Waterford
Walking Tour – Lower Main Street
This tour starts from the Waterford
Foundation Office at the
corner of Main and Second Street and proceeds down lower Main Street
towards the "Old Mill". Lower Main Street reflects Waterford's
early commercial and residential development.
Background
As Waterford grew in the early 1700s, there was
need and opportunity for skills and services other than farming. Amos
Janney built a simple mill of logs to harness that power. His son, Mahlon
erected a larger, two-story mill "near
the current "Old Mill". For more than half a century after the
family's arrival the tiny settlement that developed around the structure
was known simply as Janney's Mill. Over the years many other mills were
built in the area, but the one Waterford now calls simply "the
old mill" remains the best known. More
about Waterford's development »
The original Waterford families were soon followed by other Quakers who
would all play leading roles over many years in the development
of Waterford. In the 1760s the early Quakers were joined by numbers of
Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans and Baptists. This influx of non-Anglicans
is noteworthy considering the firm hold of the established Church of
England in colonial Virginia.
Whether Scotch-Irish immigrants or Pennsylvania Quakers, most of the new-comers
lived well outside Janney's Mill. On the site of the future village itself,
few lots were available for building because the sons of the original
owners, Francis Hague and Mahlon Janney still owned most of the land.
That situation finally changed in 1780 when Francis Hague died. In
short order, lots were marked off on the north side of Main Street, and
in 1791 Janney laid out 15 more along the south side, from the Mill almost
to the existing Post Office - divisions that are clear to this day. In
1800, Mahlon Janney, continuing the momentum, began selling lots on the
extension of Main Street up the "Big Hill," and in 1812 when
he died, his executors subdivided his land along Second and High Streets.
By the turn of the century then, nearly 70 years after Amos Janney's
arrival, the little settlement was beginning to take on the appearance
of a real town.
Most of Waterford's houses were built in the first quarter of the 19th
century, when the town grew rapidly as a commercial center. Many of the
structures that survive today as dwellings began as shops or stores. The
architecture from this "Federal period" dominates the town, but
examples from other periods appear here as well.
The Tour
Start your tour at Main and Second Street
 The Corner Store
The Corner Store sits lit Town Branch—and occupies
a strategic location at the intersection of Waterford's main streets. The
present building, erected about 1900, replaced an earlier smaller store
berally atop a small creek—theuilt of log covered with weatherboard. Note the unusual shape of the building
to fit it onto the triangular site. See an
early photo
of the store. The
Waterford Foundation renovated the Corner Store in the early 1990s for
use as office space. More
on early shopping »
The Jail
On Mahlon Janney's death in 1812, his executors sold the small "Town Triangle" between
Main and Water Streets to the Trustees of Waterford for one dollar " . .
. with a desire to benefit the town of Waterford. To build a Market House, Jail
or any other public Building, forever for the benefit of the said town of Waterford." This
sturdy stone jail with its pyramidal roof attests to the flexibility of this
type of structure. From the colonial period through the 19th-century numerous
outbuildings were built following this simple formula. The jail housed many an
inebriate and petty thief from its construction through the end (1936) of Waterford's
incorporation as a town. |
 |
Go down Main Street.
 |
|
– On your left –
|
– On your right –
|
The
Post Office
This circa 1880 building replaces an earlier brick one begun around 1812
that served first as a residence and later as a store. John Williams operated
a store here for many years; in later years John B. Dutton (1816-1892), another
Quaker, ran a store at this location. The present building originally served
as a store before it was converted to use as a post office in 1897. More
»
The Graham House
Leven Smallwood (c.1765-1812) built the right side three-bay section of this
house shortly after his 1810 purchase of the lot. He built a one-and-a-half-story
brick structure on a stone foundation. A one-story brick addition was later added
to the left of the original structure. Quakers Isaac Walker (1781-1851) and Jacob
Mendenhall (1788-1822) operated a dry goods store here as early as 1816. Walker
purchased the property after it was auctioned in 1833. Robert Graham, a veteran
of the Loudoun Rangers, bought the building in 1879 and used it for his carriage
painting business. He removed the half-story of brick from the right side and
added a full second story of German siding to the entire edifice. The frame second
floor was originally accessible only via exterior stairs on the left end. |
The Pink House
This house was constructed by Lewis Klein (1783-1837) sometime between
1816 and 1825, when he opened a "House of Entertainment" (tavern) in
the building. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the ground floor was
used first as a pharmacy and later as a general store. An interior stair
connecting the ground level to the rest of the house was added in the 1950s,
and the soft brick was painted a distinctive pink. More
»
Iron Store House
John Williams (1771-1840), Quaker proprietor of a general store across the street,
used the stone first story of this building to store iron at least as early
as 1816. A later owner added the upper levels of frame construction. |
The
Sugar Shack
This V-notched log home replaces two buildings that burned in 1965, when a
resident lit a fire in his attic in a misguided attempt to keep his bee hives
from freezing. The logs came from a building near Dulles Airport.
