr. 1868 births 1953 deaths 20th-century American architects Architects from Washington, D.C. 19th-century American architects