The Whist- meaning quiet- was originally a 12’ x 14’ structure that was part of the Moseley Homestead. This small building dated to c.1882 and was designed to provide a refuge for artist and writer, Julia Daniels Moseley, letting her get away from the busy main house and have a quiet retreat for a difficult second pregnancy. Julia wrote that the Whist had five windows and a little door, and that she had all the comforts including a large lounge with pillows, a room rug, table, shelf running the length of the west wall, and a case of drawers. Her correspondence says she surrounded herself with pictures, trinkets, and wild things, including a wreath made from a passion vine that adorned the door. Our research at this National Register property suggests the original Whist was incorporated into the main house structure and roof line, and that the building called the Whist today, was likely called the Old Shady and was moved slightly to a row of outbuildings at the site and renamed the Whist sometime after 1913. The original Whist structure was likely where the kitchen, dining, and inglenook area of the house are today. The Old Shady structure, documented in only one known historic image, was a small shed-roof wooden structure used as a studio and workshop by Charles Scott Moseley.
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