Goodwin-Sappington House
From at least 1803-1805 David Goodwin had a shoemakers shop and dwelling here.
His shoe shop was the structure to the far right and his dwelling was to the
far left. The central building was an alley between the two, converted into
more living space before 1815 by the Sappington family.
 William Irish Shop
The construction date of this house is unknown but, like many in Waterford, it
once served as a store. William Irish (1844-1882), a Quaker from New York,
conducted a watch making and jewelry business here after the Civil War until
a typhoid epidemic cut short his life. The Chamberlins renovated and added
onto this home around 1970. Photos antedating the renovation depict a two-story
facade with a shed roof instead of a gable. A porch ran along the southeast
wall. |
Arch
House Row
Joseph Talbott, a disowned Quaker, constructed the eastern buildings in this
row around 1810 for use as a tavern and store, thereby creating a commercial
hub in the village. Loudoun County's earliest bank was organized here in 1815
and slaves were auctioned in the street in front of the tavern. The arch in
the brick facade gives access to a rear well that provided the town with water
for fighting fires and other purposes. The construction dates of the two buildings
at the western end are unclear; they may predate the tavern. The westernmost
served as an Odd Fellows hall in the 1850s. Today the row is residential.
At least three buildings once occupied the open space northwest
of Arch House Row. A one-story frame shoe shop is remembered as
the place where normally staid Quakers danced a jig of joy upon
learning the Civil War was over. In the center of the space was
an icehouse that stored pond ice for summer use into the early
twentieth century. Then there is a stone foundation that is all
that remains of the home of African-Americans Ed and Marietta Collins.
Ed is believed to have served with Union forces during the Civil
War, one of several black men from Waterford to do so. |
TheBank House
The first bank in Loudoun County, the short-lived
Loudoun Company, held meetings in the cellar of this
dwelling beginning around 1815, hence the name Bank House.
Another local business, the Loudoun Mutual Fire Insurance
Company, established in 1849, also used this house as
offices. This building shows a very high level of craftsmanship.
Notice the precise mortar joints between the bricks and
the elegant architrave under the eaves. The lovely door
surround was hand carved in the mid-20th century by Wellman
Chamberlin, who removed an earlier porch. More
»
|
The
Joseph Janney House
Quaker Joseph Janney purchased 12 acres from the Hague family in 1781 and appears
to have constructed this dwelling to replace one on Bond Street that he sold
in 1784. His house is of log construction, clad in weatherboards, on a stone
foundation. According to local legend, the house was originally shorter: extra
logs were added atop the walls to create additional space on the upper level.
The two parts of the dwelling had no interior access to one another until this
century.
 The Kitty Leggett House
Joseph Janney sold a dwelling on this site to fellow Quaker Stephen Wilson in
1791. Catherine (Kitty) Leggett purchased the residence in 1860 and it remained
in her family until 1925. A spark from a steam-powered thresher traveling down
Main Street around 1900 ignited the wood shake roof and the house was extensively
damaged. Kitty's Irish-born son-in-law, Robert Graham rebuilt and expanded
the structure. Photos of the house before the fire show it as one full story
lower, with the roof encompassing a more crudely built front porch. |
Camelot School
Patrick McGavack, a prosperous local weaver after whom Patrick Street
is named, erected this V-notched log house sometime prior to his death in 1826.
He rented out the house, preferring to remain at his farm Catalpa Grove west
of town. This dwelling passed through three owners before Leroy Chamberlin
purchased it in 1938. Nephew Edward Chamberlin and Kathryn his wife ran a
school here known as Camelot School during World War II. More»
|
40184
Main Street
A small dwelling stood on this property by 1833. By the 1850s the structure was
being used as a machine shop. The present building may be a later replacement
of that earlier two-story log dwelling. This was one of the first homes in Waterford
restored by Edward Chamberlin, who purchased it in 1938.
|
The Griffith/Gover House
This house is the remaining structure of several that once occupied this lot.
