Maupin-Maury House - Richmond

The Maupin-Maury House is located on East Clay Street in Richmond, Virginia.  This Greek Revival townhouse was built in 1846 for Dr. Socrates Maupin, one of the founders of the medical department at Hampden-Sydney College, later known as the Medical College of Virginia.  He would go on to become the professor of chemistry and later faculty president of the University of Virginia.  In 1861, while living here with his cousin, Robert Maury, Commander Matthew Fontaine Maury worked on plans to build an underwater explosive device.  The former superintendent of the National Observatory and respected engineer worked here with a portable metal bathtub until he was able to test his results in the nearby James River.  His electric torpedo, which was in effect an underwater mine, was put into action by the Confederacy and caused much havoc among the Union Navy.  The home originally stood at 1105 East Clay Street and was threatened with destruction in 1992 when VCU planned to expand their campus.  In an effort to save the structure it was dismantled and reassembled at its current location in 1993, about a block west of its former site.  It is now the MCV Alumni House.

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