Existing comment:
From Farm to National Park:
Only two families owned Ellwood during its history -- the Jones/Lacy family, until 1907, and the Willis/Jones family until 1971.
The final private owners of Ellwood acquired the house and land directly from the Lacys in 1907. Hugh Evander Willis, his sister Blanche Jones, and her son Gordon Jones used Ellwood as both retreat and working farm for the next 64 years. In 1971, the Joneses sold Ellwood and 97 acres to the National Park Service and donated an additional 87 acres.
Ellwood underwent major stabilization by the National Park Service in the 1980s -- indeed a steel infrastructure in the basement now undergirds the house. In 1998, the Friends of Wilderness Battlefield, with the support of the National Park Service, opened the unrestored building to the public. In 2009, the main floor of the building was largely restored. |