Homes

Flavius Beans Property

Throughout most of its history, Waterford was a relatively isolated community. One result of this isolation was that architectural styles arrived later in Waterford than in many other parts of the country. The Flavius Beans House illustrates this delay. It is a fine example of mid-Victorian architecture, although Flavius Beans did not have it built until about 1890.

The architectural details are more elaborate and “prettier” than would have been the case earlier; for instance, around the edges of the upper sash of each window are small square panes. The gabled pediment along the front roof line has a turned peak ornament at the top and decorative shingles within. The windows in the side pediments have small square panes, also surrounded by decorative shingles. Notice also the jigsaw trim above the bay window and the dentils and brackets. At one point there was probably more of this “carpenter Victorian” trim, which was removed as succeeding owners tried to keep up with the newer styles.

The high style of the Flavius Beans House is evidence of the economic strength of Waterford in the late nineteenth century. It also reflects the availability of commercially cut and sawn timber as a result of the extension of the railroad through nearby Paeonian Springs.

The Flavius Beans House property is open through the courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Ratcliffe.

Old Waod/Off the Rails (#8 on map)

Old Waod/Off the Rails

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.

Samuel Steer Property

[fusion_builder_container type=”flex” hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_color=”” video_preview_image=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” padding_right=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” center_content=”no” last=”true” min_height=”” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_sizes_top=”” border_sizes_bottom=”” border_sizes_left=”” border_sizes_right=”” first=”true”][fusion_text]

In 1856 Waterford miller Samuel C. Means (1827-1884) purchased vacant lots 39 and 40 of Mahlon Janney’s 1814 subdivision. By January 1861, with war looming and busy with his mill on Main Street, Means sold the lots on which this house stands to Robert W. Thomas (1825-1905), a blacksmith and hotel keeper. Thomas promptly built this house, but by September 1861, when Confederate troops occupied Waterford, they took over the new house for a hospital.

Later in the war, when the Rebels had withdrawn, Quaker businessman Samuel Steer (1811-1883) rented the house and moved his family into town from his farm south of the village for safety; he finally purchased it in 1867 for $700. Northern sympathizer Steer spent much of the war “exiled” at nearby Point of Rocks, Maryland, serving as the U.S. Customs Agent. During the war, his daughter Sarah and her young neighbors Lida and Lizzie Dutton co-established the fervently pro-union Waterford News. The young women would note, in their paper, after their father’s rare visits home that John Dutton and Samuel Steer had “returned safely to the United States….” In 1864 Steer was arrested by Confederates as he tried to visit his family and imprisoned for his Union sympathies.

At the close of the war, Sarah Ann Steer (1837-1914), held classes for village African-American children, first in her home, then in 1867 at the new one-room school just down Second Street. She taught until 1870 when that school became part of the County’s school system. Her sister Ella taught at the first public school for white children, the Waterford Academy, the predecessor of the Old School on Fairfax Street.

In the 1980s, the owners enclosed a porch. The present owners added an outbuilding, remodeled and enlarged the kitchen, installed a patio and designed and put in a garden with stone walls and a pond.

The Samuel Steer House is open through the courtesy of Edith Crockett and Ed Lehmann.

[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Livery Stable

15483 Second Street

The Livery Stable served the transportation needs of Waterford from at least 1851 to the mid-twentieth century, when it was converted first to an antique shop and, in the 1990s, a residence. The 1851 deed mentions the property in conjunction with a hotel/store in the center of the village [The Pink House] suggesting it may have served customers of that enterprise.

In the early 1890s it was the site of T. C. Baker’s “new and nobby livery stable,” featuring “fine carriages, neat buggies, spacious wagons [and] graceful carts,” not to mention “excellent horses.” But those horses could be a problem: the town ordinances prohibited the keeper of livery stables from accumulating more than one cart load of manure at one time from June through November.

At the turn of the century a multi-structure fire near the Livery Stable made a hero of Albert Shawen, who “stayed on top of one of the barns until the hair on his head was burned completely off and his face and arms scorched.”

