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The two most controversial aspects of the fence's design as shown by de Neuville were the swaged, or curved, top rails and the unusual painting scheme that used dark pickets and white posts.  To gather more information on swaged rails, a search for other examples of fences from the period that used swaged rails was undertaken.  While other examples were found from the period, only one other instance could be found from Virginia.  However, even though only one other example was found, the Restoration Team and the Restoration Advisory Committee decided that the de Neuville watercolor was too well detailed to ignore and the decision was made to use the swaged rails in the final design.

3d

A photo of the main gate at Sabine Hall taken by Heustis Cook in ca. 1900.