Original Artifact Returned to Rockcliffe

We are pleased to announce the gracious return of an original artifact from the Cruikshank family to Rockcliffe!

In January, we received a call from Ms. Alice Lindbergh who lives near Minneapolis, MN, saying that she had a chair she'd like to donate to Rockcliffe. This beautifully carved balloon-back parlor chair belonged to Louise Cruikshank, the second-eldest of the four Cruikshank daughters. Mrs. Lindbergh explained that during the 1980s she was hired as a caretaker for Louise and received the chair after Louise passed away (incidentally, Louise lived to be 100 years old!!!). She graciously donated the chair to Rockcliffe, and her daughter and son-in-law brought the chair to Hannibal last week.

Mrs. Lindbergh believes that the needlepoint cushion on the chair was hand-rendered by Louise, and said that Louise used the chair with her "Piano Desk". Mr. John J. Cruikshank, Louise's father, who built Rockcliffe in 1900, had four desks made from old box pianos, one for each of his four daughters. Louise's daughter now has her piano desk, and we have Helen Cruikshank's desk on display here at the mansion. Its nice to know that the "sister" to our desk is still being used by Cruikshank family descendants!

THANK YOU so much to Alice Lindbergh for the chair, and to her daughter and son-in-law Karen and Rob Schull for bringing it to Hannibal. We deeply appreciate your kindness!

A Beautiful Wedding!

From all of us at Rockcliffe Mansion, we congratulate Rick and Jessica Cate on their blessed wedding! The happy couple was United in Matrimony on the landing of Rockcliffe Mansion's Grand Staircase on Saturday, January 2, 2010. It was a beautiful ceremony and a terrific group of friends and family joined in to help celebrate -- and party! Best wishes for a lifetime of happiness!

CELEBRATE NEW YEAR'S EVE AT THE MANSION!

New Year's Eve will be rockin' at Rockcliffe Mansion!

Reserve your tickets now -- the party is limited to only 25 couples!

Your ticket will include:

A delicious Buffet-style Dinner, with dining in the elegant Moorish Room, Grand Hall, and Music Room

Open Bar from 7pm - 12:30am

Music and Dancing

Champagne Toast at Midnight

Party Favors, Hats and Noise Makers

Only $75.00 per couple!

Tickets must be purchased in advance by December 24, 2009. Don't wait, seating is limited!

Wishing all of you a Safe and Happy Holiday season!
Ken and Lisa Marks
and the Staff at Rockcliffe Mansion

A MAGICAL MANSION CHRISTMAS

Happy Holidays to All!

Rockcliffe Mansion is bursting with holiday cheer! Our Magical Mansion Christmas includes The Gilded Pine on the landing of the Grand Staircase, the patriotic Liberty Tree on the second floor landing featuring a collection of official White House ornaments, the Peacock Tree in the Moorish Room, and other antique and vintage ornaments and decorations that are displayed throughout the Mansion!

Please join us in celebrating the magic of the holiday season with our History of Christmas tour beginning daily at 10am (last tour begins at 4pm). We will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.

We are also accepting reservations for our four Bed and Breakfast rooms, which include complimentary wine and cheese at check-in and a three course gourmet breakfast. Check our website for room availability and to make your reservation.

Or, plan your holiday event at Rockcliffe -- rent the Mansion for your holiday party, wedding, or family get-together!

Please visit our website at www.rockcliffemansion.com or call (573) 221-4140 for more information!

Rockcliffe Mansion is (still/again) Up For Sale

It is difficult for me to admit this, but Ken and I had nearly given up hope.

When the contract for the purchase of Rockcliffe by James and Robin Gillette was accepted by the bankruptcy court in Louisiana on November 2, we were prepared to accept the fact that Rockcliffe was not in our future.

However, we always had a sliver of hope -- the Gillettes had until November 19th to inspect the property and, if they were concerned with the results, they could back out of their purchase contract without penalty.

We scarcely allowed ourselves to believe this was possible, but lo and behold, the Gillettes' contract was dropped yesterday (November 20) after the bankruptcy trustee would not agree to extend their inspection period.

This means the sale of Rockcliffe Mansion begins from scratch -- back to square one -- and we have the opportunity once again to present the court with a purchase contract. Mr. Gillette can also put in a new contract, or, for that matter, any potential buyer can submit a contract. May the best contract win.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR INVESTORS! Just as the original three couples who saved Rockcliffe from demolition did back in 1967, we hope to find others who are interested in preserving Rockcliffe as a museum, investors who can raise the funds to buy the property from the bankruptcy court and make necessary repairs to preserve the property. (By the way, we take exception to Mr. Gillette's claim that Rockcliffe is in "deplorable condition" and requires more than $1 Million to "renovate" the property; in fact, we hired a well-respected building inspector to do a thorough inspection of Rockcliffe on September 18, 2009, and have a detailed 24-page report that finds the building is structurally sound with no major renovation required, only localized restoration is necessary. In addition, the boiler that connects to all of the Mansion's original radiators, which still function perfectly, passed inspection in October 2009 with no repair required. Rockcliffe also passed all fire and building inspections from the City of Hannibal in October 2009 and has been given a business license/occupancy permit that is valid through June, 2010. Any interested parties are welcome to review the inspection reports).

