One of the oldest buildings in Reston is at risk of falling into disrepair after a tree on a neighboring property toppled on its roof during a storm that swept through the area on July 5.
Built in the 1890s, the two-story Robert Wiehle House has endured more than a century of fluctuating weather and suburban development, still standing at 1830 Old Reston Avenue even as condominiums and apartments sprouted up around it.
However, the building’s future is now in doubt, in part due to that extensive history. According to the current property owner, who asked not to be named, insurance companies refused to cover the property, starting in April 2025, because of its age.
“We’re not really at that stable financial situation where I can just fix it out of pocket unless I get a partnership, like a developer or somebody to come and fix it for us,” the owner told FFXnow. “If Fairfax County or Reston are willing to fix and then help us also along the way, we’d be more than happy to work [with them] and cooperate in preserving that again in any way possible.”
The property owner says he hasn’t had a chance yet to bring in a contractor to evaluate the full extent of the damage, but it most affected the roof and one of two bedrooms on the second floor. The structure of the first floor at least still appears to be intact.
Right now, the Fairfax County Fire Marshall’s Office isn’t allowing anyone inside because of the potential safety risks. The owner and his family were able to retrieve some personal items, but the house has otherwise been off limits since the storm.
The owner says his and his wife’s goal has been to preserve the Wiehle House as a piece of Fairfax County and Reston history since they purchased it for $350,000 in 2012, county property records show.
Listed on Fairfax County’s Inventory of Historic Sites since September 1977, the Victorian-style residence is one of only three buildings remaining from the Town of Wiehle envisioned by Dr. Carl A. Max Wiehle, a German-born doctor who acquired 3,228 acres of land north of the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad tracks in 1886.
Presaging Reston’s founding 80 years later, Wiehle worked with German surveyor Joseph Berry on plans to transform the land into a town with about 800 homes, a grid of streets and businesses allowing residents to work where they lived, according to the Herndon Historical Society.
Incorporated by the Virginia General Assembly in 1898, the Town of Wiehle featured a lumber manufacturer, a hotel, a post office, and a combined town hall and church. But only 12 residential lots were sold by the time Wiehle died of pneumonia in 1901, taking his dream of a planned community with him.
The Wiehle House was constructed around 1895, per the county’s historic sites inventory, which lists its original owner as J. Robert Wiehle, the doctor’s nephew.
The only other lingering remnants of the Town of Wiehle are the town hall, which was repurposed for a time as a distillery by Fairfax Hunt Club founder A. Smith Bowman, and Bowman’s house at 1850 Old Reston Avenue, also known as Sunset Hills.
The only one of the three buildings also included in the Virginia Landmarks Register and National Register of Historic Places, the former town hall/distillery was recently designated by both Fairfax County and the statewide group Preservation Virginia as an endangered place to highlight the risk of it being lost to development or neglect.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved plans on July 14 for a redevelopment of the Bowman House property that will retain and refurbish the historic residence, which dates back to 1899.
Before that vote, Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn noted the importance of preserving the area’s pre-Reston history. He told FFXnow in a separate statement that he hopes the Wiehle House “can be repaired and preserved,” though the county has limited control over the property’s future since it’s privately owned.
Fortunately, preservation of Reston’s history is also a priority for the current owner, who says he once had discussions with the Reston Museum about donating the building if he could still use the remainder of the lot.
The neighboring Ivy Oak Condo Association had also at one point suggested petitioning Fairfax County to preserve the building and turn the backyard into a park for local residents, according to the owner.
“This is very, very unique, the way it is,” he said of the Wiehle House. “… It’s located in the middle of a cluster of other apartments and condos, so there’s only a single-family home sitting there.”
The owner has reached out to the county’s historic resources branch for assistance, and the staff responded earlier this week with possible contacts, though he hasn’t had the time yet to go through them.
He expressed hope that a news story could attract attention from “generous” community members who might be able to help him assess the storm damage, make repairs and preserve the house, “or just buy me out and keep it as part of Reston.”
“I’m open to conversations to in any way cooperate with the county to preserve and keep that structure, that house, again, just because it’s part of Fairfax County’s history and especially Reston’s,” said the owner, who can be reached at restonoasis@gmail.com. “So, this is where we stand right now, and any help, I think, would be great.”
Hat tip to Greg Olsen