Between 1796 and 1803, Richard Griffith erected a storehouse. Jesse Gover
(1791-1842) took over the house and business in 1819. His son Samuel (1824-1907)
served as storekeeper and postmaster here from 1862 to 1882, though he was
absent in the north for much of the war. Early in the 20th century, the James
family operated a store and boarding house on the site, with a goldfish pond
and swimming pool in the rear. The millrace behind the house, enlarged for
canoeing, once formed a small island. A dance pavilion and a large masonry
megaphone remain. But a small dwelling and the Gover's frame storehouse along
the street to the left of the remaining building were demolished early in
the 20th century. |
The Isaac Steer Hough House
Isaac Steer Hough, Jr. (1840-1915), erected this Victorian-style building in
1886, allegedly incorporating a smaller earlier dwelling. Hough ran a store on
the ground floor, and that space has housed various shops since. To this day
there is no interior access to the upper floors. |
|
|
 Hollingsworth-Lee
House
The land on which this two-story brick house sits was part of the mill tract
for many years. By 1827 Samuel Gover was living in a brick dwelling here. Around
the time of the Civil War, Robert Hollingsworth (1814-1871), a Quaker schoolteacher
from Frederick County, Virginia, bought the house from the Govers. During the
war, Confederates seized Hollingsworth and fellow townsman William Williams and
marched them to Richmond's Castle Thunder Prison, intending to trade them for
two Loudoun residents held by the North. The interior floor plan of this dwelling
is unusual: the door opens into a passage that runs the depth of the house; a
single room is to the right of the passage. The frame addition at the rear succeeded
an earlier one in the 1950s or 1960s. |
The Ratcliffe House
Samuel Pierpoint and his family lived here while operating a dry goods store
in an adjacent building (remnants are visible to the right) from 1809 until
Pierpoint's death in 1812. His wife remarried and her new husband continued
the store. In 1844 Ann Taylor Ratcliffe, a widow, purchased the property at
auction; it remained in her family until 1909. During the 1840s many local
children attended a school here run by Ann's daughters, Mary and Sarah. The
appearance of two front doors may seem unusual, but it was common in the Pennsylvania
German community, where many Waterford families had their roots. |
Wisteria
Cottage
This small brick house was probably constructed early in the 19th century. During
much of its history, it belonged to the Gover family, prominent Quakers. They
sold the house to Gover descendant Wellman Chamberlin in the 1930s or 1940s.
For half a century it was the home of Mary Elizabeth Wallace (1919-1999), the
last member of Waterford's once-thriving black community. |
|
|
Marshall Clagett House
This small house was constructed circa 1760 at Corby Hall, the Hough homestead
about two miles north of Waterford. About 1870, Marshall Claggett, an African
American, bought the house, dismantled the logs, and moved it to Waterford.
The cement block addition at the rear was built in the mid-20th century. This
dwelling exemplifies typical log house construction: one-story, one room, V
notches linking the logs, a stone foundation and chimney. In 17th and 18th
century Virginia, more people lived in log houses than in any other type of
structure. Many had no windows-glass was prohibitively expensive, and the government
taxed each pane in a house.
The Mill
The mill contributed more to Waterford's development and economy than any other
structure. The three-and-a-half-story plus cellar brick mill you see today
is the third and largest mill built on or near this site. It appears to have
been erected shortly before 1830. Large extensions were added years later for
storage and to house saw and cider mills. Milling finally ceased in 1939. The
Waterford Foundation ensured the survival of this vital link to village history
when it bought the building in 1944, using it as exhibit space during the annual
fair. In the late 1990s the Foundation reinstalled roller mill machinery similar
to that first placed in the mill in the 1880s. More » |
Tanyard
Site
The Tannery Branch is the site of one of Waterford's early tanyards. A still
earlier one was located a bit upstream, closer to Bond Street. By 1830 Quakers
Thomas Phillips and Asa Bond were operating both tanneries. Within a few years
of Bond's death in 1878 the tannery closed; business had already declined rapidly
after the extension of the railroad to Paeonian Springs in 1870, which brought
in cheaper leather goods from large manufacturers. At one time there was a house
on the site for tannery workers and a building for storing leather. Still visible
in the meadow are the pits in which hides were soaked. More
» |
|
