On an upstairs wall of Graceland, there is a portrait of Gideon Bantz, Judge of the Orphans Court of Frederick, Maryland. Judge Bantz was a successful man who was displeased when a handsome but penniless man by the name of Henry Gassaway Davis asked for his daughter, Katherine’s, hand in marriage. He consented nonetheless, and after the judge’s death in 1853, Katherine’s $50,000 inheritance became the nest egg that went on to create the family fortune that would soon turn into Davis and Elkins College. Katherine and Henry had three daughters, Kate, Hallie, and Grace, the latter of which became the namesakes of the two mansions on campus.
Graceland was built in 1893, at which time Henry had become Senator Henry Gassaway Davis. It was named for their daughter, Grace, who later married Arthur Lee and gave birth to four children. During the time that they lived at Graceland, the home was party to a wide variety of visitors, including President Harrison and John A. Kennedy, who went on to marry Grace’s daughter, Ellen Bruce. Together, Ellen Bruce and her new husband purchased Graceland from the estate on Halloween of 1935. Soon after purchasing the mansion, Ellen and her husband found that they needed to move to Charleston and were forced to sell Graceland. Ellen Bruce wished to donate part of it to the college, but she was unable to do so because the home was collateral for their business loans, and therefore had to be sold. They sold Graceland to the local Presbyterian Church who donated it to Davis & Elkins College to be used as a boy’s dormitory, finally achieving Ellen’s dream of Graceland officially joining the campus.
The bedrooms of Graceland feature many of the same furnishings that were in the home while Senator Davis lived there coupled with authentically restored period pieces. At the Graceland Inn, guests are invited to stay in the bedrooms of the Davis family, including the Senator’s Suite, and enjoy the settings of the original library and parlor where Senator Davis worked while away from Washington.