It is our hope that Ken and I would be allowed to be a part of Rockcliffe's future, to assist in managing and preserving the museum. Although we currently live in the mansion (taking up only the office for our personal belongings), we are also willing to live offsite. But as we've said all along, this isn't about us; it is about saving the Mansion, preserving its architecture, artifacts, and antiques, and keeping it open to the public as a museum of the history of American life in Hannibal c1900. PLEASE CONTACT US IMMEDIATELY IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN INVESTING IN ROCKCLIFFE'S FUTURE!!!

Meanwhile, while this drama unfolds, the trustee of the bankruptcy court has allowed Ken and I to extend our lease on Rockcliffe through the end of December. Therefore, we will continue to be open for tours daily from 10am to 4pm (except for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day). Or, you may want to spend the night in the mansion, we have four B&B rooms available, with wine and cheese at check-in and a three course gourmet breakfast. We are also able to book special events -- we have a special wedding planned for January 2nd for a dear couple from Quincy -- so if you'd like to host a holiday party at the mansion, feel free to call and reserve the date, we will provide a wide range of services to make your event special!

As always, thank you for your continued support. Lisa Marks

The rally on Wednesday was a success! We had a good crowd and terrific press coverage (the video of the news report can be found at www.wgem.com, search "Rockcliffe" and there's a story about the rally and a link to see the video of the news report from that evening).

It's funny, someone grumbled that we only did the rally to get on TV -- and they were absolutely right, part of the reason for the rally was to get media attention! But it isn't so that we would personally be featured, it was so that Rockcliffe could be featured, and to spread the word that Rockcliffe is in danger.

It is very, very possible that we could lose Rockcliffe as we know it, that it might be turned into a private residence, closed to tourists. This would be a blow to Hannibal's tourism efforts and the loss of one of the few homes in America that is historically accurate, a home that has never been altered or renovated since 1900.

Facts about the amazing contents of Rockcliffe:

• All of the wallpapers in the nine rooms on the first floor, except for the Music Room, retain their original wallpapers from 1900, including the Lincrusta papers in the Main Hall and Reception Room that are hand-rubbed with gold dust (this paper is reported to have cost nearly $100 per roll in 1900)
• The ten fireplaces in Rockcliffe all have hand carved, one-of-a-kind mantles, including two of mahogany. We have several blueprints showing the details of the craftsmanship of these mantles. Only two of the fireplaces are wood-burning, the other eight were installed in 1900 with gas logs, similar to the ones we use today.
• Many of the chandeliers and sconces throughout the home feature both electric and gas connections. Rockcliffe was completely wired for electric in 1900, however, because electric service was so unreliable, Mr. Cruikshank also had gas jets added to the fixtures.
• We estimate that more than 60% of all the furnishings on the first floor of Rockcliffe are original to the Cruikshank family, including draperies, furniture, fixtures, books, photographs, antiques, etc. (By contrast, the Vaile Mansion in Independence, Missouri has only one mantle clock in the entire museum that is original to the mansion!) Helen (Cruikshank) Knighton, one of Mr. Cruikshank's daughters who grew up at Rockcliffe and lived in the house next door from 1924-1987, saved these precious items over the years. When Rockcliffe opened as a museum in 1968, Helen returned all of these family heirlooms to Rockcliffe so that they could be shared with the public.
• On the second and third floor, more than 100 garments and accessories used by the Cruikshank women are on display. Dating from 1890-1920, this amazing collection includes ball gowns, hats, shoes, gloves, jewelry, fans, and purses.
• Mr. Cruikshank's original top hat, tuxedos, shirts, collars, coats, etc. are also on display.
• Sometime around 1920, Mr. Cruikshank hired a photographer to shoot photos of the interiors of Rockcliffe. These priceless photographs are displayed in nearly every room of the first and second floors of the mansion, and give us a historical reference so that we know precisely what the rooms looked like as the Cruikshanks lived at Rockcliffe and which items we have today are original to the mansion.

If you have not had the opportunity to visit Rockcliffe in person, we encourage you to do so! Tours are daily, beginning at 10am and start on the hour. You will then understand why we are fighting so hard to preserve this historic landmark, its remarkable collection of artifacts, and the stories of life in Hannibal in 1900.

RALLY TO SAVE ROCKCLIFFE!!!

RALLY TO SAVE ROCKCLIFFE!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
5:00 PM

Guest Speakers! Free Mansion Tours! Refreshments!

Join us at the Mansion and show your support -- we want to make it clear to any potential buyer how important Rockcliffe is to Hannibal's tourism and show the support from the Hannibal community in keeping the Mansion open to the public.

Rockcliffe's historical architecture and artifacts are too precious to lose and should be shared with generations to come. Please help us preserve and protect this treasure!

For more information, call (573) 221-4140 -- Thanks! Lisa Marks