Dodona Manor Home of George C. Marshall

Description:

• In 1941 Gen. George C. Marshall and his wife Katherine bought Dodona Manor, an early-19th-century manse, when he planned to retire from the U.S. Army. Those plans were interrupted by World War II, when Marshall was primarily responsible for the victorious war effort. President Franklin D. Roosevelt offered to let Marshall lead the invasion of Europe, and thus get the glory that went with that job, but he also let Marshall know that he would be at a loss without him in Washington. Consequently, Marshall stayed at home as army chief of staff and recommended Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower as commander in chief in Europe. After the war Marshall served as secretary of state (during which time he won the Nobel Peace Prize for the Marshall Plan), president of the American Red Cross, and secretary of defense. The house was in Marshall's family until 1995. It looks exactly like it did when the general spent his spare moments here in the 1940s and 1950s, with his own bed, red-leather chair, early black-and-white television, and artwork acquired in China (Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, Madame Chiang, and her four maids twice were houseguests). Visits begin with an 18-minute video about Marshall's career followed by a 45-minute guided tour through the house. Dodona provides a terrific view of the general's private life, while the George C. Marshall Museum in Lexington explains his outstanding public accomplishments.

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Highly Recommended 2010