The livery stable’s most harrowing event occurred on July 23, 1900, when a number of people gathered in the shop to wait out an evening thunderstorm. A visiting Spanish-American War veteran, Warren O’Hara, exchanged words with local farm boy Ernest Mullen, about young Nettie Rinker. The argument escalated, resulting in Mullen’s killing O’Hara with a club. A local posse tracked down the shaken killer almost immediately. He was convicted of murder but served a short sentence.

In the early 20^th century, Ed Beans owned the livery operation; he rented buggies, carriages and horses to everyone from traveling salesmen to villagers needing transportation to a church picnic. One of his horses, “Old John,” was a fine navigator. He was known to deliver his passengers to a favorite bar in Maryland, then when the imbibers were no longer able to “drive,” deliver them safely home, often sound asleep.

The Livery Stable is open through the courtesy of Peter Thomas.

The Iron Store House

40180 Main Street

The ground floor of this home was built “as a ware-house” by Quaker John W. Williams (1771-1840) proprietor of a general store across the street, now the Waterford Post Office.
Williams, one of the first four commissioners of a fledgling Waterford in 1801, was much involved in the early life of the village that was finally incorporated in 1836. Active also in the affairs of Fairfax Monthly Meeting, he and his son William (1816-1892) along with other members of his family, would play a large role in the development of Waterford through the 19th century.
The upper floors, built later, were added possibly after December 1832, when tailor Phineas J. Steer, then in a smaller shop nearby, advertised in the Genius of Liberty, a Leesburg newspaper:

“Journeymen Tailors Wanted.
The subscriber wants, immediately, two first-rate Journeymen Tailors,
to whom he will give constant work, and good prices.
An apprentice also, of good morals, and between the ages of 12 and 15 years, will be taken.
PHINEAS J. STEER.
Waterford, 12th mo. [December] 1st, 1832.”

Two years later he advertised his growing business in the same paper:

Phineas J. Steer,
Informs his friends and the public, that,
having taken the stand formerly occupied as a ware-room, between Dunham’s Store and Klein’s Tavern,
he is prepared to wait upon them, both at the stores and at his shop;
where he will thankfully receive their
TAILORING:
Fine or coarse, imported or home-made—
pledging himself that none shall surpass him,
either in cheapness or excellence of workmanship.
Persons about to get clothes, would do well first to give him a call.
Waterford 1st 3d mo. [March] 1834

A succession of owners followed, some residing there, others renting out the space. An 1853 village map names William Nettle, a fine Pennsylvania carpenter residing on Second Street, as an owner, and another map of 1875 showed Nettle’s widow Sarah still owning it. Mr. John Rollison, owner of the Hardware Store on Second Street, later purchased it. Long-time residents remember Mr. Rollison walking to the town pump for his water as long as he lived there. Richard and Elaine Head bought it after Mr. Rollison died in 1986, hoping to update it but changed their plans and sold it a few years later. Richard Storch modernized the house, adding plumbing, among other amenities.

The Iron Store House is open through the courtesy of Susanne Page.

Pink House Property

In 1825, Lewis Klein opened this building as a tavern. He had purchased the lot from Quaker William Hough a decade earlier for $80. Like many of its neighbors on Main Street, it was designed for mixed use—a store or other business on the ground floor and a residence above. It therefore had no interior staircase between the first and second floors until a 1950s modernization.

The present large downstairs room was built as two rooms with a central corridor; it has seen many uses over the years. After serving as a tavern, the space became variously an apothecary and hardware store. In the 1880s the building was the home and office of Dr. G. E. Connell, an enterprising physician. He introduced the first telephone to the village in 1884 and charged customers ten cents to call the railroad depot at Clarke’s Gap, three miles distant. In the early 20th century, a side addition was used as a barbershop. In the early 1950s, a new owner painted the house the color “of the setting sun on Waterford brick.” The paint was meant to slow weathering of the soft, locally-made brick; it has been repainted in other shades since. In more recent years, the Pink House has been a popular bed and breakfast destination.

The present garden area has seen a succession of buildings over the past 200 years, including blacksmith and wheelwright shops and a succession of stores well into the 20th century. A town hall and informal auditorium occupied the loft area of a large stable on the site. One of these shops stood where the new stone kitchen now stands. That building served briefly as a residence. During an exceptionally rainy period with water pouring down the hill behind, a tenant joked, “I have the most modern house in Waterford— running water in every room!”

