In Richmond, Virginia sits a beautiful 100 acre Victorian estate that is open to the public.
The estate includes an opulent gilded-age mansion/ museum, an arboretum and formal gardens, as well as a kid's farm.
It also features an antique carriage collection, wildlife exhibits, and a nature center.
The place was built in 1893 by Major James Dooley, an extremely wealthy lawyer, and named after his wife, Sally May.
The Dooleys also built a marble palace called Swannanoa ( a replica of a Medici palace) as a summer home on Afton Mountain, near Waynesboro, Virginia.
Maymont sits on a gorgeous spot overlooking the James River.
The Dooleys left Maymont to the people of Richmond after their deaths.
In the ensuing years, more features have been added, and the home was converted into a museum of not only the ways of life of the Dooleys and their servants, but also of the opulent furnishings of the mansion.
The gardens here are beautiful in the springtime!
Here is the exterior of the mansion.
