The historic A. Smith Bowman Distillery building in Reston remains one of the county’s most endangered properties, the Fairfax County History Commission warned leaders in its annual report.
The building, which dates to the 1880s, is among four properties the advisory panel sees as most imperiled, commission chair Gretchen Bulova told the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (Oct. 28).
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, in whose district the building sits, agreed that its future remains uncertain.
“It’s just kind of falling down,” Alcorn said.
Located on a 10,200-square-foot tract on Old Reston Avenue near Sunset Hills Drive, the property was the centerpiece of the Bowman family’s distillery business, which operated on a much larger tract from the end of Prohibition in 1933 until the 1950s.
At one time, the family owned and farmed about 7,200 acres, much of which was sold in the early 1960s to Reston founder Robert E. Simon. But the building’s provenance goes back decades further.
It was part of the town of Wiehle, established in the late 19th century after physician Dr. C.A. Max Wiehle in 1887 purchased more than 3,200 acres of the surrounding countryside and began recruiting residents. The building served as the town hall.
The town of Wiehle, chartered by the General Assembly in 1898, declined and disappeared after its namesake’s death in 1901. The Virginia General Assembly ultimately got around to formally revoking the charter nearly 90 years later.
Efforts in recent decades to redevelop the site have not gained traction. The current owner of the small parcel is O&D Construction LLC of Ashburn, which purchased it in 2010 for $540,000.
County zoning records describe the parcel as “improved land with a dilapidated structure.” The current zoning category for the parcel — along with most of the rest of Reston — is the Planned Residential Community (PRC) District, which allows for residential development.
Alcorn said there is always hope for the building to be restored and find a 21st-century use.
“That is something I’ve been working on. I haven’t given up on that,” he said.
The distillery building in 1999 was named to both the Virginia Landmarks Register and National Register of Historic Places. Inclusion in each is merely honorific and doesn’t impose any preservation mandates on owners. It also is included in the Fairfax County Inventory of Historic Sites, another honorific.
The parcel is not part of a Fairfax County historic overlay district, which would mandate preservation efforts be undertaken under county supervision.
Though long gone from Fairfax County, the distillery’s name remains alive, owned by Louisiana-based Sazerac Co. Having relocated to Spotsylvania County in the late 1980s, its A. Smith Bowman subsidiary continues to produce Virginia Gentleman bourbon whiskey and other products.
Three other imperiled historic structures highlighted by Bulova at the Oct. 28 meeting included two Fairfax County Public Schools facilities — the former Dunn Loring School and Clifton Elementary School — that are slated for redevelopment. The fourth is the DeBell farmhouse, also known as Sunnyside, located in Centreville.
While lamenting the loss of historic properties, Bulova acknowledged that some properties are destined to be replaced. But she said the commission would “continue to advocate for the preservation of historic sites that risk demolition in the development process.”
“There’s a lot of work to be done,” she said.
Jeff McKay, who chairs the Board of Supervisors, said the organization’s efforts directly benefit all county residents.
“We certainly appreciate that,” he said of advocacy efforts.
The commission was established in 1969 and has a statutory maximum membership of 21. Since the start of the year, it has added a net five additional members, bringing it to 17.
The most recent annual report, which is expected to shortly be posted online, covers the period from January 2024 to June 2025 in order to make a switch from a calendar-year compilation to one that aligns with the county government’s fiscal year.