The previous owners, Dr. and Mrs. Charles Anderson protected the Pink House with the gift of an easement to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

The Pink House is open through the courtesy of Isaac Johnson and Jeff Darrah.

Jacob Mendenhall

15620 Second Street

Quakers Jacob Mendenhall (1788-1822) and his wife, the former Beulah Thomas, were “received on certificate from Baltimore Monthly Meeting” in 1813. The couple immediately settled into their new village, buying two quarter-acre lots from the estate of Mahlon Janney in 1814 for $97.25 and constructing the house shortly thereafter. It was built of locally made brick and has two front doors, a feature more commonly seen in Pennsylvania.

As a new member of Fairfax Meeting in 1815, Jacob served on a meeting committee to establish a school for Quaker education and became headmaster that year. One of his students, Noah Swayne, later achieved prominence when appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court by Abraham Lincoln in 1862.

Mendenhall and Isaac Walker owned and operated a store in Waterford from 1816 to1819. Mendenhall was a stockholder and cashier of the first bank in Loudoun County—also in Waterford—where he was responsible for day-to-day operations. Jacob served as clerk of Fairfax Meeting.

Jacob’s only child, Hannah, who inherited the house after her father died in 1822, operated a school in the large first-floor room in the 1830s. She married Lewis D. Worley, postmaster of Waterford, in 1838. One of their daughters, Susan Worley, taught at Frying Pan Road School in Fairfax County and boarded at nearby Sully Plantation.

In 1867 the Worleys sold the house to Rachel Steer, who made it her home for 20 years. Rachel (1814 –1912) is buried in the Quaker Cemetery.

In 1896 the house was conveyed to the Methodist Church and was used as a parsonage for almost 50 years. The brick kitchen wing burned in 1915 and was replaced with a larger frame addition.

The most recent addition (to the rear of the house) was completed in 2009.

The Jacob Mendenhall House is protected through a preservation easement to the Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission.

The Jacob Mendenhall House is open through the courtesy of Bob and Judy Jackson.

Talbott’s Tavern (#2 on map)

40162 Main Street

Open on Friday: 1:30pm to 5pm

The structures that now comprise 40162 Main Street were originally two separate commercial buildings built at different times – Palmer House (the stone house also known as the Charles Divine House – built ca. 1797) and Talbott’s Tavern (the extension of Talbott House was built c. 1811). Palmer House and Talbott’s Tavern were combined in the 1950s.

The stone house on the left-hand side of the block as you face the buildings is referred to as Palmer House. Palmer House was one of the early structures built on Main Street in Waterford and was thought to have been built in 1797 by Quaker John Williams. This structure pre-dated Talbott’s Tavern (next door) which was constructed in the early 1800’s. In 1808, Joseph Talbott, the owner of the “soon-to-be-constructed” Talbott House at 40170 Main Street, leased the first floor of Palmer House for his saddle making shop. In its early years, Palmer House was known as the Charles Divine House, named after one of its earliest owners. Palmer House, as it has more recently come to be known, wasn’t owned by Alfonzo Palmer, a local farm worker, until 1906.

Talbott’s Tavern (the extension to Talbott House), the stone and brick structure on the right-hand side of Palmer House was an addition to the original Talbott House at 40170 Main Street. This addition to Talbott House became known as Talbott’s Tavern and was thought to have been constructed in approximately 1811. This expansion to Talbott House enable Talbott to host more guests and hold meetings in the large room on the 2^nd floor. At the time, open doorways between the structures allowed guests to flow freely between the two buildings.

Both Palmer House and Talbott’s Tavern were originally just one-story, however they eventually became two-story structures with retail located on the first level and more refined guest spaces upstairs. Later, the third and fourth floors were added to each side. A large porch spanned the front of the buildings and patrons would enter the 2^nd story via the front porch stairs. The downstairs rooms were very rudimentary and likely had dirt, brick, stone, or wood floors.

Talbott’s Tavern is open through the courtesy of Kay Chewning.