As Northern Virginia continues to grapple with the limited supply and high cost of housing, a pair of 18th and 19th-century taverns that were later converted into homes could present an unique opportunity for some preservation-minded residents.
The Fairfax County Park Authority is currently looking for resident curators for the rehabilitation and long-term maintenance of the Dranesville Tavern and Fairfax Arms.
Under the Resident Curator Program, the park authority leases “underutilized” historic properties to curators who can live there without charge in exchange for rehabilitating, maintaining and allowing occasional public access to the site. The curator can be a private citizen, a nonprofit or a for-profit entity.
The Fairfax Arms tavern in Lorton (10712 Old Colchester Road) is the older of the two newly available sites. It was constructed in 1750 and is the only surviving original building from what was a town called Old Colchester.
According to the county website:
Its owner Benjamin Grayson bought the lot and converted the dwelling into an operating tavern. It is believed that one of the upper rooms would have served as a living space for the innkeeper’s family, as well as female guests, while the men slept in a communal space. Fairfax Arms served Colchester and its residents until the early 1800s, when it became a residential dwelling.
Improvements were made to the house over the years with much of the integrity of the original 18th century building preserved. In the 1980s, the current owners added a large addition to the northeast side of the building that included, among other things, a modern kitchen.
The Dranesville Tavern in Herndon (11919 Leesburg Pike), meanwhile, was built in 1823 and is one of the few remaining examples of a rural Virginia inn.
According to the county website:
Built at the intersection of two major roads (Georgetown Pike and Alexandria Leesburg Pike), it served travelers moving through the region. Built in 1823 by Stanford Cockerille, it originally consisted of two two-story log structures connected by a dogtrot.
The inn changed hands over the years with various owners adding onto the original structure. The tavern remained open to the public until 1946, and to boarders until 1968. In the 1970s, the tavern was threatened by the expansion of Route 7 until the Park Authority purchased it and moved it 135 feet away from its original location.
The application period for both locations will remain open until the park authority receives its first submissions, triggering a 30-day deadline for other prospective tenants to file additional applications.
Other properties in the program include the Ellmore Farmhouse, which was restored by the nonprofit ServiceSource and reopened last year with a gift shop and cafe at Frying Pan Farm Park. There are also several sites being actively rehabilitated, including the Turner Farmhouse in Great Falls and Stempson House in Lorton.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing this afternoon (Tuesday) to determine whether to authorize a sublease offered to a residential curator for the historic Ash Grove house in Tysons.
The park authority is also currently seeking a resident curator for Lahey Lost Valley, an 18th-century house in Vienna.
