After Eliza's death, Rev. Mines married Mary Dunlop, who outlived her husband and purchased the property from Eliza's heirs. Around this time, Rose Hill's Catawba grape vines became a topic of agricultural discussions. Mary and her sister updated the old farmhouse in keeping with Victorian styles and shifted the farming operation into the post Civil War wheat-farming era. Later 19th century owners were attorney Edward Peter, carpenter and master builder Edwin West, and Claibourne Mannar, a physician and Montgomery County Health Officer.

In 1911, James Somervell Dawson and his wife Rose Armstrong Dawson moved into Rose Hill. Rose's family had offered her a house for a wedding gift, and she chose Rose Hill because of its proximity to the town of Rockville. At the time, only 41 acres of corn fields remained with the house. The Dawsons lived here for two decades, raising crops and three children. Rose Dawson, who outlived her husband by 30 years, was active in the Rockville Methodist Church and a staunch advocate of improved school facilities and community library services.

In 1935, Dr. and Mrs. Dexter M. Bullard purchased Rose Hill. Dr. Bullard was the medical director of Chestnut Lodge Sanitarium. The Bullards stabilized, modernized, and dramatically rebuilt the old farmhouse. Dr. Bullard walked across the field to supervise the medical operations of the Sanitarium, while his wife raised their family, milked dairy cows for Lodge and home use, and became active in cultural and medical organizations. An invitation to a party or luncheon at Rose Hill was a special event, as the couple was most gracious. For example, the Bullards entertained Basil Rathbone before his performance for the Spring Arts Festival in 1967 and hosted the Rockville Rotary Club of which both Bullards were members. Dr. Bullard passed away in 1981, Mrs. Bullard in 1996.

The owners of Rose Hill mansion, Lew Hages and Gerry Boquel, favored Historic District designation for the property in 2000. They appreciate its history, its elegant stylistic elements, and the opportunity to repair and redecorate the old country mansion. They have graciously opened their home for the Peerless Rockville Week homes tour on October 19.

Read an account of "Life at Rose Hill" written by Beth Rodgers for the March 2001 Peerless Places. Beth is the great-grandaughter of Rose and James Dawson.

Rose Hill Mansion
215 Autumn Wind Way

March 2001

Although the Rose Hill mansion has been linked to the Bullard family of Chestnut Lodge for 2/3 century, the place goes back much farther in time. Eliza Wootton received 440 acres of land when she married Lewis Beall (brother of Montgomery County Clerk Upton Beall) in 1803. Their house was replaced with the current one by the 1840s. Eliza's second husband, Rev. John Mines, Presbyterian minister for Cabin John and Bethesda parishes and principal of the Rockville Academy, referred to "Rose Hill" in a volume of poetry he wrote in 1837.

Several Rockville notables, including attorney Edward Peter, local master builder Edwin West, and county health officer Claibourne Mannar later owned the farm. In 1935, Anne and Dexter Bullard, Sr. purchased Rose Hill. They remodeled and modernized the house, and raised dairy cows to support some of the sanitarium's operations. Rose Hill's place in local history is its status as an early farmhouse and its long-time associations with individuals prominent in Rockville. Recent research by Peerless Rockville Docent Beth Rodgers uncovered a personal account of her family's life at Rose Hill.