2025 Homes on Tour

40231 Fairfax Street

Open on Friday: 10am to 5pm

This American Foursquare home was built in 1918 by local builder Eb Devine for William O. Russell, who moved here with his wife and two youngest daughters after selling their nearby farm. The house features characteristic elements of the Foursquare style, including a wide front porch—one of several in town built by Devine. Not long after construction, the double rear porches were enclosed with decorative fish-scale shingles, adding extra space to each floor.

The property sits on land first developed around 1817 by blacksmith Reuben Schooley. During the Civil War, an earlier house on this site played a dramatic role in the 1862 Battle of Waterford. As Union troops camped across the street, Confederate forces advanced through the fields behind the home of Henry and Lydia Virts. Mrs. Virts was summoned three times under a flag of truce during the fierce skirmish before Union soldiers finally surrendered.

The current home has had just three families in its 100+ year history. Remarkably, it still retains its original barn, ice house, and root cellar—rare survivals in the village. The porch pew is a relic from the former Methodist Church on Main Street.

The William Russell House is open through the courtesy of owners the Thompson Family.

40189 Patrick Street

Open on Friday: 10am to 5pm

Built in 1888 by Andrew Monroe “Roe” Hough, this charming frame house stands on land originally owned by Quaker Mahlon Janney and later purchased by Roe’s father, carpenter Samuel Hough. Roe worked as a dry goods clerk in Waterford and was known for his civic spirit, once raising funds to help local children in need during a harsh winter. He lived here with his wife Edith, daughtThis house stands on lots 20 and 26 of a 64-lot of land owned by Quaker Mahlon Janney and auctioned after his death in 1812. In 1851, Carpenter Samuel C. Hough (1811-1887) a

Methodist, purchased the two lots, still-undeveloped. Shortly before he died in 1887, one of his and Mary Smallwood Hough’s nine children, Andrew Monroe Hough (1852-1915) bought the pair for $95 and combined them into one lot.

By the end of 1888 “Roe” Hough’s purchase featured a new frame house and the property was valued at $750. He married Edith Virginia, daughter of Waterford blacksmith Silas Corbin. Roe worked as a dry goods clerk in Waterford for much of his life, including at the Corner Store. Edith, at one point, worked in a millinery store on Main Street. The couple had no children but Roe was civic-minded.

In February 1888 a county newspaper reported that Mr. Hough lent a neighborly hand to two little children “who were brought to town on the morning of the 3^rd, in a dreadful condition, having their feet, and the stomach of one, badly frozen. ”Roe” raised money to get some necessary clothing. Kind people of the town furnished them suitable garments and Dr. G. E. Connell administered medical aid.”

That same year, Hough served as registrar for an election in the village. Roe died in 1915; Edith in 1946, two years after selling the house to Eleanor Love James, of a long-time Waterford family.  The house subsequently passed through several owners until 2002 when the Hertel family purchased it from Elaine Reynolds, who with her husband Neil had enlarged it in 1982.

The house includes overhanging eaves, shingle siding, and two-over-two windows, all popular at the time of its construction.

The Monroe Hough House is open through the courtesy of owners the Hertel Family.

40164 Bond Street

Open on Friday: 10am to 5pm

Surprising to many who see it, Tanyard Hill is a relatively new house, built in 1995. This Greek Revival-style farm house and its bank barn were designed by architect Russell Versaci to look as if they have always belonged among Waterford’s historic homes. The summer 1997 edition of Veranda magazine described it as “a new house that blends unnoticed with its 200-year-old neighbors.”

The owners chose the name of their home, Tanyard Hill, to honor the 18^th and 19^th century tanyard it overlooks. The house sits on nearly two acres of land on Bond Street, named for Quaker Asa Moore Bond, who owned the tannery from 1830 until his death in 1877.

The Washington Chapter of the American Institute of Architecture selected the house for its Distinctive Residential Architecture award in 2000. Tanyard Hill was featured in the Jan. 25, 2014 issue of the Wall Street Journal in an article entitled, “This New Old House.” Tanyard Hill clearly demonstrates that thoughtful new build­ings have a place in historic communities.

Tanyard Hill is open through the courtesy of owners Stephanie Kenyon and Bill Mayer.

15550 High Street

Open on Friday: 10am to 5pm

Robert Walker built this lovely Victorian home for his sister, Edith, in 1897. He located the house on a portion of his property, Huntley Farm, and designed it to face his house next door instead of the street. A brick walk connected the two homes and remains to this day.

The Edith Walker House is a blend of Victorian and Colonial Revival architectural features such as the wraparound porch that serves as a spacious summer living area. There are two pedimented dormers, three gables and a sleeping porch over the front entrance, each clad with a different style shingle. The main body of the house boasts German siding. The original cedar shingle roof was replaced with raised-seam metal, as was the fashion in the area after the turn of the century. The windows further unite the two styles with six or eight small panes at the top, recalling colonial sash patterns, while the single large pane at the bottom incorporates the modern glass technology of the Victorian era.

Inside the home is a fine paneled Queen Anne staircase, beautiful Colonial Revival molding with bull’s eyes in the top corners, and pocket doors from the foyer into the parlor. Of special note are the five fireplaces, each of a different design. The three on the first floor have mirrored overmantles.

Over the years, there have been few changes to the floor plan, which speaks highly of the home’s comfort and adaptability to changing life styles. The major changes to the house were the addition of first and second floor bathrooms, and an enlargement of the kitchen accomplished by removing the wall to the butler’s pantry.

The historic exterior of the house is protected from alteration in perpetuity by  an easement given to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

The Edith Walker property is open through the courtesy of its current owners, The Wood Family.