An estate sale featuring a collection from the late Louise deJarnette Jesse’s estate and Epping Forest Antiques is slated for the end of the month.
Jesse grew up at Epping Forest Plantation, the ancestral home of the mother of George Washington, Mary Ball Washington.
The sale will offer some items that have been in the Epping Forest home for generations.
A related wine and cheese preview party will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. April 21, Epping Forest Antiques, 5299 Mary Ball Road, Lively. The fee is $30 per person to benefit the Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library. Participants may pay at the door.
“This should be a successful event for the museum,” said museum board chairman H.W. Scott.
The sale will continue with no entrance fee from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 22, 23, 29 and 30; and noon to 6 p.m. April 26.
According to Scott, Jesse, third-generation owner of Epping Forest Antiques, found her love of antiques from her family heritage. Her grandparents, James deJarnette Jesse and Eoline Ball, a descendent of George Washington’s mother, Mary Ball, founded Epping Forest Antiques in 1953 in the dining room of Epping Forest Plantation, Mary Ball’s birthplace.
Antiques were very much a part of her life, explained Scott. Her mother and grandmother were both antiques dealers and Jesse could come home from school to find her bed had been sold, he said.
Jesse passed away July 11, 2016, after a battle with cancer.
She spent decades as chairman of the Lancaster County Historic Resources Commission and supported anyone who wanted to preserve and conserve the county’s heritage. She also served on the Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library board.
“Louise was a special person and had an eye for the unusual, even without knowing the specifics of something, she knew it was special,” said Scott.
