German Bratwursts
LOCATED NEAR THE OLD JAIL
79th American Crafts & Historic Homes Tour
Fresh roasted and brewed hot coffee, cold brew & beans by the bag.
CORNER STORE B-4
* This merchant is helping to make Waterford and the planet a little greener by using compostable products at our event. Thank you!
Professionally trained for jewelry designs and enamel artist/goldsmith. One-of-a-kind enamel cloisonné jewelry, original in design, handcrafted with 24k yellow gold wire, fired at 1500°F, set in 14k yellow gold, hand fabrication, with precious stones. We have developed our own techniques and processes with fantastic color results. Yang owns copyrights of the work. Eight awards were received in 2022.
This unique form of ceramics is created from hand-built stoneware clay slabs designed with tedious impressions of Appalachian plants set delicately into patterns and mandalas that are highlighted by iron-oxides and various glazes. Honoring the vast botanical realms of the Appalachian bio-region, each platter, plate, vase, mug, bowl, and jewelry piece is handcrafted and as unique as the plants that were impressed into them. This technique has been passed down from a university level trained father to son, and is inspired by visionary art, indigenous mysticism and the powerful magic found in the lush forests of the Blue Ridge mountains.
The true vision of my art is to reconnect humanity to love and the eloquent healing powers of nature through connection, inspiration, and deeper understanding, thus creating a mutual respect and intention to heal the wounds of our heavily impacted planet.
Open on Friday: 10am to 5pm (Garden Only) & Sunday: 10am to 5pm
The Ephraim Schooley House is also known as the Parker Bennett House is a Federal period home. The land was acquired in 1820 by weaver John Morrow who began building the left side, shorter portion of the house ca. 1820 using Flemish Bond brick construction. You can see that the center window of the left side of the home would have been the front door. The house was initially a weaving establishment for not only Morrow, but also later Thomas Donaldson who weaved carpet and dyed both carpet and cloth here. During the economic depression of 1819 – 1822, Morrow lost the property. It was bought at auction by Richard Henderson in 1824, who then sold it to Jesse Gover in 1830. William Mayne took over the weaving establishment in 1828 where he accepted jobs for all kinds of weaving. Ephraim Schooley, the Quaker for whom the home is named, bought the property from Gover in 1834. The taller structure on the right side of the home was likely constructed in 1851 using Common Bond brick construction and was a separate residence.
Saddler Asa Brown (1794 – 1872) lived in the home in the 1850’s and 1860’s. The Civil War split his large family down the middle. Asa, a veteran of the War of 1812, was a loyal Unionist, as was his son and two daughters. Sons Charlie and “Ab” were supporters of the confederacy, as was wife Aurena and a third daughter. All managed to survive the war, though Charlie took a Yankee bullet at the First Battle of Bull Run.
The house was used as two separate dwellings that were both sold to H.C. Bennett in 1876. From 1919 to 1959, the property was owned by the H.B. Parker family. Harvey, a blacksmith, came home from WWI and feuded with his brother Fred who had run the smithy in his absence. The two never spoke again. When Mr. and Mrs. John Lewis bought the property in 1959, they restored the home and named it “The Parker-Bennett House”. The two-level addition was added in the 1970’s and an easement was granted to the Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission. Further additions were done in the 1980’s. Although you would never know it by looking at it from the street, this is one of the largest lots in Waterford. There are four acres in the back. The house was built with “Waterford bricks,” which were fired right here on the property.
The Ephraim Schooley property is open through the courtesy of its current owners, the Manch family.
This is one of several village buildings that look older than they actually are. A “1769” inscription, installed in jest by the original owner George Bentley, fooled visitors who marveled at the house’s “fine condition” for such an “old house.” Actually Bentley constructed it two centuries later than 1769, using discarded railroad ties from the defunct Washington and Old Dominion Railroad, hence the playful name. According to a newspaper account at the time, Bentley called it “Old Waod,” pronounced “Old Wood.” The current owners, in keeping with the whimsy of the “Old Waod” name, have dubbed it “Off the Rails.”
Mr. and Mrs. Bentley came to Waterford in the 1940s and raised a family, soon becoming active and loyal members of the non-profit Waterford Foundation. They were tireless workers each year at the annual Waterford Homes Tour and Craft Exhibit, and both served on the Board of Directors. Ruth Bentley wrote a weekly column about Waterford for the Loudoun Times-Mirror through the 1960s. Both worked on other houses they purchased in the village, all the while commuting to Washington, D.C. to work. These houses included their residence, the Hough House at 40205 Main Street, the Lloyd Curtis house on the Big Hill, and the Weaver’s Cottage on Water Street.
This log cabin originally served as storage space for the Bentley’s home on the hill above, but was converted into a home beginning in 1992, and the lower lot was made a separate parcel in 1997. The land on which it is built had belonged to the extensive Hough family who dominated village history—off and on—from this lot from 1801 until the 1940s.
Like many local properties, this lot features extensive stonework which is credited to the late village stonemason Norman Weatherholtz. There are two very large stone retaining walls behind the house, one of which helped to define a flat area for the log building, and the other of which divides the lower lot from the Hough House in back. In the mid-20th century, the Weatherholtz family lived at 40139 Main Street in the “Griffith-Gover House,” and more of Norman’s work can be seen along Main Street in that front garden wall.
The present owners of Old Waod/”Off the Rails” have recently refreshed the interior of the house, and also worked with Allen Kitselman, the original architect for the 1992 house conversion, as well as Rhoads Restoration and the Loudoun County Historic Review Committee to add a third floor with a bathroom and master bedroom. They have also tamed an especially steep and challenging backyard area with additional stonework and new garden areas.
Old Woad/Off the Rails is open through the courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Davis.