William S. Smoot, Sr., died in 1900 leaving his share of Salona by will to his widow, Jennie K. Smoot. When she in turn died intestate, their three children, John D. K., Calder Gilliam, and William S., Jr., shared her portion of the estate. Jacob's three daughters never married, so their portions descended to their three nephews, William's sons, John, Calder Gilliam (known by the family as Gilliam), and William, Jr. Both John and William died intestate. John's share of Salona was divided among his widow, Julia B., and their children, Jane Smoot Wilson, John D. K. Smoot, Jr., and Henry B. Smoot. William's share went to his widow, Elizabeth, and their two sons, William S., III, and John J.[113] [Illustration: _"Salona," from an unpublished picture taken by "The Rambler," about 1914. See_ Sunday Star_, "The Rambler," August 2, 1914._] In 1914, The Rambler, a Washington Star columnist, visited Salona, talked with the Smoots, and wrote a charming word picture of the exterior of the house: You draw up in front of the garden which surrounds the house. A white-washed fence four boards high, incloses the garden. Inside are old cedars thick through the trunk and solemn in foliage. There are clumps of rose bushes and borders of jonquils. Stumps of trees that have been wrecked by wind or lightning support bark-bound flower boxes. A driveway curves to the left and a gravel path leads straight to the front porch before which the box trees are growing. The porch is capacious with a balcony on top. Under the porch and in the middle of the house is an arched doorway. On the left of the garden around the house is an apple orchard and on the right is a flourishing grape arbor. This is Salona. It is a fine, quiet and dignified old place.[114] Some years later, in 1932, for the first time in history (as far as it is known) Salona was open to view by the general public. It was one of the occasions in local observance of the George Washington Bicentennial Birthday Anniversary. Mrs. John Kurtz Smoot was the official hostess and she and her house tour guides were dressed in floor-length period costumes.[115]