Peter Hill, a Washington DC resident, sold antiques and used the profits to spread the gospel as a lay preacher. In May 1961, he needed cash to continue his mission. At that point, “as if by divine guidance,” he said in a Washington Post article, friends told him of an antique auction at the Stoner House in Thurmont, Maryland.
Demolishing a Historic House
The stone house on East Main Street in Thurmont was built in 1838 by William Jones who owned a tannery along Hunting Creek. Eugenie and Daniel Rouzer purchased the home in 1891. The Rouzers’ daughter Gertrude and her husband, William Stoner, eventually inherited the house, according to the Thurmont Historical Society.
Gertrude Stoner sold the house in 1961 and it was scheduled for demolition to make room for a grocery store.
Finding Antique Wallpaper
On Saturday, April 1, as Hill entered the house to view the furnishings that were to be auctioned off, he spied the wallpaper in the front hallway, according to a Catoctin Enterprise article (August 18, 1961). The panoramic scenes showed a general view of New York City and its bay seen from atop Weehawken, the fortifications and parade ground at West Point, Niagara Falls covered in mist, Natural Bridge in Virginia and a view of Boston and its harbor. The set of wallpaper panels was called “Scenic America” and created in 1834. It had hung in the Stoner House since nearly that time.
What Made the Wallpaper Special
“To American historians, the scenes of the U.S.A. may look strange,” Dorothy McCardle wrote in the Washington Post. “It is not pictorial American history as an Early American would have illustrated it. “
Dora Brahm, a member of the National Society of Interior Decorators, said at the time that the natural elements and buildings looked natural. It was the people in the pictures that gave the wallpaper its unusual appearance because they looked more Parisian than American.
Buying a Bargain
Hill told Stoner he wanted to purchase the wallpaper, but she told him he would have to negotiate with Ralph Miller who was in charge of the demolition that was scheduled to start in two days.
Miller told Hill that a woman had offered $100 for the wallpaper, but would not be able to remove it before the house was demolished, according to a 1961 Frederick Post article (October 18, 1961).
“Hill invested his savings in buying the wallpaper on the spot,” McCardle wrote. “There was only one proviso. He would have to have it off the walls before the house was torn down at the end of next week.”
He paid $50 and spent three days removing the complete set of “Scenic America” wallpaper with a razor blade and putty knife.
“Knowing the value of his find, Hill also took time to measure the hall, and to take samples of woodwork in case a museum should want to reconstruct the entire hall,” reported The Frederick Post.
White House Antique Wallpaper
First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy saw the wallpaper when Hill was showing it to an associate at the White House. She fell in love with it and purchased it for her White House renovation project.
Hill got $12,500 for his $50 investment.
To view more of the historic wallpaper in the White House, visit the White House Historical Association.
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